>http://funredes.org/mistica/castellano/emec/produccion/memoria15/0485.html

Dear Everyone,
Sam's message arrived straight after Neil, and catapulted me into
real recognition of the fact that this is a real issue affecting
real children. Inhabiting a virtual world I think we sometimes
forget that.

Who is Neil? Neil is 15 and barely literate. He dropped out of
school when he was 9. At one point he and nine brothers and
sisters were "home alone" being cared for by the oldest sister
who was then 19. He rarely has enough to eat.

Neil wants to go to CARE (Centre for Adolescent Rehabilitation
& Education) CARE is a self-sustaining charity with excellent
job placement and job retention rates among its graduates. I am
currently looking for a sponsor for him (that is a separate
issue. What I want from you is advice, not money)

I know that this is a rather fraught issue about which people
have strong feelings. Can we use Neil to help us consolidate
the arguments both for and against?

Should I continue to look for money to send Neil to CARE
(fees $150 US per term, but I would look for help with uniform,
books, shoes, transport, food - so maybe $300 US), or should I
try to get him a $100 US laptop?

This is predicating a general argument on a specific case, but
"one laptop per child" means multiple individual Neils,
not some sort of anonymous collective noun.

Out of your wisdom and experience help me to find the best
thing to do for Neil. This is a serious request no irony
intended.

Thank you
Deirdre
Nearby Sat Dec 16 20:28:19 2006