Birthday: October 7, 2013              Sponsorship #: 2024-00-045S  

YONEL is a bright eleven year old who lives with his older brother and two cousins in the village of Galette Chambon. They are a part of a large family that used to be well known and respected in the village, however, when the gang attacked the village, most of them evacuated. Yonel and his brother and two cousins stayed behind because they have sponsors in school and they refused to give up their opportunity to go to school. His brother is in high school in the 9th grade and his two cousins, who are also sponsored, are also in high school. As long as they are in school, they can eat every day and try to make a better future for themselves. Yonel is the only one of the group that does not have a sponsor. He has been going to school, but his tuition was being paid by his aunt who left the village, so now he has no way of paying. He must have a sponsor in order to continue school in the fall. He loves to work the garden because he knows that is how they will eat when they don’t have money for food. He and his brother and cousins work hard to keep the garden going. His favorite subject in school is Creole and when he grows up, he wants to go to professional school and learn to lay tile for a living.