Education Plus Nicaragua

Name: Diana Adeliah Castillo

Birthday: November 2010

Grade: Preschool

Home life: Diana lives in a tiny one room wood home with her mother and two sisters (Prisila and Gabriela).  She shares a bed with Gabi and her mother.

Favorite school subject: playing

Likes to do for fun: play with the volunteers, eat, dance bachata (or at least what she calls bachata!)

What she wants to be in the future: undecided

Where she would like to travel if she could travel anywhere in the world: Germany, to visit Anja (former volunteer)

What would she wish for if he could have one wish: that Anja would come back to Nicaragua

Short story about Diana, October 2013, by former volunteer Anja

Actually the story isn’t really about a child of the Education Plus Program, but for me it is. It’s about Diana. Diana isn’t a student, but she is the youngest girl of the Pantanal family. So she’s living in the house where the school is. By the time I was in Granada, she was just starting to talk a little more. And being only two years old she was so cute. Her normal day was perfect when there was enough food and action. She was always running around or watching the class. And after two or three weeks, she knew and trusted me. I think I was the first volunteer who really had a friendship with this cute little girl. So every time I came to the school in the morning, she ran outside the house to say Anja, Anja, Anja – over and over. Even though she didn’t know the names of any of the other volunteers, she knew mine, and every morning she would ask her mother if I was coming to see her. At the school, she always wanted me to pick her up and carry her around. Even if I was busy I couldn’t say no to her – never. And then there was the day when she got a new haircut, made by her mum. She looked so funny with this short hair, maybe like a boy? Well the important thing about the haircut story is, that the family, some other children and especially Monica started to call her “pelon” (baldy)– poor Diana! When I was still in Granada, I was like: “how can they call this cute little girl (my best friend in Pantanal!) pelon”??? But back here in Germany it is actually so cute that I started thinking of her as “my pelon”! She just is my “pelon” and I will never forget her. She is reason enough for going back to Pantanal! See you next summer my pelon!

We Love you Anja, especially Pelon!!!!