October 23. 2009
It was an especially long day today, but a very emotionally rewarding one, as all sponsor visits are destined to be.
My translator and guide, Marcela, was accompanied by her sidekick and driver, Fernando. They picked me up
bright and early and off we went. Little did I know that I was visiting two separate community centers and the
main office, in addition to my visit with Alma.
For those of you that have this image of Guadalajara being a small and quaint Mexican town, allow me to disabuse
you of that notion right now. It is endless sprawl, poor roads, and traffic reminiscent of California rush hour.
The first stop was the community center in Tonala. After the usual tour and greeting from the staff, we found an
area for meeting some of the other sponsors' kids. First up were siblings Fabiola and Alejandra, both sponsored by
Susana. I captured some video and took some still shots of these very shy and demure girls. I hope the audio
comes through, as they are extremely soft-spoken. They like pink and purple, and Susana must realize this, as
they looked pleased to receive pink and purple tops.
The third child we were scheduled to meet, Paola, was nearly an hour late. We had packed up and were headed
out when her family showed up. Reversing the packing job, we had them assemble for the same video/camera
treatment. Unfortunately, this is where I must have suffered a "senior moment," as I pulled out the first package
with her name on it and figured that was all. It was only after she had gone that I realized that Paola was the child
that is sponsored by a whole bunch of folks. Sorry! Rest assured, the other packages were given to Marcela.
These will get to Paola soon.
As for Paola´s condition, she looked cleaner than in some of the earlier pics, but her demeanor is that of a child that
has missed out on many of the things even most poor children experience. Evidently her mother has to provide a
birth certificate before she can enroll in school. She will be 8-years-old next year and only then starting a formal
education. The girls has much catching up to do!
Nearly an hour´s trip over dusty and rocky roads later, we were at the second center where we met three charming
lads and their families: Brayan, Miguel, and Juan. They are all nice families with grateful mothers that desperately
need the help that Heather, Barbara and Alice are giving them. Look for YouTube clips coming to a computer near
you.
I was in a near panic by the time we wandered about the neighborhood searching for Alma´s house, because it was
already after 12:00. We were greeted by Alma, her mother, and her younger sister, Anjelica. Oh, and their two
dogs, one of which got a little territorial at the sight of a strange man in the house. The ankle-biter yapped the
entire time.
Alma, also known as Lupita, is simply darling. So is her sister. What a sweet couple of kids. Her Mom dotes on
them, and it shows. They´re very polite and well-behaved.
A nice surprise: Alma´s father took time off of his construction job to meet me. It wasn´t a long trip, since he was
building a door jam right next store, but it was nice to shake his hand and say hello. It ´s clear that his handyman
skills are being put to use. While the outside of their house looks like a war zone, the inside is clean, tiled, and has
plenty of natural light. It´s sparsely furnished, but Alma managed to use a recent donation from me to get a brand
new mattress. Her sister made it clear that NO ONE is allowed to sleep on it except Alma! Sisterhood only goes so
far.
First it was off to get some really good tacos at a neighborhood food stand. Actually, it wasn´t really her
neighborhood, as it took about 45 minutes to get there. Seemingly nothing is close by in Guadalajara! After
another lengthy commute, we unloaded at an amusement park. The girls had a blast. So did yours truly. It really
does make the trip worthwhile to see kids having a ball. I have the photographic evidence to prove it.
Our last stop was to a Wal-Mart like store. It had everything and it took forever to go through the place. Once the
bill was paid, Alma´s family had some groceries for their pantry, and both girls got new sneakers, pants, and dolls.
It was after 6:00 when we said goodbye, and like the other visits, they made me feel welcome and invited me to
return. A great time was had by all, and I can honestly say that none of us will have much trouble getting shut-eye
tonight!
Adios from Guadalajara.
It was an especially long day today, but a very emotionally rewarding one, as all sponsor visits are destined to be.
My translator and guide, Marcela, was accompanied by her sidekick and driver, Fernando. They picked me up
bright and early and off we went. Little did I know that I was visiting two separate community centers and the
main office, in addition to my visit with Alma.
For those of you that have this image of Guadalajara being a small and quaint Mexican town, allow me to disabuse
you of that notion right now. It is endless sprawl, poor roads, and traffic reminiscent of California rush hour.
The first stop was the community center in Tonala. After the usual tour and greeting from the staff, we found an
area for meeting some of the other sponsors' kids. First up were siblings Fabiola and Alejandra, both sponsored by
Susana. I captured some video and took some still shots of these very shy and demure girls. I hope the audio
comes through, as they are extremely soft-spoken. They like pink and purple, and Susana must realize this, as
they looked pleased to receive pink and purple tops.
The third child we were scheduled to meet, Paola, was nearly an hour late. We had packed up and were headed
out when her family showed up. Reversing the packing job, we had them assemble for the same video/camera
treatment. Unfortunately, this is where I must have suffered a "senior moment," as I pulled out the first package
with her name on it and figured that was all. It was only after she had gone that I realized that Paola was the child
that is sponsored by a whole bunch of folks. Sorry! Rest assured, the other packages were given to Marcela.
These will get to Paola soon.
As for Paola´s condition, she looked cleaner than in some of the earlier pics, but her demeanor is that of a child that
has missed out on many of the things even most poor children experience. Evidently her mother has to provide a
birth certificate before she can enroll in school. She will be 8-years-old next year and only then starting a formal
education. The girls has much catching up to do!
Nearly an hour´s trip over dusty and rocky roads later, we were at the second center where we met three charming
lads and their families: Brayan, Miguel, and Juan. They are all nice families with grateful mothers that desperately
need the help that Heather, Barbara and Alice are giving them. Look for YouTube clips coming to a computer near
you.
I was in a near panic by the time we wandered about the neighborhood searching for Alma´s house, because it was
already after 12:00. We were greeted by Alma, her mother, and her younger sister, Anjelica. Oh, and their two
dogs, one of which got a little territorial at the sight of a strange man in the house. The ankle-biter yapped the
entire time.
Alma, also known as Lupita, is simply darling. So is her sister. What a sweet couple of kids. Her Mom dotes on
them, and it shows. They´re very polite and well-behaved.
A nice surprise: Alma´s father took time off of his construction job to meet me. It wasn´t a long trip, since he was
building a door jam right next store, but it was nice to shake his hand and say hello. It ´s clear that his handyman
skills are being put to use. While the outside of their house looks like a war zone, the inside is clean, tiled, and has
plenty of natural light. It´s sparsely furnished, but Alma managed to use a recent donation from me to get a brand
new mattress. Her sister made it clear that NO ONE is allowed to sleep on it except Alma! Sisterhood only goes so
far.
First it was off to get some really good tacos at a neighborhood food stand. Actually, it wasn´t really her
neighborhood, as it took about 45 minutes to get there. Seemingly nothing is close by in Guadalajara! After
another lengthy commute, we unloaded at an amusement park. The girls had a blast. So did yours truly. It really
does make the trip worthwhile to see kids having a ball. I have the photographic evidence to prove it.
Our last stop was to a Wal-Mart like store. It had everything and it took forever to go through the place. Once the
bill was paid, Alma´s family had some groceries for their pantry, and both girls got new sneakers, pants, and dolls.
It was after 6:00 when we said goodbye, and like the other visits, they made me feel welcome and invited me to
return. A great time was had by all, and I can honestly say that none of us will have much trouble getting shut-eye
tonight!
Adios from Guadalajara.