After
our visit to the neighborhood we were all emotionally drained. I understand that there was more than one reason
that we could not linger anymore in the Alvaro Obregon. We were at the bottom of the hill, could look into
a gully where black water ran freely and where the dangerous environment in the barrios would quickly become far
to real for us. At the top of that hill, we had visited with a young mother who had to lock her three children
in or lock the world (as she lived in it) out, when Christel House Mexico was closed. Near the bottom of
the hill, we were welcomed into the presence of a mother who had found the courage to slam the door on her mentally
and sexually abusive husband with the assistance of CHMX. In between these two visits was step after step that
took an emotional toll on we (the eleven). If hugs are healing, we were in dire need of treatment… It was as if
our two vans had turned into ambulances responding to a 911 call which proceded to rush us to the emergency room
and into the arms of those who could render the treatment we all so desperately needed. How did they know? Had
someone told them where we had been? Could they see traces of tears on our cheeks, the slight trembling of our
lower lips, the breaking of our hearts? Were these symptoms that they had treated before or perhaps something
they, themselves had experienced? Just look into the eyes of Susan, Patti, Dori and their Hug Givers (second
from top – left to right) and you will see that it didn’t matter. The smiles of the faces of Sunny
and Dale (above and below Patti) tell the story, healing was taking place.
Part of the treatment was
to experience a half-day in the life a child at CHMX. This treatment began when each of we (the eleven)
were introduced to our special guide. You see, each of us was turned over to one of the children who had been assigned
to make sure that we actually lived the experience. They, and we, each wore a badge proclaiming both our names
and a number-- the significance of which would become apparent after lunch. Our guides’ first duty was to lead
us into the multipurpose room where lunch would be served. We were directed to a table set for nine with our seat
being at the head of the table and our guides place to our immediate right.
As my guide Miguel directed me to sit, 7 wide-eyed 1st grade students joined us. At this young age they
had not mastered a second language thus, Miguel (at the advanced age of 10) took on the additional role
of translator. I don’t remember all the questions asked by these eager young minds, however most of them
centered on finding out about this stranger at the end of the table. We were all more interested in each other
than we were in eating the meal and when food actually went in any mouth, those 16 eyes never left mine. I made
the mistake of taking a bite of my desert cake without first cleaning my plate and was quickly advised that was
a no-no. As we shared this meal with the students of CHMX, my mind returned to Alvaro Obregon and
the children who remained in its squalor. Were any of them sitting down to a similar 4-square meal? My guess is
maybe 1 in 100 at best. It was about that time when Miguel tapped me on the arm and instructed me to
do as he did, then proceeded to pick up his food tray, cross the room, place it on the conveyer belt and watch
it disappear into an opening in the wall. Little did I know that we would then be ‘off to the races’.
Over the next 20 minutes or so, our guides with us (the eleven) in tow whizzed up and down, in and out, around
and around until the proud guides were sure that we had seen everything that CHMX had to offer. We had the
opportunity to catch our breath when visiting the Computer and Science labs and the Library before we were off
again.
Susan (RCI) related her experience in this way: “I was given the privilege to spend my afternoon with
Denisse, a beautiful little 8 year old girl who seemed to quickly adopt me as her own. Her hand never left
mine as she toured me through her school, searching through her limited English vocabulary to find the words to
explain each item, poster and point of significance she wanted to share with me. She was so proud of what
she had to share, proud of her school.”
Sunny (Christmas Mountain) has a somewhat different angle: “Ricardo was my little host. A first grader,
he was wonderfully patient with me. I know enough Spanish to understand what is being said if I concentrate
and the speaker speaks slowly. That doesn’t usually happen in a classroom full of 1st graders! I would
have one very earnest child in front of me being very patient repeating his/her request and four others flanking
me doing the same. They were so adorable. It felt like every other 1st grade classroom that I had been in,
but then I would think back to the morning’s visit to the Barrio. These little darlings were so happy and
sweet here at school, it was very difficult to think of them back there in an area rife with drugs and decay. These
are mere babies. They deserve so very much more.”
I almost forgot to mention the lines and they were such an important part of the tour. You see, everywhere we
went we had to follow these lines in the floor and be sure that we were on the line with the arrows going in the
same direction we were. At the appropriate time, we went out into the courtyard for PE and/or other activities.
For those few minutes we were kids again.
Shortly after we worked up a good sweat, our guides led us into our assigned classrooms. Yes the number on our
badges indicated what class we were to attend. It was just pure circumstances that Clark was assigned 4-A and I
received 4-B and that we were to assist these fourth graders in their English education.
Becky Arnett of the Christel House International Staff reminded me that each child enrolled, not
only in CH Mexico City, but at the schools in Bangalore India, Cape Town South Africa, Caracas
Venezuela, Indianapolis Indiana, as well as the scholarship program in Kragujevac Serbia are
all required to study a world language in addition to their own native language. One of the primary objectives
for Christel House International is to assist each student in becoming self-sufficient, contributing
members of society. Mastering a second ‘world language’ is considered essential to achieving this objective. In
order to assure that the task is getting done, CH students worldwide are benchmarked against private schools
in their countries. CHMX currently benchmarks against the Olinca School, a very well respected private
school and CHMX students historically have scored at the same level (in some cases even better) as the Olinca
students during testing. I am sure that Clark and my efforts in our fourth grade English classes did not set back
the students more that a week or two. You see, Clark is from Iowa and I am from Kentucky and boy howdy, our versions
of English differ.
FINAL THOUGHT
After spending the better part of the afternoon with the kids, we (the eleven) gathered in the office of Patricia
Díaz Covarrubias the Executive Director of Christel House Mexico.
We spent an hour or so reviewing our trip and discussing the ongoing fundraising efforts such as the future Christel
House Open. It was more a brainstorming session led by Cheryl, Becky, and Lisa of the CH International
staff than anything else. A lot of ideas were exchanged and we have some good things to look forward to as we move
closer to the 2006 Opens.
As our Saga into the world of CHMX was drawing to an end, it was not surprising that emotions generally
controlled the discussions. Some of those comments from others around the table were:
“I knew 9 of the 11 (of you) prior to this trip, but now, instead of being mere acquaintances working for a
cause, we became a family working to provide for our new, extended family…the kids. A new family, one that extends
all the way from Mexico City all the way up to Wisconsin. So hopefully this experience that you all lived, brings
opportunity to many other kids to seek for a better future. By working together we are all helping to change
the world for our kids in Mexico City and around the world – that’s a very powerful and noble thing and I hope
you are all very proud of your efforts. As overwhelming as it was to visit the barrio, it is essential to understanding
what hurdles our kids have overcome just to get to where they are. They are the true heroes of the Christel
House story and you can’t help but want to stand up and root for them. I am immensely thankful to Christel and
the Christel House staff for providing them (the kids) the opportunity to realize all that they do deserve.
I will do all that I can to help. It is now a life commitment.”
During our trip there were several hundred pictures made and each of them had special meanings to us. As this
is my column, I have reserved the privilege of selecting these final four. I picked the ones that I felt told the
whole story best. From left to right…
(a) One of the precious children singing, “We are the World” that first morning. (b) Pathway to
a home in the Alvaro Obregon barrios. (c) My eyes full of tears as Mrs. Trejo shared her story with us.
(d) Dale in his classroom.
