Hi, my name is Claudia and I grew up in Colombia, South
America. When I was in 11th grade a friend and I decided
that instead of doing the usual project to alphabetize kids in the “barrio”
behind our school, we wanted to prepare the kids to do their first
communion. So my friend Rosa Maria and I
embarked on this mission to prepare us for graduation of High School. So, at the beginning of the school year, we
met with a group of 30 boys and girls and discussed with them what we were
going to do, and all the details such as the fact that they would be doing
their first communion in May and how many times we will meet.
After the second meeting, a boy called Dany came to me and
asked if I had a spare dictionary that he needed for school. So, since I had one at home, I asked Dany to
come to my house to pick it up. To tell
you the truth, I don’t remember how Dany got to my house, but I remember him
entering my house, and having him sit down for the usual snack with my brothers
and me which was hot chocolate and “roscones” a delicious round bread filled
with guava paste.
As Dany sat with us, he started telling us about his
life. He lived in a “neighborhood of
invasion” as they call them, which means that families who were displaced, moved in and put up a small shack made of pieces of aluminum for a roof, and carton
board for walls. Of course they did not
have bathrooms, electricity or hot water.
They would cook outside of the shack using wood from the woods in the
area, and they made a fire pit.
So, Dany would have to get up every morning at 4:00 am and go
with his cousin Diego to the river to fetch water for cooking and for cleaning
themselves. Dany lived with his mother
and his two-year old brother Marcos. His
father had died a couple of years ago in a tragic accident. However, given these difficult living
conditions, Dany would get ready for school every morning, and was a very good
student. He always did his homework at
night, by candlelight.
I gave Dany the dictionary, and he was as happy as a lark in
spring. He would be able to start
learning English now. He had pretty
ambitious dreams, and wanted to grow up to make money to support his mom, and
give her a nice home.
Well, Dany made his first communion in May that year, and
unfortunately, I did not see him again.
However, he had sown a seed in my heart and in Rosa Maria’s dreams. I recall talking with her about doing
something when we grow up to help the “street children” of Colombia.
Years passed, and I moved to Florida, USA to do my master’s
degree in Counseling.
I always remembered Dany, and his sad eyes, which lightened
up when I gave him that dictionary. I
remembered our pact with Rosa Maria, that one day we would do something for
kids like Dany. I graduated, got jobs,
and moved from Florida for a job, and my dream had not been fulfilled yet. However, it was still there. ….
Ten years had passed since I had arrived from Colombia, and
I was now in Washington, DC the capital of the USA. It was exciting to live in the city, which
seemed like the “brain of the world” where all the powerful decisions are made
and where diplomats from all over the world live.
Later on, I got married and moved to Texas for a couple of
years. Over there, I met an accountant who
listen to my stories and dreams, and said, that it would be very easy to start
a 501c3 and a nonprofit organization.
So, to make a long story short, with his help, we started Sowing Seeds
for the Future, a nonprofit Public Charity to advocate for the health and
education of children in Colombia.
Since 2012, my father and I started working for Chocó a
Department of Colombia, which is currently going through a Humanitarian
Crisis. The news in 2012 said, “Children
in Chocó, are committing suicide due to hunger.”
Initially, we worked with the Network of Midwives, sending
them clean birth kits, and backpacks to carry in the jungle on their way to
deliver babies, given that Chocó has the highest maternal mortality during birth of all Latin America (358:100.000).
We also started a “Happy
Hens” Project, in which we donate and train women to receive 15 laying hens per
month, to add protein to their families’ diet and reduce the malnutrition and anemia present in children.
As we developed contacts in Chocó, I came across the
Fundación Marajuera, created by Johanna
Novella, a young Colombian woman, to provide meals and recreation for the children of Chocó. She developed a “Godchild Program”, and my adopted
Godchild’s name is Dani… a six year old
boy. Once again, this brought memories
from 12th grade and the boy who planted a seed in my heart to help
the children of Colombia. Recently, we
sent Dani a hen, so that he will have an egg every day, to feed his family. We hope to plant a seed in his heart to
continue the cycle of giving and to end poverty in this beautiful area of the
world.
If you would like to sponsor a laying hen, and send a
donation please contact me
God bless you!
