Blog from El Centro
I never knew such a love could grow so quickly. I have an immense, overwhelming love for the children at El Centro. It may sound odd, but the way that I have gotten to know these children, the way that I have seen them express themselves has created this strong sense of love for these children who often roll their eyes, pretend to forget my name, or ignore my instruction. The youth at El Centro blow me away. Paula, the director of El Centro, told me one time, "I was speaking after I received an award and I said, 'These children are my heroes.'" There are no truer words than these. These children are amazing. In small glimpses you can see the beauty of the human spirit and the depth of the human potential shine in these youth. Through simple statements, written words or small acts, these children amaze me everyday. I read a book once, in which the author at the end said he wished he could take all those he knew, those who had suffered and those he loved up in his arms, and hold them in a giant embrace. These words speak so true to how I feel towards these youth, I want to hug them, bring them home and give them healthy food and attention. I want them to be free from their burdens, their stress, their fear, I want them to enjoy and shine. Such pressure and stress these children bear. Through my work with these youth in our writing workshop, I have seen expression of their uncertainty of the future, a hope for justice for all people, a desire for a cleaner planet and an immense urgency and hope for immigration reform. Children of 8, 9, 10 and 11 are writing about their fears of deportation, their hope for Mexicans to be treated with more kindness and respect. These children are my heroes. After tutoring at El Centro once a week last semester, I felt as though I had some sort of concept to the difficulties these youth face. I understood the language barrier, having just come back from learning abroad, but I missed so many other key factors in my analysis of these children's lives. Working with them day in and day out, I truly am getting a better picture of the life, personalities and strengths of these youth, and everyday I love them more. Such a complex web of situations and factors come together to give an accurate and representative picture of these children's lives. Some have neglectful irresponsible parents, but many simply have hard working parents, gone for long hours of the day trying to provide for large family with huge stresses hanging over like humid clouds. The youth of El Centro are expected to grow up quickly and handle responsibility and burdens far beyond their years. These youth love to have fun and be silly. From the ditzy 8 year old girl to the smooth talking, "cool" 10 year old boy, to the compassionate 12 year to the giggly 6 year old girl to the rebellious, smiley 8 year old boy, to the goofy, intelligent 11 year old boy, the faces of these kids and the stories behind them are incredible. Their English is not perfect, nor is their Spanish. They are low performing, often misbehaving, wonderful, wonderful, kind and loving children. Sometimes, all they need is a hug.
Kate
