Resisting the winds: Corporacion Milagros del Amor—standing against childhood poverty in Puerto Rico

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Photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash

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Resisting the winds: Corporacion Milagros del Amor—standing against childhood poverty in Puerto Rico

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Rev. Dr. Yamina Apolinaris

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October 12, 2018

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Luis took the new backpack that was offered to him by one of CorMa’s case managers. His was part of the group of families that receive services from Corporación Milagros del Amor (CorMA), the only Christian center in Puerto Rico, established by the First Baptist Church in Caguas and recognized and supported by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS). The gift that Luis received was on behalf of the staff of ABHMS as a project for schoolchildren. This gift was aimed to provide school supplies and lunch boxes with snacks to children from the neediest families. In CorMA we were delighted because, originally, the gift was to buy the supplies for around forty minors from kindergarten to middle school, but, as a result of an unexpected chain of events, it ended up serving many more.

As a way to support the local economy, in CorMA, we usually buy from local small businesses, so when the funds for the backpacks project arrived, we went to the local store to buy the supplies. The owner was intrigued about the story behind the ABHMS gift. She had never known of staff from a church organization that would do such a thing. She said to us, “If people from so far away show this concern for the needy children in our community, the least I can do is contribute to that cause too.” She then went on to look for additional items and supplies which she included, free of charge, in our order. Now we were the ones intrigued and surprised, because the owner of the store not only gave us good prices on very nice articles but also made sure that lunch boxes matched the backpacks and pencil cases she donated. It was clear that she was not donating old merchandise that she couldn’t sell, but on the contrary, she gave us some of the nicest products she had. For us, this was a clear testimony of the power of solidarity and how noble and caring actions can bring about similar responses in ways that we can never imagine.

It was with that sense of awe and enthusiasm for this “miracle” that backpacks were filled with notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, glue, erasers, scissors, and many more school supplies, as well as lunch boxes, snacks, and other items we had received from White Cross, which could be useful to kids as they returned to school. Families were called, and kids of all ages filled our office.

As Luis, a seven-year-old boy, opened his backpack and looked at all the things inside, all of a sudden, he called for his dad to show him one more thing. “Look, Dad, I got a pair of socks! Now you won’t need to buy me socks for school.” “That’s very nice, Luis, but I still need to get you some more socks for school.” “No, Dad, I don’t need any more socks; one pair is enough because, remember, I also have one pair of shoes.” Juan looked at his son and smiled. He too was happy that his children had received backpacks for school. He told us that he was able, just barely, to buy the uniforms, one pair of pants and a shirt for each child.

It’s a good thing that all schools in Puerto Rico, both public and private, require students to wear uniforms. This helps the families to have specific clothing for school, and it stops children from being bullied or singled out because of the clothes they wear. Since the school uniforms are the same model year after year, kids from families with few financial resources usually continue to wear the uniforms from the year before (as long as they fit), or from an older sibling. This was Luis’s story. His father, a hardworking man, was making a great effort to make sure his children attended school because he still believed that a good education meant his children will have better opportunities to break from the cycle of poverty and dependency, but it was hard to keep up with all the supplies that school required.

As I thought of Luis’s words, I remembered feeling sad for this boy who, since he had only one pair of shoes, thought he needed only one pair of socks. But soon I realized that there was an important lesson to be learned from this child. While I was looking at what was lacking, he was looking at what was enough; I was listening to a need, but he was claiming what he had! A child who did not think of the socks he did not have, because all he worried about was that he had just enough socks for the shoes that were also enough for him. Once I heard a quote: “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” I don’t know who the author is, but its very true. And on the flip side of that, here is Luis, a small “poor” child who was rich in kindness, gratitude, and a sense of what are the important things in life.

I realized that there was an important lesson to be learned from this child. While I was looking at what was lacking, he was looking at what was enough; I was listening to a need, but he was claiming what he had!

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I realized that there was an important lesson to be learned from this child. While I was looking at what was lacking, he was looking at what was enough; I was listening to a need, but he was claiming what he had!

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The Rev. Dr. Yamina Apolinaris is executive director, CORMA. Excerpted from Justice for Rizpah’s Children: Radical Responses to Childhood Poverty by Marilyn Turner-Triplett, copyright © 2018 by Judson Press. Available in stores/online November 15, 2018. Used by permission of Judson Press, 800-4-JUDSON, www.judsonpress.com.

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The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.

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