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The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

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Adopting PERUves for a better Christmas

  My Christmas list was covered in red pen. Charcoal Uggs, crossed out. Blackberry Pearl, crossed out. Furry North Face, crossed out. Adopted family, check. Two Christmases ago it was time to break my tradition of asking for the hottest material goods. Instead, I adopted a needy family in Peru through a program called Familia a Familia with Parroquia Santa­simo Sacramento, a church located in Piura, Peru. Of all of my 16 years worth of Christmas gifts, this was by far the best. My family never goes out of style or becomes out dated. They don’t sit on a shelf in the basement, unused.

 Three short months later, I traveled to Peru. Words can’t describe the first time I saw my family and the affect my annual $300 donation had on their life. My Peruvian family consists of one mother, Larid, and her five daughters. After her abusive husband and son left, Larid was left responsible for the family’s income. She works two jobs and does not get near enough money to support herself and her daughters.  Everyday Larid works construction underneath the sweltering Peruvian sun with great dignity. For her second job, she digs through the mountains of trash the city dumps for plastic bottles in exchange for money. After a working a strenuous day on an empty stomach, Larid and her daughters walk two miles for church to give thanks for the little they have. With my simple Christmas gift, the five girls are able to go to school, food is guaranteed each day and plans are in the making for their new house. Larid and her daughters’ love for life and perseverance in such a harsh world has allowed me to gain greater appreciation of my own.

  I received a nonrefundable gift that year. No tags, no receipts, no store credit. I couldn’t exchange my gift for another color, nor would I ever dream of it. I not only gained a wider world view but a greater gratitude for everything in my life, big and small. A smile never goes unnoticed, education taken lightly or family unloved. Crossing things of my Christmas list was never more satisfying. It was not because my best friend had gotten it as an ‘Ëœearly Christmas present’ or because it had one too many zeros on the price. It was because I wanted to. I wanted to make a difference. It’s a far better feeling knowing someone is opening a present because of you than opening one yourself. Larid’s tears while whispering, ‘Mi hija (my daughter),’ gave me more happiness that I could ever find in all of the gifts under the Christmas tree combined.
  Christmas is the season of giving. So why not give something other than a battery operated gadget? Get new Sperry Topsider’s or change a life. You decide.

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