"Mom! I got another letter," Wyatt announced from the computer. It was his hour to surf the web and he began by checking his e-mail*.
*All e-mail comes to my address. After I screen it for spam and inappropriate content, I put his correspondence--mostly from family, school friends, and pen pals--into his folder which he then checks once a week.
Today he received two letters! As always, with each letter were pictures of his pals.
Today their letters were about their traditional holidays, their favorite games, and foods. David, age 10, wrote:
"Dear Wyatt, Merry Christmas to you and your family. I am fine. Children's day is June 1st, and Teacher's Day is September 10th. On Children's day we get have the day off from school, and on teachers day we celebrate the work of the teacher and buy the gifts. It is a beautiful day. Yes, I want to go to America, I now have a new bike. Bye Bye Your Friend David"David is learning English so he writes and reads letters from Wyatt to help him practice. In the process, he learns so much more than how to master the English language. Manos Internacional: Helping Hands Around the World
Wyatt has been corresponding with his two pen pals, David and Tom, for the past three months. He met them through a non-profit organization called Manos Internacional. The organization was founded by John Alvarez. He and I used to work together for the YMCA and he has always had a passion for educating the less fortunate.
During our time at the YMCA, John was able to organize trips to the YMCA in Cuba and Mexico. He also helped the kids at our YMCA by creating an after-school study program, fine arts program, as well as several events that raised money to get the children computers and other necessities.
John always looked out for me and I often told him I looked up to him like a big brother. He made sure I got my fair share of recognition and compensation for the long hours and hard work I did for the YMCA. I left the YMCA to go back to college and get my degree, but I never lost touch with John.
John left the YMCA to pursue his dream of traveling the world and educating its children. Fluent in Spanish, he went to Miami, his hometown, then to Cuba, Spain, and Europe before taking a job teaching English in China. Thus, Manos Internacional was born. John saw the opportunity he had and seized it. He knew he could spread his message across the world by using modern resources--the Internet--and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Kim Martin's Single Parent Activities topic, please visit the Discussions page.