Mission Awareness: A Grandmother And Her Granddaughter

Travel To Chile To Help A Child

By Susan Coney

Newtown resident Anna Anderson and her 15-year-old granddaughter, Amber Ruscoe, recently returned from a trip to Valparaiso, Chile, to visit a little girl, known only as Valeria, who they have been sponsoring for the past five years. Ms Anderson and Amber were part of a small group of American sponsors who traveled to Chile to meet face-to-face with those they have been sponsoring and corresponding with through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging program (CFCA).

The Christian Foundation for Children and Aging is a Catholic organization committed to creating relationships of mutual respect between sponsors in the United States and children and aging persons in 26 developing nations. Through the gift of sponsorship, recipients are provided with food, clothing, medical care, and education. Sponsors contribute $20 per month to help support their sponsored friend and develop a relationship by sharing letters, photos, and prayers.

Ms Anderson and her granddaughter first became aware of CFCA one Sunday when a missionary priest presented the program to members of St Rose Of Lima Church. The priest brought with him folders upon folders of children from all over the world who were in need of assistance. Ms Anderson said that on that Sunday she and Amber chose Valeria to become a part of their lives forever.

Excited to finally meet the 8-year-old girl with the big brown eyes they had been corresponding with via a translator, the pair embarked on a lengthy trip to the oldest city in Chile, Valparaiso. First arriving in the capital city of Santiago, Ms Anderson and Amber met with other Americans who had come to Chile for the same purpose. The small group stayed in Valparaiso and toured the surrounding towns and villages to visit and provide encouragement to the people of Chile.

Ms Anderson and Amber met with Valeria at the orphanage/school facility she lived in. Although Valeria will be 9 in December of this year, she has just learned to write her first name. Ms Anderson and her granddaughter said that they feel that the child was mistakenly placed in a small school for retarded children and that Valeria was bright and communicative with them. They stated that she lived in a group home where the boys and girls were educated together during the day but separated at night. The children slept in dormitories of 25 to 30 beds, with only bins in which to keep their clothing. Ms Anderson said that Valeria did not have one thing of her own except for her bed.

The children have no play area or any type of recreational facilities. There are bars and gates throughout the housing unit to separate the boys from the girls. She and her granddaughter spoke with officials to try to have Valeria placed in another type of school; unfortunately the child’s mother is unable to be an advocate for her and she has been lost in an already inadequate system. Ms Anderson intends to pursue having Valeria reevaluated and the possibility of having her moved to a better environment by writing letters on the little girl’s behalf.

The Americans toured many other subprojects (which are what they call other varying types of school settings) and were able to see that most of the children were receiving a good education. Many of the children in the outlying areas attend boarding schools throughout the week and then go home to their parents on the weekends. The majority of those children have parents who either work in the copper mines or are farmers who grow primarily avocados. Most of the Americans were able to meet the families of the children they sponsored and many were invited into the children’s homes to enjoy a meal. Ms Anderson said that the purpose of the mission was to meet the children and to spread the word that Americans and others are there to help them. “It was an encouragement and spirit boosting mission,” Ms Anderson emphasized.

Natural Communication

“Amber was the youngest of the group of Americans and the children took to her like a magnet,” said her grandmother. While on their visit, Amber met and befriended a 16-year-old girl named Jennifer and her teenage brother, Alex. Despite a language barrier there was no lack of communication between the teens. “One of the Americans in the tour group had a little handheld translator that would translate one word at a time, with that and our common interest in hip hop music we communicated just fine,” Amber said.

Amber stated that the country was absolutely beautiful but unbelievably poor, with the city of Valparaiso experiencing a high unemployment rate. “Even though the people are poor, they are so friendly, kind, and generous. They welcomed us with hugs. They were so clean and always dressed nicely,” Amber emphasized. What Amber found to be amazing were the public rooms where people go to use phones and computers for correspondence. She related, “You go to these public places and it is just a room full of cubbies with phones and computers. You pay the person who works there a few pesos to use the email service. It is just so different. They don’t have much of anything. Most of the homes we saw were particle board shacks with no electricity or plumbing but they still have access to technology!”

The elderly population of Chile is especially at risk. Most survive in horrible living conditions and are secluded in their isolated homes located on steep inclines, making it almost impossible for them to leave their homes. Ms Anderson commented, “My tool shed is in better condition. The disabled and elderly can’t get out of their homes because they live on severe hills. It is a terrible problem.”

Simple And Clean

Another observation that Amber made on her travels through Chile was that everything — the shops, restaurants, and even the public restrooms — was so clean. “The food in the restaurants is so fresh and delicious. Sometimes in the restaurant it would just be a waiter and the chef working and still they would prepare your food as if you were a guest in their home,” Amber said. “I found the people to be so genuine and laid back. We felt really safe walking around the cities and villages. It was such a good eye-opening experience because most of the people living there are so poor but they are so happy.”

Ms Anderson pointed out that the people of Chile place a high value on education. She said that the country’s literacy rate was high for such a poor nation. Valparaiso is an old city with many older residents. To attract younger people to the city they are building many universities working to encourage more businesses to locate in Valparaiso.

While visiting Chile the Americans stayed in a hostel that cost $7 per night for a two-bed room. They shared a tiny bathroom and sometimes endured taking only cold showers. Every morning they were given coffee, fresh peach juice, fruit, cheese, and a hard roll for breakfast. Amber commented about the trip she shared with her grandmother by saying, “I loved the people. They are so loving about everything that they do. Everything we experienced was unbelievably good. The parents work hard and the children go to school. They are very appreciative, happy people.”

Amber is a junior at Newtown High School. She wants to go into law enforcement when she leaves school. She has completed her EMT training class and has signed up for a police academy program geared to providing young people with insight as to what a career in law enforcement would entail. Amber was recently recommended by her teachers to be part of “Fusion,” which is a program made up of older high school students who do peer mentoring for freshmen students.

Ms Anderson and Amber will be hosting a sponsorship party for people who may be interested in sponsoring a child or elderly adult. The party will be held in their home on Saturday, December 10. Anyone interested in attending or finding out more about being a sponsor may call 270-7048.