Today, March 16th, is my Dominican brother Andi's 16th birthday. I have written about Andi and his family (mom Sonia and his siblings Andrielis and Yoandi) many times before. They have a big part of my heart. They are just special, amazing people.
With Andi turning 16, I have been worried about him. He struggles with learning, he is far behind in school, and he is at the crucial age where things could get difficult. Drugs and crime levels are high for kids that age in his barrio. My goal is to get him into a private school for next year so that he can really get on the right track for life. He wants to be an engineer, and I know he can do it.
I need $600 to put him into this school. I hate asking for money, even when it is for something as amazing as this. I am simply uncomfortable with it... uncomfortable having to ask this of other people and uncomfortable having to depend on other people. I feel guilt, and don't like to feel like I am pressuring people or putting them down. But I need that money. So I wrote a post on facebook and pretty much poured my heart out about how amazing and worth it Andi is. I pressed publish and went to bed.
When I woke up, I received a donation from my Mom.. yep, I can always count on my Mom! I emailed her, thanking her, and said she was the only person to donate. I said I was disappointed, but didn't expect much. Oh well... I would figure out another way to bring in the funds.
Within a few hours I began getting donations... $30, $25, $75, $5.... I kept checking my emails at work as the day went on to see another donation come in. As of now (9pm on Andi's birthday, the 16th) $330 of the $600 has come in for his tuition. I am completely blown away. Shocked.
It came from people I work with, people I am old friends with, people I have babysat for, people I have never even met. I may not be good at expressing it (as I said, taking donations when it is something so personal and close to my heart is hard for me) but those donations mean more to me than they could know.
I called Andi today to wish him a happy birthday. He wouldn't let anyone else talk to me... his birthday, his phone call! He was so excited when I told him how many people had come together to support him. I could hear his emotion through the phone, a world away. He told me that in the past, his birthdays have been sad. He has been sick or hungry or unhappy. Today, he is very, very happy.
To give you an idea of what his personality is like, he said to me (in spanish, obviously) with the most serious tone of voice, "Nikki, you know that you are my sister. You know that you are my favourite person. You know that my sister, Andrielis, she is your sister too. My brother, Yoandi is your brother. But me... I am your chocolate brother. You are my vanilla sister!" He makes me laugh so hard.
Everyone needs a support system. Everyone needs to feel special and loved. Today, I felt that I had a support system when so many people came together for a cause that is so close to my heart. Today, Andi also felt that. I could see his happiness through the tone of his voice. He felt happy and special and loved. For the moment, he forgot all those past birthdays and just lived in the moment, listening to me tell him how wonderful and smart and funny he is and how far he is going to go in life.
There are a few people or families that I have met in my travels that I know I will continue to be in touch with for my lifetime. Frangelis and her family... the kids in SCH and particularly April... and this family. Twenty years down the road I will be calling Andi to wish him a happy 36th birthday, and I envision him happy, with a wife and kids and a steady job, out of the barrio and living in a clean and safe house. I don't take it lightly when I say I consider them to be my Dominican brothers and sister. They are my siblings. They are my family. Thank you for coming together and helping my family.
http://andiandyoandi.blogspot.com/ to read more or donate
0 comments:
Post a Comment