Yaneli, Cristina, and Camili: 2009

While a volunteer was in the DR working with Liz (Crystal Fox) she fell in love with the girls and decided to sponsor their family! They got to go on a special shopping trip with Crystal to get uniforms and school supplies for the upcoming school year. Crystal built a very strong bond with the girls and their mother, and received a phone call upon returning back home from their mother, to thank her again for all she did for their family.
Says Crystal about the girls, "The girls live with their mom and grandmother. Their father is dead, I don`t know if this is recent or not but they are probably the quietest, most shy girls in the club. They live right on the water in Playa Oeste and I know that might sound good but their back yard is basically a garbage dump. Many of the kids play in the water and use it for cleaning and even search throught the garbage for things to play with or treasures to sell.Their house is cement with a tin roof and while better than many here, is something most of us can`t imagine. They have no windows, only a front and back door. Think how hot it must get when it is 115 degrees here!"

My first day at girls club I looked up and saw the cutest little girl in an orange top. She smiled at me and I knew I was in trouble:) I tried to talk to her but she was very shy and kept looking to the older girl sitting next to her every time I spoke.I checked her name tag and saw that she was Camili.That night back at Liz`s house, I went through the files looking for her. I saw that the older girl next to her was her sister Yaneli and that Cristina was also her sister.I also saw that hey didn`t have a sponsor.The next class I paid a bit of extra attention to all three girls and noticed that they were all very shy and liked to stay together. If they got split up during an activity the two younger ones were visibly uncomfotable. I spent alot of time with them making bracelets and then with Camili coloring. They all started to warm up to me a bit.Later that day I was talking to Liz about buying school uniforms for some of the kids and she told me to pick out one or two kids that I connected with. Well it was obvious who I would choose. I agonized for a few days about the girls not having a sponsor. I was already sponsoring Almondo`s family and wasn`t sure if I should commit to another. I talked to Liz about it and she said you`re heart will tell you what to do. She was so right! I knew that I couldn`t leave there without taking these girls on:)Liz told them the next day that I was going to take them shopping. They all thanked me and gave me hugs. The shopping trip was great! One of the best moments of my whole trip.When we returned Hilda took me to the girls` house to meet their family. Their mom and grandmother were there and they both thanked me, hugging me with tears in their eyes.Hilda then told their mom that I was going to be their sponsor.There were more hugs:)The next day at class all three girls came and kissed and hugged me. As it was my last class, I tried to spend as much time with them as I could. They are all very shy but I was so glad to be able to break through that and they really seemed to start to trust me. Yaneli and Camili especially. Cristina was still holding back a bit, hopefully she`ll come around more on my next trip. At the end of the class Yaneli came up and gave me the hemp bracelet she had been working on. I cannot even tell you what that means to me. I have tears in my eyes just thinking about it. It was the first bracelet that she had finished and she wanted me to have it....Sorry about going on for so long but there`s just something about these girls that really just touched my heart.I think about them everyday and can`t wait to go back and see them again.

*photos taken in July 2009