A Tribute to Carlos

He was humble and sweet and kind all in one bundle of a handsome young man who didn't know how attractive he really was. At age twenty-four he seemed younger, his touch of innocence radiated within the confines of an environment that created old men from young ones. He was proud of his American roots, grown within a Kentucky foster family who nurtured the best of him at the hardest of times in his life, while he endured painful surgical repairs to a body scared by electrocution burns acquired as a child in his home country of Guatemala. During his time in Kentucky he learned of unconditional love, faith, friendship and of the possibilities available to him if he worked hard. His foster family fostered more than his return to physical health; they nurtured his spirit, educated his mind and returned him to Guatemala as a whole person who was prepared for the life he was meant to lead in his home country. 

Foster mother Jennifer Martin and family

He took their gifts and grew himself up, always with one foot in both worlds, under the guidance of his employers at Mayan Families, his friends in the organization Children of the Americas, and his foster parents, Jennifer and Charlie Martin. 
He was Carlos Gomez. 
Carlos Gomez. How many men share this name in Guatemala? Gomez is like the surname Smith in the states, common and abundant. 
Hundreds if not thousands of people knew better. 
There was nothing common about him. 

Graduation

Carlos always sought excellence within himself and his work. Through his job opportunities at Mayan Families in Guatemala, he became a talented carpenter, but he was most proud of his scholastic achievements. 
He took the life lessons instilled in him by those who cared for him in Kentucky and in Guatemala and he grew them through his own determination to prove to us that he was worthy of our concern. 
He was taught, and remembered well, that life is not defined by your past, but rather by your efforts to overcome. Carlos came from a social background that would have served as an excuse for most, but instead became an experience used to do better and become more than he might have without the guidance of many who cared for him.
He loved the organization that gave him back his health. When he first traveled to the United States, escorted by COTA Executive Director Rosemary Vance in August of 2001, Carlos began a series of four trips to Kentucky for donated surgeries. Most who knew him had little idea of the extent of his burn injuries and the wound care issues he had up until his passing.  He was grateful and respectful for the efforts on his behalf, and he understood, in a way unique to him, that the best form of gratitude was to give back to those who had helped him. Carlos's endless enthusiasm for helping on Children of the Americas teams sustained us when our energy lagged and inspired us in the wee hours of the mornings as he translated for our night shift nurses. During teams he slept little, ate less and worked hard so that he could make every moment count with the team members he loved. 

Carlos, always happiest on a COTA Team (2008)

In his honor, Children of the Americas is creating The Carlos Fund, which will be used to help other Guatemalan team translators with the financial burdens they incur while volunteering for our medical teams. Like Carlos, these volunteers loose a week of income, travel at their own expense and work long hours to assist us with patient care. 

Carlos would be honored to think that in his passing, just as he did in life, he continues to give back. 

Contributions can be sent by clicking the donate button to the right, and making note that the donation should go to:

The Carlos Fund 

Happy Feet in Guatemala

Children of the Americas Team 2014 volunteers have been back from Guatemala for almost six months now, but there are many times that we find our minds wandering back to the patients we helped in our favorite Central American country. Families like this one (below), who traveled to see our American doctors so that their children could see a pediatrician. They had heard about our free vitamins and medicines, our compassionate hearts and  talented doctors.

A family patiently awaits medical care from COTA doctors

Families who waited for hours, patiently and gently while they tended to their children and visited with each other. It is one of the things we love about our Guatemalan patients during the annual dental/surgical/medical teams we take each January; the patient, calm people who cheerfully wait hours for us without the expectation often found among America's sick. 

Until we started giving out free shoes. 

That's when the energy of the courtyard changed to a sense of urgency. 

Waiting in line for donated shoes

Shoes in Guatemala are often an expense that families have a hard time affording. The majority of Guatemala's school-aged children walk miles a day, up trails that are slippery with mud during the rainy season. They need shoes that fit, and socks to prevent blisters that then become infected. We see all of the medical issues in our clinics that bare feet exposed to the elements bring, including parasites transmitted through skin.
Without shoes, children are not allowed to attend school. Without school, economic limitations have a lifelong effect. It seems so simple, but most of our patients parents have an average family income of less than a dollar a day. Purchasing shoes for even a few children every year cost a father more money than he makes in a month. 

This explains why, when COTA volunteers opened our boxes of donated shoes in the courtyard of the hospital we were working in, the karma of the hospital grounds changed. 
There was a sudden charge in the atmosphere, almost like mothers could smell the leather, and we quickly realized that caring for our Guatemalan pediatric patients meant keeping their feet covered. At our last board meeting we voted to add shoe donations to our list of things we will provide for future patients. We saw over 2,000 patients in January, and there is no way to provide shoes for all the children we will see on our next team in January 2015. But we can try.

COTA volunteers are used to not having enough...Guatemala is such a land of scarcity that we could fill a thousand containers of shoes and not fit every little foot that needs them. But you can help us make a few feet happy by doing the following:

• Ask you friends and family to donate new children's shoes for us to take to Guatemala in 2015. (Used shoes create customs issues)

• Ship or drop them off to: Jody Greenlee,1781 Eastwood Drive, Lexington, KY 40502
• Do a shoe drive for our patients among your church group, book club or with co-workers. 
• Purchase children's socks for us to give out with shoes. 
• Post this blog on your Facebook page and write a post asking for shoe donations.  
• Shoe donations need to arrive by September 1st in order to be added to our container. 

Sturdy athletic shoes, children's rainboots, sandals and lace shoes preferable. 
Thank you in advance for helping COTA with this project for next January.