Born This Way
September 28
Rosa Luz tells me she was born this way. Her smile is soft and simple, and she leans against the schoolhouse watching her classmates play and swing during recess. She points to a favorite bench where she says she likes to sit and watch races and soccer games in the schoolyard.
At 10 years old, Rosa Luz tells me has never been able to stand tall, nor straight like the other children. She uses crutches to walk, and though she cannot run and play, she certainly moves quickly when she needs to.
Rosa Luz, which incidentally translates to Rose Light, is always smiling as if she were running and swinging and skipping with her classmates. From the center of the playground, her sister Benita runs to her now and then and they laugh and clap hands.
She is happy. I can see it in her eyes, hear it in her soft, kind voice, and feel it in her presence.
Attending school with her sister is an important part of her life, she tells me. Heart Walk Foundation obtained a wheelchair for her to travel to and from school, and she is grateful. When she arrives each morning, she makes her way around the schoolyard with crutches.
Through Vidal, my interpreter, she begins chattering quickly telling me she is a good student and she loves mathematics. In fact, earlier today, she took a math test and proudly reports that she received the highest score in her class. She blushes,then says she is very proud of her “grand”e score. I can tell that bragging is not something she is used to doing, but there is good cause today, and she celebrates with an illuminating smile.
As we continue visiting, I realize that during the past few days while we have been filming here at the Hueccouno School, she has always been present. She is an observer, attentive, and that is how she engages with the other children. As my traveling companions Penelope, Rain and Michelle paint a mural on the street side wall of the schoolhouse, Rosa Luz stands by, quietly. With her crutches, she walks up and down the sidewalk tracking the artist’s progress and visits with classmates who come to see the painting.
Penelope who has been traveling to Hueccouno for many years describes Rosa Luz as gentle and endearing. Though limited in her ability to walk, she is involved in many school activities. She laughs and cheers for her sister and friends as they run on the playground, and she does indeed charm us all with her personality.
At the end of the school day, I wave to Rosa Luz as her sister brings her chair and wheels her to the road. She waves back to me with her crutches and smiles as Benita pushes her away with speed. I hear them laughing and I watch as Rosa Luz paddles with her crutches to assist as they ascend a small hill. Then Benita jumps onto the back of the chair to ride and they descend out of sight.
I realize how happy Rosa Luz makes us all feel when she is near. And how happy it makes me to know that each day she has Heart Walk School to come to, where she is learning, laughing, eating two good meals, and succeeding already in her goal to become a great mathematician. Also, that with her sister, she can delight in the trip to and from school each day where the two of them can laugh and talk about their classes and friends and the things they both look forward to.
This is Part 8 in a series following: https://medium.com/better-humans/9deaecec1c7a
Continue the series with part 9 at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/52b7eedf16dd
In case you missed:
Part 1 can be found at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/6a005fbeaf
Part 2 at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/c38bca5c7485
Part 3 at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/a75615be746c
Part 4 at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/30a4fab1eb61
Part 5 at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/605cdbcf4df7
Part 6 at: https://medium.com/heart-of-the-andes/daaf77672114
