50 Children

Ellaine Gallardo is a young woman who has worked at Sinergia for the past eight months as a Human Resources specialist. She took a short vacation this summer and by peeking at her computer screen we learned of her wonderful experience with young students in the Dominican Republic. The next time someone asks us what we did on our vacation let's remember Ellaine's story. We knew it had to be shared with our readers.

I impacted 50 children's lives and that changed my life.

I remember growing up with my family emphasizing that education was the only thing no one could take away. I feel I have been blessed to be surrounded with individuals that gave importance to the pursuit of my education, which has opened many doors to me and contributed to attainment of my greatest accomplishments. This year I felt extremely blessed and felt I should act on my religious beliefs.  

I decided to do something that would focus on education and impact individuals that might need extra support. I have seen the difference in the education system of the Dominican Republic versus that of New York City and decided for the first time to distribute book bags filled with school supplies to children in the Dominican Republic. My family in the Dominican Republic recommended a school in a poor region of the country side as in need of assistance. I chose 3rd and 4th graders because at that age children are young enough to benefit from positive influences, but old enough to understand the importance of education. I gathered all the materials by looking at weekly sales and searched for the best deals. My family and friends would also send me messages of deals for school supplies in their neighborhood as well. I remember visiting a store three-to-four times a week because there was a limit on customer purchases, as well as my arms would tire from carrying the materials home.

The school administration did not inform the children of my visit or the gifts. When I arrived at the classroom where the students were gathered, they all looked at me with confusion. I was introduced and asked to speak. During my speech, I told them of my plan, why I was doing it, and emphasized that education was extremely important. I called each child by their name to pick up their book bags filled with pencils, erasers, sharpeners, folders, notebooks, and crayons; I received a hug in return. The kids were shouting with excitement and were appreciative to receive materials they needed. The children did not want to leave my side and kept hugging me even after the distribution was over and the pictures were taken. The principal told the children I was their education godmother and they must stay in school as I instructed them to do so. My experience was wonderful and the heartfelt thank you and hugs surpassed my efforts.

I received 50 hugs of appreciation on September 25th, 2013 that changed my life. I did not want to publicize this event, because I did not do it to receive praise. I honestly did it to say thank you for my blessings. After the event, I realized that not sharing my experience would be selfish because everyone should know how rewarding it is to perform such acts. Besides, I had put the children's' picture in my desk top background on my computer screen at work at Sinergia and there was so much interest that I could not keep the information to myself and I was encouraged to   share my special project.

My plans for the next distribution are more ambitious as I will be collecting future donations, which I will share with a larger number of children. I will also not shy away from shining the light on these acts of sharing with others, since sharing this experience has also been an added blessing