LIGA MAC

Diana Paola Interview

Liga M.A.C. Interview with Diana Paola Gomez Sanchez (translation done by Blanca Roblero) for JazzFest o8 Newsletter

Diana, we have profiled you before in our Liga M.A.C. Newsletter and ACE brochures and as one of the first of our ACE candidates to graduate and go on the university, we would like to continue to follow your progress. Do you consider yourself a role model for other ACE students? What about your family? You have 4 siblings, don’t you?

Me? No. For my family – yes. I have a neice who wants to be like me.

Has being involved with ACE changed the way you viewed your future?

Yes, because ACE changed my way of thinking. I had a goal but not the help. Liga M.A.C. gave me the opportunity and support. I know that people are behind me and that I can complete my goal.

Was there one thing that happened to you that made a difference in your life or your attitude or how you thought about the future?

Yes, I started to think about university in Secundaria (junior high school). I saw that with education you have a better life. My family works very hard and doesn?t make a lot of money and I wanted to do better. In Elementary school I was a bad student. In secundaria I saw that there were awards for good marks and I wanted to excel. I started to apply myself.

How many students were in your Cobash high school graduating class? Of your graduating class how many have gone on the university?

I think there were about 300 (students in my graduating class). Very few.

We know that you met Elva Hara and her sister, Dra. Martha Haro during Alas. How did that meeting effect your future? What advice did she have for you?

Before I met Elva, I wanted to be a doctor. Elva and I talked about the pros and cons of being a doctor. She told me that her sister is a doctor but a doctor of Marine Biology so I thought that maybe I should become a marine biologist. It made me think about other things.

Could you tell us a little about your present studies, where you are going to school and how you are enjoying it?

I am going to school at Universidad Autonomia de Baja California Sur in La Paz and I am taking Calculus, Math, geology, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish. I am enjoying school very much.Where would you like to see your studies take you?

Now I want to continue studying and become a geologist. I like to work in the field and the wages are good. If you have good grades, many mining companies are offering scholarships to universities in the U.S. and Canada. There are opportunities for travel and to see the world. Where would you like to go? I want to go everywhere!

What about your personal life? What are your hobbies, interests?

I haven’t made a lot of friends but I spend a lot of time studying and my teachers have been helping me. I come to school at 8:00 a.m. and leave sometimes at 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. My main pastime is reading – about my studies.

Do you get to see your family often? Was it a big transition to go to school in La Paz?

Yes, (I get to see my family) every month.

(The transition was difficult) only for the first week. I got lost the first day of school. I missed my family but gradually I got involved in my studies and started to get used to La Paz.

How are your accommodations in La Paz? How are your finances?

My cousin is lending me an Infonavit (public housing) house. I live alone. I like it. I saved some money for university but I lent it to my parents for an investment. My parents are helping me. While I am home for break (Spring Break), I am working with my mother and aunt cleaning houses. I am saving my money and taking it to la Paz. I am also working with a professor (in La Paz) and he pays me $200 or 300 pesos per week. I clean his office and do research and office work.

Do you have any advice for other ACE students thinking about continuing their education?

Education is very important. If you want to improve your life you need education. If you have help from Liga M.A.C. it is a good way to realize your goal and have a better life. At the time (in school) it seems easier to get a job and get money but later with education your life is better. At university there are many students who don?t have the motivation and who want to get a job even though their parents want them to go to university.

Is there anything you would like to say to the people who support the ACE program?

Liga M.A.C. helps many people. I want to thank the people who support ACE. When you have the support you can feel really strong and you can complete your goals. The majority of students don?t have enough support. The support I received helped me to keep going with my studies.

Is there any advice you would like to give Liga M.A.C. on how to improve the ACE program?

I would like to see counseling for high school students about university – individual counseling. ACE changed the thinking of my parents. My brothers (Diana has 3 younger brothers ages 12, 14 and 16) don?t want to stay in school but now my parents want them to continue because they can see what I am doing. Before when I was in high school they didn?t think I needed to go to university but now they can see how important it is. For my brothers if they quit school and get a job there will be a lot of competition (from people from the mainland) for the jobs (that don?t require education). But if they have better education they will be able to get better jobs.

Thank you Diana and continued good luck with your studies. We will keep in touch. January, 2010 Update…..

Diana has continued her studies at the Autonomia de Baja California Sur in La Paz. She is en route to becoming a geologist as she had hoped and planned and has consistently been at the top of her class. Diana will travel to Canada next school year to study there. Liga M.A.C. has been providing Diana with financial support and encouragement throughout her academic career. We will continue to bring you Diana updates as this remarkable young woman realizes her goals.

One Woman’s Struggle for Survival

Women all over the world are often faced with the kind of dilemma Theresa Pena Perez, 32, found herself in one year ago. She could stay in Mexico City with an abusive husband and below minimum wages, or she could risk all by leaving for an unknown destiny. She decided it would be better for her and her three children to leave, and so they traveled for days to reach San Jose del Cabo, where her sister and six children were already living.

For the first weeks they all lived together, 11 sleeping on the floor and one bed, in the one-room house. But the crowded conditions were unbearable and the kids were at each other’s throats. Theresa was told about the possibility of having her own one-room house, made of “carton”, in a land invasion in Vista Hermosa. She knew the risks of living next to an arroyo but she was desperate for a place to live. A hurricane soon after washed away all the family’s meager belongings, but, refusing to give up, she gradually rebuilt. The house has an electric camping grill, where she cooks for her three boys, and one bed upon which they all sleep.

In order for Theresa to make money for the family’s needs, she found a night job several months ago at a tortilleria. She must leave home at 2:30 in the morning and return at 10 a.m. Because her house has
no door to lock, she must ask a neighbor to keep an eye on her family while she is working and they are sleeping.

For several months, Theresa was getting along, although exhausted from very little sleep. But then Marcos, 12, came down with food-borne hepatitis and one-year-old Izequiel with serious bronchitis. Both were prescribed medications that cost a lot, in addition to the doctor’s fees. Theresa realized she would not be able to buy the required uniform for Marcos to start the 6th grade. To make matters worse, she missed two weeks of work to care for the sick children and received no pay. Through a co-worker at the tortilleria, she heard about Liga MAC and the possibility that she could get temporary help there.

After a screening study by the director of the Centro de Apoyo, Blanca Roblero, she became eligible to receive vouchers for food for three months. Although the total of $600 pesos (around $60 US) per month does not sound like a lot, it was enough to help Theresa move through her crisis. Liga MAC also enrolled Marcos in its student support program, Adelante Con Educación (ACE), and made sure Marcos had a uniform and school supplies.

Both Marcos and Izequiel continue to have bouts of illness, much of which stem from the unsanitary living conditions in the “invasion” area. Theresa says that Samuel, now 5, is the healthiest, and as he runs giddily around the center during this interview, that becomes apparent. Teresa has reached the end of her emergency aid but says she is confident that she can reach her dream of a better life. Marcos goes to school in the afternoon and then works for tips as a carryout boy at Tiendas Populares, a local grocery store. He makes between five and 15 dollars each day, returning home at 10 p.m. It seems extreme for a young boy to be working so late, but it is normal for these families where everyone must work in order to get by. With the extra income Theresa hopes to be able to begin to buy her piece of land some day. But most important, she says, is being able to keep the children in school.