July 2010 Distribution

August 12, 2010

After a lot of work during the months of July and August, I finally have managed to find time to write about my experience in El Talon for the third consecutive time. To be honest, I am currently on a flight from Orlando to Los Angeles, and I am taking this opportunity to express how my trip to Colombia was, and what I feel should be done during my next visit this coming December.

First of all, before I went to Colombia, I had to prepare the donations from the garage of my home, where all the donations are. My family and I worked the last week of June until July 2nd tranferring the donations that would be sent to El Talon into large U-Haul boxes. I am affirming that every single item that was sent to Colombia was checked by me, and I am very satisfied to announce that this distribution had some of the best clothing I have ever sent since my campaign began. Everything was done with patience, and with organization; I believe that I am getting quite used to this routine, compared to last year, when everything was new to me, and I was only seventeen years old.

On July 3rd, I drove a Penske truck to the Tampa Cargo headquarters at the Miami International Airport with all my donations. I managed to get to Miami at 8:30 AM, and by 11 AM, I was already on my way back to Orlando to prepare for my trip to Cartagena the following day. All the donations were to be picked up by me in Barranquilla on Tuesday, July 6th. I flew to Colombia relatively calm, since everything seemed to be running smoothly.
On July 4th, during my country’s independence, I travelled to Colombia, and I immedietly began preparing for my distribution, which was scheduled to be on July 17th at 10 AM in El Talon. Many people believe that it is easy to go to Colombia, and simply give out the donations as soon as you receive them…but if somebody interested in organizing a project like mine, I strongly discourage you to distribute that way, since your security may be at risk. Everything must be done in an organized manner because wherever there is extreme need, like in El Talon, you must be extremely careful.

Part of the preparation for my distribution includes a trip to Barranquilla, which is where I have to pick up my donations.  Barranquilla is two hours away from Cartagena, and since I was informed that the donations would arrive on July 6th, I travelled to that city with my two cousins, only to find out that the flight was cancelled, and I was not informed.  On my Tampa Cargo receipt, it clearly states that if the flight is cancelled or delayed, I would be notified.  I had to go back to Cartagena, and return to Barranquilla on July 8th.  When I went back to pick up my donations, as usual, I had to get my donations approved by customs.  They were approved, but after they looked at everything in each box.  After we opened the boxes, a special tape was put on the boxes, and that special tape was in the hands of the Tampa Cargo employees.  I had to leave the boxes in their place until I signed a few documents for the release.  I finally managed to get my donations released, and in order to save a few bucks, we took them to the Barranquilla bus terminal, where we would travel to Cartagena with all ten boxes.  Unfortunately, the bus that would transport us was overbooked, and I was left with no seat...literally.  I had to travel to Cartagena with no seat, until the bus company managed to get a small seat in the back of the bus.  We finally reached Cartagena, and I had my donations for El Talon, safe and sound.  When I opened the donations, half of them were a quarter empty, which meant that when I was signing the papers to release my donations in Barranquilla, the Tampa Cargo employees stole some donations.  I will never use Tampa Cargo again for any future distribution, since I can avoid a hassle, and of course, an annoying trip to Barranquilla.

After my trip to Barrnaquilla, I simply prepared for my distribution by inviting Miss Turbaco 2010 and candidate for Miss Bolivar 2010, Nadia Milena, and ex participant in the Colombian series, "Desafio 2009," John Jairo Larios. I always enjoy inviting public figures to my distributions because it always brings more joy to the people of El Talon. I also did another census of El Talon, and everyone was very happy to see me once again. This distribution was completely different than my others; I decided to walk and hand all the donations house by house in order to have a more one on one experience with each El Talon resident. During the census, I gave one person of each house a ticket with a number, and they must have that ticket in order to receive their donation.

After the census, we prepared the donations for each family, and it took about one week to finish preparing the donations for the distribution. After the preparation, I confirmed the presence of the Colombian National Police, Miss Turbaco, and John Jairo Larios, since they would all come for the walk around the El Talon area. Miss Colombia, Natalia Navarro, was not able to attend my distribution, since she was in preparation for the upcoming Miss Universe competition. When we got to El Talon, everyone had their tickets, and we walked all the way to the beginning of the sector. It was a very neat experience because everyone participated with the distribution, and the there was no sense of insecurity. I was somewhat nervous with John Larios and Miss Turbaco's security, but everyone received them with happiness and my distribution was a success. From now on, I will make sure I conduct my distribution this way, since it is a much better and secure way to do it.

I want to thank the Colombian National Police, Miss Turbaco 2010, Nadia Milena, ex participant in the "Desafio" Colombian reality television show, John Jairo Larios, my family and friends in Colombia, and Samuel Alvarez from the newspaper, "El Universal." I also want to announce that I did have some extra donations, and they were given to two churches in Turbaco, Bolivar. One of the churches is very special; Priest Dionisio, a native of Spain, moved from his homeland to Colombia with a mission of building homes for the needy, as well as feeding them every single day. Priest Dionisio had a hard time completing his mission, since he was constantly robbed, however, he managed to finish building his church in a depressed sector of Turbaco called "El Paraiso." Everyday, Priest Dionisio, also a close a family friend, feeds the needy of El Paraiso, and he has given homes to many needy residents of that sector. I am not religious, but I feel very proud to help someone that uses something he is passionate about to help the needy.

L'sWayy Foto

June 15, 2010

Due to the fast growth that Beyond the Wall is going through, Carlos Velez, a graduate from Timber Creek High School wanted to show his support by taking professional pictures for my campaign.  The pictures were taken in order to show a more professional approach to the public supporting Beyond the Wall.  He went to my home, site where all the donations are, and gladly took the photographs.  I want to thank Carlos for his great work, and I wish him the best of luck with everything he has planned for his photographic goals.

Done collecting

June 13, 2010

Photo by Red Huber/ Orlando Sentinel

The last phase in the United States has begun regarding my current project: to help the needy in Colombia next month.  After heavily promoting my campaign during the past months, I have managed to collect everything necessary to help the needy in Colombia.  I am officially announcing that El Talon will once again be the village that I will be helping in Colombia.  As many know, El Talon has been the town that has benefited the most from my campaign, and I will continue helping them.  I was thinking of what I should do to expand Beyond the Wall, and after listening to many opinions, I have decided to stay in El Talon, and at the same time, expand my project.  I will not stop helping El Talon until I have felt that I have marked a permanent difference; in the near future, I would like to begin plans of a community center in that village.  At this time, I have finished receiving donations to take to Colombia, and I have began my preparation for my trip to Colombia, which should be towards the end of the current month.  The distribution in El Talon is planned for the first week of July.   

I am also very happy to announce that I will be filming a documentary regarding my social work in Colombia to present it here in the United States.  I think that documenting what I love to do in the form of video is very professional, and at the same time cool.

I want to thank everyone that helped me during the first half of 2010, and I would like to point out the company Isle Apparel from Daytona Beach; the company became the largest donor in the history of Beyond the Wall.  I also want to thank all of my followers/donors that have supported my project since I began.

Local media support

June 12, 2010

During the past month, I have had a lot of support from the local media due to my campaign's mission:  to help the needy in Colombia.  I want to dedicate this post to the following personalities:

• Victor Manuel Ramos/ Orlando Sentinel
• Christian De La Rosa/ Central Florida News 13
• Ingrid Cotto/ Telemundo Orlando (WTMO)
• Katie Coronado/ WFTV Channel 9 (ABC affiliate in Orlando)
• Victor Pacheco ("El Pache")/ Mega 98.1 FM
• Italis Loperena/ Mega 98.1 FM
• Diana Raquel  Cordero/ Mega 98.1 FM
• Magda Ivette Torres/ Latina 1580 AM

Thanks again to everyone that has supported my campaign!

Beyond the Wall Official Presentation Result

May 15th, 2010

After much planning, the Beyond the Wall Official Presentation on May 14th, 2010, was a success.  Of course, what grabbed the attention of many was the visit of Miss Colombia 2010, Natalia Navarro Galvis, who flew from Colombia to attend my event.  The purpose of the event was to promote the campaign, and to celebrate the culture of Colombia through music such as Cumbia from the coast of Colombia and Salsa from Cali.

The day began with Miss Colombia visiting Castle Creek Elementary School, which has been a huge supporter of my campaign.  That school has managed to donate many large bags full of clothes and shoes, which of course will be distributed to the people of El Talon in July of the present year.  I thought it would be interesting for Miss Colombia to visit the school that has supported me so much, so that is why I took her right before my presentation.  Unfortunately, we were about a half an hour late due to a shuttle launch that caused quite a lot of traffic, so not all the children of Castle Creek had a chance to meet Miss Colombia.  However, there were still many that had the opportunity to meet her, and the children were very excited.  She was even given flowers!  The visit was short since we were late for the official presentation, but it was definitely a cool stop.

Throughout the whole day, I had a group of students organizing the school for the arrival of Miss Colombia at Timber Creek High School.  I obviously could not organize the event that day because I had the responsibility of taking care of Miss Colombia and her chaperone throughout the whole trip here to Orlando.  The morning before I picked up Miss Colombia, I dropped off food and beverages, as well as a flash drive with my presentation that included videos and pictures of my event.  The items I dropped off were to be picked up by a student I approved of, since I could not organize the event, as I mentioned.  That student lost my flash drive, and I was left with no presentation.  I worked hours on my presentation, and it was completely gone, since I had no back up and my email was not able to be opened at Timber Creek due to school policies.  When I arrived with Miss Colombia and her chaperone, I still did not know that this had occured.  Miss Colombia and I were greeted by the Timber Creek High ROTC students, and we were guided to the reception of Miss Colombia.  There, Miss Colombia and I were interviewed by the press, and students and teachers had the opportunity to meet and speak with Miss Colombia.  As that occured, I was informed about my missing flash drive, and my temper was very short.

As I calmed down, and figured there was no way to get such a long presentation in less than five minutes, I figured I simply had to improvise.  I was not at all happy with that decision, since I had promised the Miss Colombia Organization (Concurso Nacional de Belleza) a great presentation, and I did not want to lose their trust in me.  However, Miss Colombia and her chaperone are very humble people, and they understood exactly what was going on.  After I made my decision, everyone in the reception, including Miss Colombia and I, went to the Performing Arts Center.

The event began with the ROTC dedication to the United States and Colombia.  After, I improvised my whole way through the presentation.  There was a salsa dance to show my father's culture from el Valle (Colombia) and a cumbia dance to show my mother's culture from Bolivar (Colombia).  There were also two rock presentations performed by children, to show the culture of my hometown, Los Angeles.  Miss Colombia spoke about her experience helping my campaign, and Mrs. Doromal, my Service Learning teacher in high school, also spoke about her opinion on my campaign's rapid growth.  Of course, I also announced the plans of the construction of a community center in El Talon.

All in all, my presentation was a success, even though I improvised it.  I felt I did a good job with everything I said, and everyone seemed to like my presentation.  Miss Colombia showed her humble personality with everyone, and I am very happy the people of central Florida had a chance to meet her.  I want to thank the Concurso Nacional de Belleza for their continuing support, and of course, Miss Colombia 2010, Natalia Navarro Galvis, for all her support and for being such a good friend.  I also want to thank Laura Jaramillo, Fabiana E. Diaz Vidal, Astrid Escalante, Elisa Avila, Esthefania Diaz, Chase Young, Gabriel Pluguez, Wendy Doromal, all the Timber Creek High School staff, all the Castle Creek Elementary staff, Daniel Amezquita, and Juan Pablo Giraldo for helping me so much.  I want to especially thank the students of Castle Creek Elementary and Timber Creek High School for all their donations for the needy in Colombia!