Thank you, Natalia Navarro Galvis

November 16th, 2010

Yesterday, Natalia Navarro Galvis, Miss Colombia 2009-2010, turned in her crown as queen of the Colombians.  I met Natalia as Miss Bolivar 2009, and ever since, she has really supported Beyond the Wall.  I want to thank her (as I always do when I have contact with her) for absolutely all the support she has offered me, and I hope that all of the plans she has after this experience are beneficial for her and the people she calls family. I hope that I can continue with her support!

Colombia bound!

November 15th, 2010

The donations that will be distributed in El Talon this Christmas were sent to Colombia this afternoon.  Previously, the donations were sent via Tampa Cargo in Miami, but it was very uncomfortable simply because Miami is four hours away from Orlando.  I used to rent a truck, take everything to Miami, and pick up the donations in Barranquilla, where I always had an inconvenience.  If I lived in Miami, I wouldn't think twice about sending the donations through Tampa Cargo, but since that is not the case, I have had to look for another alternative.

Now, I have the fortune of being able to send everything to Colombia from Orlando with "Via al Exito;" this company sends packages to Colombia via Zai Cargo.  The best part about it is that the donations go straight to the home where I stay at in Colombia (Cartagena), and I don't have to go to Barranquilla to pick them up.  The donations will arrive in approximately a week and a half, and I will avoid many issues.  Today, I rented a truck to simply take the donations to the "Via al Exito" facility, and I managed to turn everything in successfully and easily.  I am scheduled to go to Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) on December 17th, and my distribution is scheduled for December 23rd in El Talon.  Thanks a lot to the staff of "Via al Exito" that helped me out! 

Preparing the donations for Colombia

October 31st, 2010

After many months of collecting clothes throughout central Florida, I've managed to collect all the necessary amount of donations to have a successful Christmas distribution in Colombia.  Luckily, I have a variety of clothes, toys, and shoes for all the residents of El Talon.  I want to thank everyone that helped me in central Florida, including the students of Timber Creek High School, Valencia Community College, and Castle Creek Elementary School.

I used to dislike the idea of having people help me pack the donations because I thought that it would only make the process slower and unorganized; however, this time, I decided to accept the help.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, I work in an elementary school, and one of my students is Gabriel Pluguez.  This fifth grader has shown a lot of interest in Beyond the Wall, and is also in a band with his cousins called Kyrus.  One day, he and his mother asked me if they could help me out with anything, and I finally told them that I needed help packing the donations for Colombia.  They immediately called the rest of the band Gabriel is a part of, and they all thought it would be a great idea to go to my home to help me pack.

On Saturday, October 30th, every Kyrus band member arrived at my home early in the morning to help me pack with the presence of their mothers.  The interesting part of this activity is that they are all children, and I must admit that I thought it would take them hours to pack everything...but they only took an hour!  When I used to pack everything with my mother, it used to take us hours (sometimes days) to pack, but now I realize that I will never do that again!  After their work, we all ate pizza and had a pleasant morning.  I really want to thank Kyrus for all their help and support!  I would also like to point out that Gabriel, a child of only 11 years of age, promotes Beyond the Wall at his school, among his friends, and he even wants to go to El Talon to help out with this campaign.  Publicly, I want to thank him for all the support he always offers me!

Everything is now packed, and in two weeks, everything will be sent to Colombia!

Success in Orlando!

October 2nd, 2010

After postponing the homeless distribution with the fifth grade students of Castle Creek Elementary, I was finally given approval to complete my project on Friday, October 1st, 2010 with the students making the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  The process was actually very fast, which was completely unexpected.  We had a total of eleven fifth graders packing all the donations in about 30 minutes.  I divided the students up by stations; some put the peanut butter and jelly on the bread, some packed the sandwiches in bags, and the last couple of students stored the sandwiches in the lunch bags, along with chips and a juice.  I was very excited to know that we prepared 45 lunch bags for the homeless.  After their hard work, we played soccer and tennis to relax before our distribution the next day.

On Saturday, October 2nd, selected students, some parents, some volunteers, and I went to Downtown Orlando's Lake Eola Park with all of our donations.  As mentioned in a previous post, this park has a lot of homeless people with very interesting stories.  I understand that there are places with more homeless people, but I believe this park was a perfect environment for the children.  We handed out clothes that has been donated to the Beyond the Wall Campaign, as well as the lunch bags that were prepared by the children of Extended Day at Castle Creek Elementary School.  The children also had an opportunity to speak to the homeless, which was very important.  They met people with mental illness, veterans, and some that have been affected by the recession.  An interesting (and sad) event was when they saw a homeless man being kicked out of the park by the Orlando Police Department for sleeping on the grass.  They met a woman that admitted she slept below a 408 expressway bridge.  They also met a homeless man that was so religious, that he even prayed with the children.  After the social work was completed, the children had an opportunity to play at the playground, which they really enjoyed.  We ended the morning by having pizza at the park. 

The event was a complete success!  The students really enjoyed their morning at the park, they learned about the homeless, and they made a difference.  I am very proud that I was able to direct this project with the kids, and that the alliance that the Beyond the Wall Campaign has with Castle Creek Elementary School is working out well.  I want to thank the staff of Castle Creek Elementary School, the students that participated in this project, the parents that allowed their children to help out, and of course, everyone that has followed this campaign.

Delay

September 16th, 2010

This Saturday, September 18th, a distribution at Lake Eola Park in Downtown Orlando was planned with students from Castle Creek Elementary School, as mentioned in a previous post.  Unfortunately, the "Extended Day" coordinator at that school will not be able to assist the distribution as she had planned to, which is required in order for the students to be able to participate in the distribution.  The event will be postponed until further notice.

Let's help the needy in Orlando, Florida (USA)...

September 14th, 2010

In an effort to continue going "beyond the wall", why not help the United States? Many people outside the U.S. do not know that there is poverty in this country...in fact, many people in other countries believe that there is absolutely no poverty in the United States. I have been helping Colombia for almost two years through this organization, but I never forget about my fellow Americans. I have donated over 1,000 items of clothing to the homeless here in Orlando, Florida, and I will continue to do so, especially as winter approaches.

I currently have two jobs, and one of my jobs is at Castle Creek Elementary as a fifth grade "Extended Day" Group Leader.  "Extended Day" is an after school program that is part of Orange County Public Schools, and during my whole high school career, I worked there as a volunteer.  Now, as a college student, I am an employee of this school, and I have decided to combine my social work with the fifth grade students of Castle Creek.  In May 2010, most of the students of the whole school donated clothes for the needy in Colombia.  In fact, if some recall, Miss Colombia 2010, Natalia Navarro, actually visited the school to congradulate them for all their donations. 

Orlando has a high rate of homelessness, and most of them head to Lake Eola Park in Downtown Orlando.  I have worked with the homeless for many years, and I believe it is extremely important for people to help them whenever they can...with food, shoes, clothing, etc.  Since I began working at Castle Creek, I have always noticed how much food the children throw away.  For example, everyday, there are many students that do not even open the snacks we provide them with, and they throw them away simply because they do not like the certain snack.  The correct thing to do is to simply not get the snack, however, most of these students do not even know that they are doing something wrong.  I feel it is important for the students to understand that there are people all over the world, even here in Orlando, that could really use those snacks they throw away.  I decided to start a project that would include giving lunch out to the homeless in Lake Eola Park with the fifth grade students of Extended Day at Castle Creek Elementary.  I believe it is a perfect way for them to understand how important it is to not waste food, and to be more considerate with the homeless.

The project includes the fifth graders and I making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Friday, September 17th, 2010 during Extended Day.  They will be packed into lunch bags, along with juice and chips.  All the items are being sponsored by the Extended Day program.  On Saturday, September 18th, 2010, seven fifth grade students, the Extended Day coordinator, and I will meet at Lake Eola Park to hand out the lunch bags.  All lunch bags will also be handed out with clothing donations that I have received throughout my campaign.  We will end off the day by having lunch at the park.  This Extended Day and Beyond the Wall alliance allows me to reach out not only to the needy in Colombia, but it also allows me to help the needy in the United States.  I'm also excited about this alliance because the fifth grade students of Castle Creek will have an opportunity to speak to the homeless, and learn why they are living under needy conditions.  This will not be the only distribution throughout this school year;  I will have many more as the year progresses, so all the students have an opportunity to go.

I want to thank Castle Creek Elementary for this great opportunity, and of course the parents of the fifth grade students for allowing me to direct this project.

Congratulations!

August 24, 2010

I would like to congratulate Miss Colombia 2010, Natalia Navarro Galvis, for being part of the Top 15 in Miss Universe 2010.  Natalia went to my first distribution in El Talon being crowned Miss Bolivar 2009 for only a couple of weeks.  Since then, Natalia has been supporting my cause by assisting most of my events.  It's an honor to have had one of the fifteen most beautiful women in the universe at my humble events.  Congratulations!

I also want to congratulate Miss Turbaco 2010, Nadia Milena, for becoming the first runner up in the past Miss Bolivar 2010. Nadia went to my last distribution in El Talon, and also supports my cause.

Congratulations to both beauties!

Future projects

August 22, 2010

Distributions of clothes, toys, and shoes have been what I have used to help the needy in Colombia.  I have previously announced the construction of a community center, but due to many reasons, I have had to postpone the construction of the community center to next year.  However, there are still four main projects that will be completed by the end of this year:

1. Another distribution of clothes, shoes, and toys to be distributed in El Talon during the week of Christmas.  I am already receiving many donations, and I am actually going to have to stop receiving so much since I am literally getting packed.
2. I will be staying in El Talon for three days, and with only $1 (USD) each day to learn how it really is to live in that town.
3. I have began writing a book based on the needs in many towns in Colombia.  Part of my book includes my experience living in El Talon for three days.  I plan to finish writing my book by the beginning of next year, and hopefully it can get published sometime during next summer.  The point of the book is to raise awareness about the needs that people have in the South American country.
4. My documentary is going very well!  Unfortunately, while I was in Los Angeles earlier this month filming my documentary, my memory card was stolen with most of my material, and I have to go back in September.  However, I still plan to premiere it in October with special guests, and with an interesting alliance that will be announced soon.

These projects will definitely keep me busy, adding my two jobs and my full time schedule going to school.  All this will be done in order to keep helping Colombia!

Beyond the Wall Documentary

August 22, 2010



To keep promoting the name of my organization, I decided to film a documentary based on the economic inequality that exists in most cities, especially in Cartagena. The documentary includes interviews with Miss Colombia 2010, Natalia Navarro, priests, people in El Talon, and much more. Not only will the documentary be filmed in Colombia, it also includes parts in Orlando and Los Angeles. The documentary is planned to premiere in October 2010. Stay tuned!