My husband, Sebastian, came home from work less than a year ago and stood in the kitchen, with his back to me, cooking spaghetti, as he told me about Marcelo.
Marcelo is just 25, but he’s been employed in the construction field since he graduated high school seven years ago. Through hard work and responsibility, Marcelo had already moved up the ranks to become a full-fledged surveyor, but as my husband shook his head sadly, he explained that this was as high a position as Marcelo could get without further education.
We stood there lamenting the fact that in Chile student loans aren’t easily accessible and for someone who comes from Marcelo’s background, not well off, and still helps support his mother and family, the likelihood of his being able to save enough to go to college was slim to none.
And then all of a sudden a light bulb went off. As my husband stirred the spaghetti sauce, I got excited. Why don’t we pay for Marcelo’s college? At about $200 dollars a month, it was a small price for us to pay in exchange for the huge difference that an education would make in Marcelo’s life. The next day Sebastian asked him if he would like the opportunity. Of course, he said yes. We would pay, Marcelo would study. And that was that … or so I thought.
But, as I mentioned the idea to a friend, she got so emotional and said that the story really moved her. She thought that the story moved her, it might touch other people as well and she suggested that I do a fundraiser at my personal blog Just Married Chilean Style. I sold my photography to raise money and in the end we raised over a thousand dollars — enough to cover for an entire semester. Readers from all over the world donated. It’s not like I have some huge, widely-read blog. But the few people who do visit the site regularly believed in what we are doing with Marcelo, so much so that they bought photos, flat out donated money — from $5 to $200, and helped me spread the word.
Now, Marcelo has started school. His first day was last month and so far he loves most of his classes. His architectural drawing class is his favorite, but he also likes one of his Intro to Construction classes a lot — because he’s been working in the field for so long, most of what they’re teaching is already second nature to him. He’s been bringing his schoolwork with him to work. Because, he even while going to school every night of the week, he still needs to work full time so he can pay the bills. My husband and I were concerned about how hard this would be for Marcelo. Construction bosses aren’t known for being the most empathetic and compassionate souls. But, amazingly enough, everyone who works with Marcelo is supporting him. His co-workers have been helping him study over lunch break. And the boss has been great about letting him go early so he can make it to class on time.
There’s just one thorn in his side — math class. He’s not doing so hot. Math was never a strong point for him in high school. And Marcelo’s been out of high school for so long now that he’s struggling to remember the concepts.
As I’m hopeless at math, and my husband is hopeless at teaching (and having patience) so I posted a Need on www.needish.com asking for anyone willing to volunteer to tutor Marcelo for free. Within 24 hours, I had three responses, all three people asking for nothing in return. Out of the goodness of their hearts they are willing to give up their time and share their knowledge to help a complete stranger. I cried. I had thought finding someone to help as a volunteer was an extremely long shot, but as it turns out, Marcelo is now having tutoring sessions twice a week in hopes of getting him up to speed ASAP with these Chileans who are willing to lend a hand to a fellow Chilean.
My friend, who used to work for Needish, sent out an email to the other employees from the website when I blogged about Marcelo, because the story warmed her so much. Now they’re all cheering Marcelo on too!
Just eight months ago, over spaghetti, Sebastian and I thought we were making a simple decision to help someone. We thought that our actions would affect Marcelo and us. But, this has grown so much bigger than just us. Marcelo’s story has touched at least 100 lives, if not more. He has more people wishing him well than I could count. People constantly send me emails asking how he’s doing. Knowing that Marcelo is making huge strides to better his life makes people feel good. It makes me feel good. And it definitely makes Marcelo feel good!
So I say to you today, find a cause — anything that moves you — and go for it. In the end, making the world a better place is bigger than all of us.
