Community Member Testimonials
Don’t just take it from us. Check out what some of our incredible community leaders and participants are saying about Build A Miracle
Before Build A Miracle, I didn’t have any sense of self-worth, it was like I felt really insignificant; I said I couldn’t do anything in life, since I didn’t study. I didn’t like school, I always did a bit poorly in school and I only made it to fifth grade. I didn’t go to school and I think because of that I would say that I was never going to be anything, or I was never going to learn anything, because, well, I didn’t want to. I settled for what I had and worked in a factory and said, well, this is going to be my life: working in a factory. And my husband too, and there wasn’t anything to do to be able to get ahead. I didn’t have dreams like that of becoming anything, I never thought, I could study this or that. If you had asked me, “Do you want to study something?” I would have responded, “Me?? No. No, I don’t want to study anything, I don’t want to learn anything.” And now I am one of the leaders of Build A Miracle and get to help others achieve the same things that I never thought I could have. Before BAM arrived, we had been living here in the community for five or six years, but we only knew one family. We have about twenty families on our street and I only knew one…Now we are 480 families that are a part of BAM. Now when I go to the store, everyone is like, “Hi Angelica, hi Angelica, hi Angelica.” and people ask me, “are you the president or something because the whole world knows you?!
Angelica
See the difference…
Believe me, when I first came to the Community Center, I didn’t talk at all, I didn’t speak with people, I was afraid to talk to people. I was a person with a lot of fear, I was terrified to talk to my neighbors, to the man at the store, I didn’t go out. I didn’t leave my house for anything. I was always intimidated, like, I don’t know. And then I began to come here to take classes… bit by bit, I began to integrate into the community here at the Community Center. I began coming to the nutrition classes and started the computer class. And I came to the personal development classes and there I began to see the way that a woman is valuable as a person, as a human being. I began to see life in a different way and that a woman has worth, or in other words, has value as a wife, as a mother, as a person.
Maria Antonietta
I wanted to tell you everything that has changed about our lives during this new beginning for my family. We enjoy so much comfort that we have time to think about what to do with our future… My life changed 180 degrees and this new life I am living is the best one. I have a beautiful house that I always dreamed of, and I have learned that desires can be fulfilled with effort and dedication. With the support of the entire team I work with, I now wear the BAM shirt with great pride. I am part of this institution, I am changing lives just as you have changed mine and my family’s. There is a phrase that says: I do not intend to change the world, but in the little bit that I have to live, I want to make a difference. The BAM Community Center and sponsors are helping me make this happen. As if that were not enough, the Community Center supports me with the cost of my son Daniel’s therapies. At 2 years of age, he had no language at all. I sought help at the hospital, but their response was that he would never be able to speak. With the support for therapy from the Community Center, Daniel can speak now and he talks a lot, so much so that sometimes I ask him to keep quiet! The achievement is not only mine or his, it is ours, my BAM family. Thank you for existing!
Cinthia
I am very grateful to BAM who, since I was only 5 years old, welcomed my family and me, they have helped us to get ahead in each of the stages of our lives. I will never forget all the support they have given us, from the construction of our home, when the roof in which we lived collapsed above us. In the rainy season when our few belongings got wet, we prayed to God on our knees every night that a miracle would come into our lives, and then you such wonderful people arrived. Since I was a girl I belonged to the El Florido Community Center, which was my safe place where I could spend time with more children my age, take various tutoring courses, handicrafts, pastry, computers and others, which gave me great tools that to this day continue to be of great help. It was there I met my first friends, I learned to converse with different people regardless of the language barrier or borders, I learned about discipline, respect, tolerance, the value of things, and the work that comes with earning them. One of my favorite parts has always been helping in the construction of houses – going to mixing projects, hammering, and painting. Despite the sun, muscle fatigue and scrapes or bruises, I always enjoy spending time with people, laughing, sharing experiences, and most importantly, the gratification of helping a family like me to have a home – it makes every effort totally worth it.
Veronica
My favorite place. The BAM Community Center.
Santiago
