I interviewed April Brenden-Locke and Miguel Ochoa Castellanos about a wonderful children’s home in Chiapas, Mexico, called Hogar Infantil. April is the president of the American board of Hogar, and Miguel grew up there and runs a language school...he’s a great success story. They share how Hogar Infantil changed both of their lives, “cambiando vidas a través de la educación,” or “changing lives through education.”
Miguel spoke to us from a small town in Chiapas, Mexico, the southernmost Mexican state. Miguel’s father passed away when he was six years old, and he didn’t have a happy childhood. After attending school, he would help his mom selling candy in the streets. They lived with relatives and didn’t have much money. His mom used to cry a lot, but she was a strong, hard-working woman. She made the heart-breaking decision to take Miguel to Hogar Infantil when he was just nine years old. Now that he’s older, Miguel recognizes how difficult that must have been.
April grew up in a farm in Oregon. She struggled in high school, trying to figure out who she was, until she saw an opportunity to volunteer at Hogar. She went to Mexico thinking that the people at Hogar needed their help, but she quickly learned it was about becoming part of the community. She immediately felt welcomed into a big family at Hogar Infantil. The experience had a profound impact on her. “It was a place that has stayed in my heart my whole life.”
Miguel told April that her decision had a big impact on him and the other Hogar residents.
“Not many people decide to go to another country to help. It’s difficult to find people to share part of their time, to share part of their lives, to come to your country and your community, to help you."
April was surprised when she saw how well the children took care of each other at Hogar. They didn’t have a lot of stuff, but what they had was shared with each other. They had this spontaneous sense of care and taking care of each other. When April went back to Hogar as an adult, she found that same spirit of community.
Miguel believes that part of Hogar’s community spirit is the fact it’s situated in Chiapas, a part of Mexico that is very poor but also extremely generous and caring. Sharing is innate.
Hogar Infantil was founded in 1963 by Nicholas Anderson, an American expat who was living in Chiapas. With just a handful of U.S. donors, Don Nich began taking in children who were living on the street. After Nich’s death in 1977, others, such as David “Capitán” Guinn, stepped in to ensure that Hogar Infantil would survive and carry on its mission to break the cycle of poverty through education.
Miguel believes Hogar changed his life. After leaving Hogar, Miguel went on to study in the U.S. and to college. Then he opened up a language school in his living room, just raising enough money to buy chairs. Now he has a family, a language school, and another business. Now he has up to 200 students and employs 5 teachers.
If you’ve been inspired by Miguel’s and April’s stories, you can find many ways to support Hogar Infantil and the children and staff there by visiting their website.
Next week I interview Dr. Kris Gowen. After her best friend died, Kris decided to travel around to all 50 states and sign karaoke in each state! We talked about friendship, grief, and sex! Kris is cofounder of Beyond the Talk, the sex ed you wish you had.
The Finding Fertile Ground podcast is brought to you by Fertile Ground Communications. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give us a rating and subscribe to hear our next episode. Contact us if you can use some help with your writing, editing, communications, or marketing.
I interviewed April Brenden-Locke and Miguel Ochoa Castellanos about a wonderful children’s home in Chiapas, Mexico, called Hogar Infantil. April is the president of the American board of Hogar, and Miguel grew up there and runs a language school...he’s a great success story. They share how Hogar Infantil changed both of their lives, “cambiando vidas a través de la educación,” or “changing lives through education.”
Miguel spoke to us from a small town in Chiapas, Mexico, the southernmost Mexican state. Miguel’s father passed away when he was six years old, and he didn’t have a happy childhood. After attending school, he would help his mom selling candy in the streets. They lived with relatives and didn’t have much money. His mom used to cry a lot, but she was a strong, hard-working woman. She made the heart-breaking decision to take Miguel to Hogar Infantil when he was just nine years old. Now that he’s older, Miguel recognizes how difficult that must have been.
April grew up in a farm in Oregon. She struggled in high school, trying to figure out who she was, until she saw an opportunity to volunteer at Hogar. She went to Mexico thinking that the people at Hogar needed their help, but she quickly learned it was about becoming part of the community. She immediately felt welcomed into a big family at Hogar Infantil. The experience had a profound impact on her. “It was a place that has stayed in my heart my whole life.”
Miguel told April that her decision had a big impact on him and the other Hogar residents.
“Not many people decide to go to another country to help. It’s difficult to find people to share part of their time, to share part of their lives, to come to your country and your community, to help you."
April was surprised when she saw how well the children took care of each other at Hogar. They didn’t have a lot of stuff, but what they had was shared with each other. They had this spontaneous sense of care and taking care of each other. When April went back to Hogar as an adult, she found that same spirit of community.
Miguel believes that part of Hogar’s community spirit is the fact it’s situated in Chiapas, a part of Mexico that is very poor but also extremely generous and caring. Sharing is innate.
Hogar Infantil was founded in 1963 by Nicholas Anderson, an American expat who was living in Chiapas. With just a handful of U.S. donors, Don Nich began taking in children who were living on the street. After Nich’s death in 1977, others, such as David “Capitán” Guinn, stepped in to ensure that Hogar Infantil would survive and carry on its mission to break the cycle of poverty through education.
Miguel believes Hogar changed his life. After leaving Hogar, Miguel went on to study in the U.S. and to college. Then he opened up a language school in his living room, just raising enough money to buy chairs. Now he has a family, a language school, and another business. Now he has up to 200 students and employs 5 teachers.
If you’ve been inspired by Miguel’s and April’s stories, you can find many ways to support Hogar Infantil and the children and staff there by visiting their website.
Next week I interview Dr. Kris Gowen. After her best friend died, Kris decided to travel around to all 50 states and sign karaoke in each state! We talked about friendship, grief, and sex! Kris is cofounder of Beyond the Talk, the sex ed you wish you had.
The Finding Fertile Ground podcast is brought to you by Fertile Ground Communications. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give us a rating and subscribe to hear our next episode. Contact us if you can use some help with your writing, editing, communications, or marketing.