NEED magazine

I'm Heidi Isaza a writer/photographer on the true Spirit of Christmas tour. I grew up in a small town in southern Washington, surrounded by trees—nothing like New York. For my parents getting their children a good education was their number one priority. My mom still teaches at an alternative high school to this day. ...My dad just retired from his job as a tree farm manager last year. In my family it was assumed that my brother, sister and I would not only graduate from high school, but that we would go to university, “for at least four years,” (that was one of my dad’s favorite lines). The more people I meet and the more stories I hear, however, the more I see and understand that it is not such a clear-cut choice for many kids. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to school or I didn’t get good grades.I did. When I was a kid, I always assumed that the only reason you wouldn’t go to school or do well is because you didn’t want to. Now, however, with every new person I meet, I see that it is often not the child’s choice to not excel or even stay in school; often times they are trapped by their circumstances—things they have no control over. It’s a sobering thought to think that I didn’t do anything to deserve to have been born in a loving, middle-class family; with caring and supportive parents who were able to give me everything I needed to study and made sure I stayed in school. When I meet kids like Frank and Jerome and parents like Ines and Robyn,I can’t help but wonder what would have become of me if I had been born in their circumstances. Would I have been able to study? Would I have made the effort to stay in school? I guess I’ll never know. But, one thing is certain—every kid deserves the chance to try. –Heidi, in New York http://www.worldvisiongifts.org/backpacksRead More