Friends of the Children sends love, gifts to Guatemala

Emylic Batres Brown.JPGEmylic Brown, left, and Columbia High School students Price DeSanctis, Kevin Acreman and Emma Cooley, pack shoeboxes filled with school supplies, toiletries and gifts for Guatemalan children. Friends of the Children, a local organization founded by Homer Wilson that Brown volunteers with, will get them to Guatemala. 

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HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Every year, Emylic Batres Brown, an architect who works with Habitat for Humanity locally, makes a list and checks it twice at least twice a year.

Although the young woman, who was born in Guatemala, doesn't look anything like Santa Claus, she has shouldered the responsibility of getting Christmas surprises to thousands of children in need in her home country for several years. That totaled about 2,500 boxes in 2010 alone.

A former exchange student of Homer Wilson's, the Huntsville rocket engineer who began Friends of the Children in the mid-1980s, she first worked alongside Wilson. Since Wilson, now 85, is struggling with failing health, she is the one who makes all the contacts, collects the boxes, and arranges to have them sent to Guatemala. And those contacts are extensive - from Birmingham across North Alabama and even in Georgia.

"Things we take for granted here - a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, school supplies, a little toy - mean so much there," Brown said.

In Guatemala, the Salvation Army makes sure the boxes get to orphans - some in an orphanage that Wilson himself started - and to other children in need.

Last week, Brown picked up boxes that Spanish students of Linda Paragone at Columbia High School had packed. Paragone has been encouraging her students for years to participate in the program.

"It's a perfect service project for the Spanish Club," Paragone said. "It reminds the students that we are part of a global society. We encourage volunteer work and helping others."

The stories of the children in Guatemala touch the hearts of her students, Paragone said.

"Some of these children live on the perimeters of the city dump," she said. "Some are street kids. Just a deck of playing cards, a notebook and pen, a tote bag, can mean so much to them."

"You would think that getting hygiene products as a present wouldn't make children happy, but I'm sure these children would appreciate them as much as a new toy," said Bianca Martin, a junior.

"I plan on participating in the Guatemala Shoebox Project for the remainder of my high school career," said Shauntelle Woods, a sophomore. "It was nice to help the citizens of another country."

Paragone helps the students arrange the project so that their peers throughout the school can participate, if only by bringing an empty shoe box. Then the students gather all the items that have been collected and pack the boxes, assembly-line style to do what they can to keep the contents fairly equitable. A note, in Spanish, is dropped into each box - 170 this year.

"It broadens our understanding of the world and our connection to all of humanity," said Emma Cooley, a senior. "Being part of this makes me feel like I'm part of something bigger than just myself or my community. I am part of our world."

emylic batres brown.JPGChildren in Guatemala smile as they receive their gifts from Friends of the Children.

Friendly helping

Friends of the Children, founded in 1985 by Huntsville engineer Homer Wilson, collects and ships about 2,500 shoe boxes a year to children in need in Guatemala.

Collection of the boxes continues all years, and donations to help with shipping costs are always welcome. Boxes should be wrapped so that the lid can be opened for customs inspection if necessary. No food, please, and please note the age and gender most appropriate for that box.

Donations can be sent to Friends of the Children, in care of Emylic Batres Brown, 1176 Gravel Ridge Road, Somerville, AL 35670. Her phone is 256-612-8074.

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