A Homage to my Mother and my Guatemalan Heritage

Adrienne Ferguson

I come from a humble family of seven. I have three sisters and one brother, and nothing is cherished more among us than our heritage. My Guatemalan roots always manifest a strong influence on my daily life and have sculpted the person that I am today and what I do to make a difference in the world.

My mother is an immigrant from a perilous zone in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She came to the United States when she was very young and knew very little English. And ever since I was a little girl, my mom would speak to me in Spanish. She loves her home country very much, but she has never falsely portrayed the immense poverty there. She shared numerous stories of the suffering she, her family, and acquaintances experienced and witnessed. Having lived a humble early life, it was imperative to her that her children are grateful for every opportunity they have and that they have a desire to serve the less fortunate. And despite still living humbly and suffering financial burdens here in the U.S. presently, she would always emphasize the importance of service and giving back to the Latinx community. My mom was my first teacher on the importance of service, and after seeing her go out and serve the less fortunate and Hispanic community, I learned to do the same.

My mom always taught me to use my bilingual abilities to serve others. At ten years old, I started to volunteer at the Grace Clinic, which provides free medical care to underprivileged families. The majority of the patients are from Mexico, Central, and South America, and tend to speak very little English. The doctors would need a way to communicate with the patients, so I would translate. I didn’t want anyone to lack their basic health necessities; thus, I was grateful that I could put my talents to good use. Also, to help the Hispanic community abroad, I have gone on six mission trips to a poor rural town in Villa Nueva, Guatemala called La Esperanza. One of the most prevalent injustices I had witnessed in the community was the lack of social mobility - the poverty in the towns was a perpetual cycle, that the children knew they could not escape. I recall speaking to the little children there about school, and unfortunately, many of them were disenchanted with the idea of education because they all had jobs, and those jobs were helping them literally put food on the table. To them, school behaved as a distraction for them from instantaneously making money, which made sense, many in the La Esperanza community were living day-to-day.

Nonetheless, it was beyond disheartening to know how these children truly felt about the concept of education and that many of these children-not even 10 years old- held jobs and were carrying the burden of being a breadwinner for their family; accordingly, I started a charity called Esperanza Para Guatemala (Hope for Guatemala), and all of the proceeds go towards the basic necessities and school supplies for poor Guatemalan children. I founded this organization because although I cannot fix a country, I can instill hope for at least a few children. By providing funds for food and school supplies, my goal is to provide a light of hope to these children and the stepping stones to a brighter future. This organization thankfully has been able to fulfill its mission for the past six years and ongoing!

Gratitude, humility, generosity, and grit. She was the embodiment of each and every one of these virtues.

Admittedly, over the past years, and upon my history in Guatemala, I came to a revelation: if there is one characteristic, I am most grateful to have been born with, it is that I was born with Latina blood. It may sound uncanny, but I will expound upon my admiration of my Guatemalan roots. As previously mentioned, in addition to being raised in a Hispanic household, I have also had the privilege of visiting my mother’s home country various times for work regarding my non-profit. And, undoubtedly, in nearly every experience with individuals in the Guatemalan community and the general Hispanic community I’ve encountered, these people possessed and exerted a very specific genre of virtue that I believe truly distinguishes Latinos from others. From my encounters, I have always had the blessing of engaging with Latinos, and it was beyond palpable the virtues of gratitude, humility, generosity, and grit they all exude. When my family and I would deliver goods to the poor Guatemalan children and their families, I had never witnessed such appreciation and gratitude in my entire life. Children and parents would cry with gratitude with what was given to them; they would pray for my family and me as an act of recompense, as they disclosed that they had practically nothing to share with us. My family and I never expected or desired anything in return; however, I recall one particular woman, who was especially graceful and carved an indelible memory in my mind. After gifting her children with clothing and materials for school, she did something I will never forget. She took the simply designed earrings out of her ears and placed them in my hands. I remember her coarse hands, that have undeniably labored many nights and days. And despite wanting to refuse her gift out of guilt, I accepted out of respect and gratitude. She told me to put them on, which I then did. What followed made me the happiest I could have ever been. A smile, larger than I could possibly envisage, emerged on this woman’s face, while tears trickled from her brown eyes.

This woman was such a blessing to me. I thank God that I had the miracle of meeting her. She helped remind me why I started my non-profit, and she motivates me daily to do the very most that I can to help as many people as I can with my organization. When I think about this Guatemalan woman, I cannot help but think of my mother. They are very similar, truthfully. My mother also embodies all of the virtues that the other woman did. If it were not for my mother’s dedication to serving others and her persistence that her children do the same, I would have never initiated my charity, and I certainly would not have met this woman in Guatemala. Because of that experience and for one million other blessings my mother has given me, I am eternally indebted to her.

My mother serves as my motivation to excel in school. She has sacrificed an arm and a leg to support all of my siblings and I in our endeavors. She has compromised her talents, time, and treasure to provide for her children. I cannot wait for the day that my educational achievements begin to bear fruit, so that I can repay her for her unconditional love and support but most especially for her sacrifices. She tries to give my siblings and I the world, but she is the one who deserves it.

Gratitude, humility, generosity, and grit an homage to my mother and my Guatemalan heritage.