Giving to Gertrudiz

By Anamaria Aristizabal

My heart melted as I saw Gertrudiz's smile as she received two armfuls of Christmas presents from Mount Holyoke's Newman Association. It all started mid-semester, when the association was considering Christmas projects. Last year, the group made a giving tree for local shelters; this year, the idea was to give to a specific family and to have more personal contact with the people we were helping.

I started thinking how my country (Colombia) has a huge percentage of poor people (more than 70 percent), and you don't have to go very far to see them. Working for my own family, for example, is a woman named Gertrudiz, whose family lives mostly on the coast of Colombia. They barely have enough food each day, and Gertrudiz migrated to the capital (Bogota), where I live, to find a job that would enable her to send money to her family. I told the Newman women about this, and I was surprised when they suggested that we give to this Colombian family this year.

I was thrilled to volunteer to bring the presents myself since I was spending the holidays in Colombia. I contacted Gertrudiz and asked her to make a list of her grandchildren and their needs, because this year they would have a tree full of gifts. She could not believe it. Her voice on the phone was extremely excited and incredulous.
People bought absolutely everything that was on the list, from disposable cameras, sweaters (new and beautiful), crayons and other school supplies to the big cassette player. It was a peak experience to give all these wonderful gifts to Gertrudiz, for her to send them to her family, and to extend the outstanding generosity of Mount Holyoke women to another part of the globe.

I have to say that my trip on the airplane was not exactly comfortable with two big shopping bags, one with a huge doll in it and the other filled with two backpacks and a cassette player. I felt like Santa Claus. Kids looked at my bags with desire. I have always been surprised at how generous people at MHC. In our “trick or treat so that others can eat program,” we filled Sister Anita Magovern's truck and back of her car with canned food from all our neighbors in South Hadley. However, I was not prepared for this.

In exchange, all the kids wrote very cute letters expressing their gratitude. In one letter, a girl says (I translate): “My name is Karen, and I am five years old. I have a little brother named David who is four years old. We want to thank you for the nice gifts you gave us. We wish you a year full of prosperity and health. God bless you and help you to continue to do good deeds for the needy ones.” Fabio Emilio wrote: “I live in a place in Colombia called Monteria. I am in seventh grade. I am very happy with the gift you gave me. Very special thanks to you…I wish you a very Happy New year.”

I wish you could have been there when Gertrudiz received the presents and sent them to her grandchildren. It was a blessing to see this and participate in such a beautiful project. Thank you, Mount Holyoke women, for your generosity.