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7/30/2019 Kara2Mijael - Happy Holidays & Thank You
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December 6, 2012
Dear families and friends,
Happy Holidays from Kara2Mijael! I thought it
have been so busy since returning from my tri
Many of you have followed me as I attemptedand bring him and his community toys and sup
visited Mijael and his community in late Augus
my goal. This adventure is one I will never for
Mijael and YOU were the reason for it. This tri
world actually live.
I spent most of the spring and early summer f
160 people, businesses, and organizations con
for the children of Tarija, your time, and espec
the customers at these many events. I would
you and I together have made a positive differ
I just wanted to also give you a little bit of info
emotion than the last. On the first day, I was
up with the people from ChildFund and sat in t
he was coming, then finally after looking prob
shaking; I walked over to him and gave him a
couple of hours, it was as if I knew him my wh
supplies, a remote control car and later bough
mom, Yuli, how all of you were from my home
Tarija. We walked around the city playing gam
funniest noises. We had the chance to go to a
them on the street.
On the days that followed, I got to know Mijae
people in his community and other communiti
bring toys and supplies to more than 55 additi
donated. I got busy and made little “goodie ba
waiting for us. We distributed the toys and pla
and his father (The Bolivian people often perf
On some of the days, we played with Mijael a
that they never get – lunch in a very fancy rest
restaurant to bring them out to lunch and, for
orange soda were the most expensive part of t
amazing days with all the kids; it showed me t
new toy or new TV, they just needed someone
We were given a tour of Mijael’s community c
showed us around and told us about the manydoctors, dentists, a library, food, some commu
On one of the days, we went to a very large M
for Mijael and his family. The mercado was on
many street blocks with meats, fruits, vegetabl
anything you could think of.
On another of the days, we helped at the com
the wealthy, there is no health insurance and
money themselves, yet they were still fundrais
money only look out for themselves. We help
One night, while at the community center, we
American line dance. It is funny how as Ameri
New York City!! They also taught me some tra
On another night, we went to an anniversary c
was being used as another healthcare fundrais
would be a good idea to put my “Thank you” and hol
.
to reach my goal of visiting the young boy I have beeplies. In case you were not aware, I did finally reach
t. I would like to thank you all personally for all of yo
et and one that changed my life forever. The happie
created many memories and I now have a clear insi
ndraising and held a Wendy’s night, a car wash, and
tributed money, items for the garage sale, supplies fo
ially encouragement. There were many, many more
ot have been able to get to Tarija without any of this
ence in the world!
rmation about the trip. It was a very emotional trip a
nxious to meet Mijael and knew this one moment w
he community center waiting for Mijael to arrive. I k
bly 20 times, I knew this was him. My heart started b
uge hug and my heart was filled with happiness. At f
le life; it was like adopting a little brother. On that fi
him sneakers. When I gave him the kara2mijael spo
and how you wanted to help him and his community
es like who can jump the highest, who can take bigge
n annual church festival and ate and drank a lot of fo
l even better and was introduced to Mijael’s commu
es. On one of the days, I went shopping early in the
onal kids! I was able to do this using many of the toys
gs” for the kids. When we walked into the communit
yed games with the thankful kids, and we watched a
rm dancing and singing acts in thanks and tribute to
d his friends. One of the days, we played soccer and
aurant in central Tarija! To show you the value of a d
12 people to eat there, it was a little over 80 dollars!!
he meal!! We went to the park with the kids and me
at although these kids had barely anything, they wer
to care for them and run around with them and they
nter and able to talk to ChildFund staff and ask them
programs they have. ChildFund really does have a lonity centers are actually also schools, and many thin
ercado (market) in the morning and bought clothes, t
of the most amazing things I have ever seen - it was
les, toys, toiletries, household supplies, and clothes. I
unity center with a fundraiser for a young girl who
verything is paid out of pocket. I thought it was ama
ing to help others and were looking out for others w
d all day with the fundraiser and donated money to i
listened to music and I taught many of the ladies and
ans we think that everyone knows about America, b
itional Bolivian dances as we listened to Bolivian mu
elebration for another ChildFund Community Center
er for another girl who needed surgery. We arrived a
iday greeting in one letter, since I
n sponsoring, Mijael, in Tarija, Boliviay fundraising goal of $5400 and
r assistance in helping me to reach
t day of my life was the day I met
ht on how so many people in the
a yard sale just to name a few. Over
r the fundraisers, supplies and toys
nnamed people who actually were
support and want you to know that
d the first day was a much different
uld impact my life greatly. We met
pt looking out the doorway to see if
eating heavily and I stood up
irst, he was very shy, but within a
st day, I gave him clothes, school
sor shirt, I explained to him and his
; I told him how you helped me get to
r steps and who can make the
ds we bought from people selling
ity, his good friends, and many other
orning in the mercados (markets) to
and supplies that many of you
center, all of the kids were there
raditional singing act by a little boy
uests).
hen brought them out for something
llar, we went to the fanciest
The drinks of Coca-Cola and Fanta
Mijael’s father, Efron. We had
e still happy. They didn’t need the
were happy.
the many questions we had. They
of good programs - they provides to these kids who have very little.
oiletries and other needed supplies
a bunch of tents set up like stalls for
t was like a Costco in America. It had
eeded surgery. In Bolivia, even for
ing how these people barely had any
ile many people who have so much
also.
children the “Cupids Shuffle”, an
t most of them never even heard of
sic.
in Tarija. This anniversary celebration
nd realized that they were waiting for
7/30/2019 Kara2Mijael - Happy Holidays & Thank You
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us and I was a guest of honor in front of about 1200 people! A celebration for Bolivians is not the same as for us - they had about 4 hours
of dances and performances!! The celebration started at 8 and ended at 12 in the morning!!! All of their outfits were so colorful and it
was like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life!!!
On one of the days, we visited a different ChildFund Community Center and I had the chance to help teach a kindergarten class, help
serve lunch and ate lunch with the president and staff of the center. The children here, like in most of Tarija, were very curious with us
because they see so few people with light skin.
We had visited the inner part of the city and had also seen what they call the suburbs, which were mostly slums. We also had seen morerural areas, also a lot of slums. We did not actually get to see where specific ChildFund people live, only their neighborhoods. And these
neighborhoods had very rough living conditions.
On one of the days, we visited a place that I will never forget. It was called Barrio 27 de Mayo (May 27th
Neighborhood). In this barrio, it
was very barren almost like a desert and there were more than 700 very poor people who literally lived in brick and tin shacks or tents.
The source of water for these 700 people was a single spigot that was turned on once a day for an hour for only 5 days a week. We went
there not knowing what would happen. These people were pleading with us for a well. They said they didn’t have places for the children
to play and there were many things they didn’t have, but they said they don’t want any of that. All they wanted was water because
“aqua es vida” – water is life. I felt completely helpless and did not have the money to pay for this well they were asking for. My heart
was breaking just listening to them and looking at their faces. When we got ready to leave, the wind started to blow furiously. I knew
that this meant I could not forget about these people and that I would have to help them because they were relying on me. I told them
through the translator that I would help get them water.
The last day was the day I was dreading, I had to leave Tarija, a place I now call my second home, which has my second family. We met
Mijael and his mother at the airport and I ran around and played “el torro” with Mijael; he pretended to be a bull and I had to run away
from him or pick him up and spin him. When it was time to say goodbye, I picked him up and gave him a big hug and kiss and told him,
“otro proximos annos” – again next year. I’m not sure if I will actually be able to visit again soon, but want to make sure I can still help
take care of the wonderful people in Tarija. Tarija was a very emotional place that will forever be in my heart and I know I will be back
again someday. I was sad, but remembered that I shouldn’t cry because it was over, but be happy that it happened.
This experience has helped me realize even more the value of helping others in the world. The people of Tarija that I met are in great
need. In the future, I would like to continue to help them. I will be continuing with Kara2Mijael and am turning it into an ongoing fund.
My dad said he would help me create a special website, which we will be creating over the next few months. In the meantime, I really
would like to continue to communicate my progress. I am trying to keep my costs very low. So, if you are receiving this as a regular mail,
could you please e-mail me ([email protected]) so that I have your e-mail address and can communicate that way, if you haven’t
already? I promise to keep your e-mail address private.
I want to thank you all again for helping me achieve my goal and be able to experience this amazing adventure. You are the reason I
could ever do something like this. Just how I’ll remember Mijael, Tarija and the people I met there, I will also always remember you, the
people who got me there.
A presentation with all the highlights of the trip is located here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gbD-6vo-UU. All the pictures and
videos from the trip are here: https://plus.google.com/photos/118121663214028086703/albums?hl=en . Kara2Mijael pictures, events,
and plans for the future have been and continue to be posted here: http://www.facebook.com/kara2mijael (you do not have to be on
Facebook to visit this page).
My fundraising will pick up again over the next year and I’m hoping to be able to continue to share my progress with you. Right now, we
have some local disasters because of Hurricane Sandy that we are all concentrating on and also the holidays! I hope you have a very
happy and blessed holiday season. Thank you so much for helping me to change many lives, and thanks for also changing mine.
God bless you,
Kara Patrovic
There were so many memories that I have of the fundraising and the trip. You can view all of this information on the Internet:
Trip Highlights Presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gbD-6vo-UU
Pictures & Videos of trip: https://plus.google.com/photos/118121663214028086703/albums?hl=en
Kara2Mijael Website: http://www.facebook.com/Kara2Mijael (you do not have to be on Facebook to visit this page)
Huffington Post story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/loren-pritchett/from-kara2mijael-the-gift_b_2177234.html
ChildFund Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildFundInternational (look for posts on Nov 26th
and Nov 27th
)
My Dad’s story: http://blog.childfund.org/2012/11/27/from-kara2mijael-a-fathers-inspiration/Local Website stories: http://millerplace-rockypoint.patch.com/search?keywords=kara2mijael
My e-mail address: [email protected] (Please e-mail me so I can continue to communicate my progress)
7/30/2019 Kara2Mijael - Happy Holidays & Thank You
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Mijael & me on the day we met!
Some of the slums that we saw in Tarija
A copy of a special “Thank You” that Mijael’smom, Yuli, made for all the people that helped
me make it to Bolivia. She was very emotionalthat this many people and organizations helpedpeople so far away that you didn’t even know.
The Sponsor shirts given to Mijael & family. The shirt has a
Thank you and you are included on it. This way, I broughtand left in Bolivia a little bit of everyone who helped me.
Here, I was providing toys, school supplies, and other needed items to an additional 55children at a ChildFund Community Center in Tarija. Many of the items that I provided weredonated by local people and I was able to bring them to Bolivia! Others were purchased in
the Tarija markets with money that was donated!