Give school & love to abandoned girls in Mexico

One of the major objectives of Puerta Abierta is for these young women to learn to give, to be generous, and be willing to assist others in most need of help in any number of ways.

Our residents joined a group of families who are dedicated to help poverty-level communities, in which there are a wide-range of needs. This group offers conferences and a variety of activities. The young women from Puerta Abierta cooperate by playing with the young children or interacting with a group of young adults, playing basketball or conversing with the family members.

We believe that giving to others is not a question of how much you have. It dependes more so on your willingness to give of yourself. Our residents are grateful young women and are quite cognizant of how much they can offer to others. This experience has enriched their lives and we hope that it will become a positive experience for their future. 

Links:

• http://www.puerta-abierta.org

It is the end of the year and we would like you to get to know the girls we have yet to discuss. We have two sisters, Moni and Ana Gaby, who have been a source of great satisfaction for our home. Moni, the youngest of our residents, has been quite a joy.

Moni is ten years old and is characterized by her happiness, unassuming and perseverant personality. In a recent psycho-educational evaluation, her skills were below average. Despite this, it was observed that she was eager, resolute to get ahead, and wanted to stand out. As a result of her being disciplined, determined, and motivated, Moni has done remarkably well in school, obtaining above-average  grades. This has further reinforced her enthusiasm and good-nature. In her therapy, at home, at school with the teachers and friends, Moni is a young girl who is well-liked and quite popular.

Moni’s sister, Ana Gaby, is 14 years old. Her situation is similar to Moni’s in that she also has limited  intellectual skills. With her discipline and tenaciousness, however, Ana Gaby has obtained average and above-average grades. She started Jr. High School with a solid academic record. After the first few months, however, Ana Gaby began to slacken off, and her GPA declined (although still within the average range). In our opinión this decline is the consequence of her current stage of development, the influence of many factors, such as making new friends which becomes more important tan getting good grades, the emerging hormonal changes, and a general lack of interest in school achievement. 

Ana Gaby is a sweet girl, with a strong personality. She gives us the impression that she has a healthy level of self-confidence. The good relationship between the sisters strengthens each one and allows both to be relatively independent of the other, getting  their own relationships.

 Karla is the next girl to celebrate her 15th birthday. Her lack of motivation and interest in her schoolwork has increased recently. She has become some what disruptive in class and enjoys getting involved in everything, except her schoolwork. Karla is basically a manageable young lady, yet, in school she is every thing but compliant. We also expect that she will take advantage of the help and support that is continually available to her.

 Mercedes is the second oldest young lady in the house, having recently had her sixteenth birthday. For us as Puerta Abierta, Mercedes is a source of pride. When she arrived, Mercedes was a difficult girl; isolated, mysterious, constantly dissatisfied, distrusting of and conflicting with the other girls. Mercedes also did not demonstrate much self-confidence. Her academic performance was considerably below par.

 With patience, a constant search for the right school setting and therapy to help her  with her socio-emotional issues, Mercedes has finally come into her own. At this moment, she is about to finish a special education program at the Jr high school. Not only is it note worthy her recent academic success, we have seen a marked improvement in her attitude, self-confidence, and her ability to integrate with her house mates. Mercedes’ interest to continue her studies and start  High School is quite admirable. Mercedes is growing and maturing nicely. 

 Juanita is 12 years old. She is unfortunately quite immature and is suffering considerably both academically and emotionally. Despite having had the necessary psycho-educational testing and having implemented the recommendations, improvements have been slow. Juanita, however, is an affectionate girl, and well-liked by adults. She has participated in a State-run chorus and has shown her self to be spontaneous and quite a natural. Juanita is also an excellent  actress.

 We believe that through art and kinesthesia, Juanita should be able to express her suppressed emotions. Time, affection, and a lot of patience should enable Juanita to make the same type of improvement as we observed with Mercedes.

 Thank you all, for your constant support

We wrote previously about Lupita one of the triplets at Puerta Abierta. In this report we like to offer description of the other two sisters--Angeles and Chuy.

Angeles is the tallest of the three. When the triplets first arrived, we could not tell them apart. Now that we got to know them we can see the differences in their personalities, their interests and abilities.

The three of them arrived to Puerta Abierta when they were 7 years old and they will soon be celebrating their 12^th birthday. Coming from an orphanage, the process of adaptation had been somewhat difficult for them, as they had to adjust to new rules and living habits. Despite this, Angeles showed superior social skills that made her popular with the rest of the girls.

Since their arrival, Angeles and Chuy have had a strong bond, Recently, however, they have had their differences in which they have been competing with each other. This competition sometimes deteriorates into power struggles.

Angeles is a feminine young lady, very sensitive and values the affection given by others, especially adults. She also demonstrates noteworthy art skills.

Given her current stage of development, Angeles is experiencing expected mood swings. With the help of her therapy, she is acquiring new insights into these changes.

María de Jesus, whose nickname is Chuy, is the third sister.  Her personality has always been the strongest and most defined of the three, which at times leads her to be somewhat aggressive. Chuy has shown strong leadership in relation to her sisters. Despite the inevitable competition among the three of them, Angeles and Lupita have recognized her better decision-making skills.

Chuy has always done well academically although occasionally has suffered from a lack of motivation. She likes to read, is creative and perceptive, and shows an ability to learn other languages.

It is evident that Chuy has the necessary qualities that will allow her to be successful in her life.

In this up-date, I would like to describe the current situation of one of our girls of Puerta Abierta, Monica Margarita.  She is 17 years old and finishing her sophomore year in High School.   As the oldest of the 9 girls living at Puerta Abierta, Margarita has taken on an important leadership role.  As a result of her emotional maturity, she has become a guide for the rest of the girls.

Given her age, Margarita is also exploring her independence from the group, and is showing interest in discovering more about herself. At times, this search has led her to be more self-centered which seems to us to be quite normal and expected for this stage of development.

We are aware that we have to help Margarita develop further her self-confidence and guide her to find the right balance between attending to her own psychological and emotional needs and, at the same time,being responsive to the feelings and needs of the rest of the family.

During her junior year, Margarita will also be taking courses for a technical degree. Doing so, she will be prepared in the near future, to work while she completes her undergraduate course work. Margarita is cognizant of the need to make a concerted effort to achieve her goals. We are all confident in her ability and will be available to help her in any way we can.