Stories From The Field
Karla Mirelis
At
seven years old, Karla Mirelis could not identify colors, textures,
or shapes. Though she could copy words from the chalk board or school
book, Karla could not read and did not know the alphabet. She was
also disobedient in school and aggressive with her mother Arabel.
At risk for being held back in the second grade, Karla's teacher
suggested that Arabel enroll her daughter in International Child
Care's Community Based Rehabilitation program.
Once enrolled, Maria Elena, an ICC rehabilitation promoter, visited
Karla every week at her home in Cien Fuegos, a poor community of
Santiago. Karla's mother, Arabel, worked long, exhausting days in
the free trade zone so Maria Elena taught Karla's grandmother the
rehabilitative exercises so that she could work with Karla and help
her learn. Before long, Karla insisted that her mother also do the
daily exercises with her because she loved learning so much.
Though Karla's behavior began to improve, her relationship with
her mother remained tense. Karla's parents were having marital trouble
and Karla was caught in the middle. One day Maria Elena was present
for a particularly bad argument between Karla and her mother and
so she pulled Karla aside and told her that it was important for
her to respect both of her parents. Months later Karla gave Maria
Elena a homemade card thanking her for being the best teacher she
had ever had. Through the CBR program Maria Elena not only helped
Karla read and write, but also taught her important lessons about
love and respect. In addition, Karla's mother, Arabel, improved
her parenting skills which contributed to Karla's improved behavior.
Karla and her mother had an agreement that she could pass to third
grade if she improved her reading skills and behavior, so Karla
worked especially hard. She learned to read and did all the additional
homework that Maria Elena left her. Karla excelled so much that
she was not only advanced to the third grade, but was able to skip
a grade and is currently in the fourth grade!
As Karla completed the CBR program she told Maria Elena that she
would be a new person in the future because of the work Maria Elena
had done and the love she had shared with her through ICC's Community
Based Rehabilitation program.
