The Granda Cause: school

THE BEACON APRIL 2009

Article from South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society's Monthly Newsletter:

THE GROWING GRANDAS

It all began with a conversation on Mother's day last year. Eddie Granda and Robyn Taylor-Granda, members of our family here at South Valley, were talking with Eddie's mom, and mentioned that they were considering adopting. And, they were thinking about adopting from Ecuador, where Eddie's family was from. It was then that Eddie's mom mentioned his half siblings. They had no idea at the time, but that conversation would lead them on a roller coaster adventure! An adventure with up and downs, frustrations and triumphs, and certainly change their lives, and the lives of a few others, forever.

Eddie's parents had divorced when he was a teenager and his father had gone back Ecuador. About four years after his father's death, Eddie learned that he left numerous young children behind. Since he'd had no contact with his father's side of the family for years, that was the extent of the information he had about the kids. So Robyn and Eddie decided to investigate the situation to see if there was anything Eddie's aunt Nancy (who kept tabs on the kids) might need some help with. The news wasn't good. As it turned out, not only were there many children (aging from eight to eighteen), but their mother had died only six months before their father! The kids had been passed between the mother's relatives for the first five years. They were living in such terrible conditions that Eddie's aunt finally went down there and took them to live with her nephew, where they have been for the last three years. As they spoke to relatives to learn more and searched for legal ways to help them, it became clear that the kids needed to have legal guardians who could take them permanently. So Eddie and Robyn made a decision. They decided to legally adopt the five older children and gain guardianship of the youngest. In order to do that they first had to work for a year to become their legal guardians in Ecuador. This would enable them to: document their U.S. Citizenship (by getting Consular Reports of Birth), get their passports and to bring them to the U.S. Instead of adopting them from Ecuador, they chose to bring them here to the United States first, which was made possible because their father had been a U.S. citizen and they met all of the conditions to pass on the right to citizenship. But there were more hurdles to come! The government of Ecuador required DNA tests to prove Eddie's relation to the children. And after more red tape and gathering of legal documents, all their documents were stolen, and they had to replace them. With all the set backs, Eddie and Robyn just pushed on, even attending to the responsibilities of their regular lives, including responsibilities here at South Valley. Robyn was working through governmental red tape by day and planning

REGAL events by night! So, now, after hiring a lawyer, doing DNA tests, getting all of their official documents stolen, gaining guardianship, learning that the 17 year old is expecting a baby, making a trip to Ecuador, getting their reports of birth and passports, making a second trip to get the kids, being denied exit from Ecuador and having to get all new tickets after the five day delay...they are finally here !!! By the time you read this, the Grandas will have the following new members: Nancy-18, Diana-17, Miguel-15, Marlon-13, Jefferson-11 (with Steven-8 hopefully coming next summer). And maybe one more; Diana is due to have her baby any day!

Now with the kids finally in the United States, the adventure is just beginning! And Robyn and Eddie can use your help. As of this writing they could use the following donations:

Bassinet

Playpen

Car seat/carrier

Diapers (lots!)

Baby formula

Gift cards to Babies R Us or coupons for diapers and

formula

Ongoing:

Boys shoes and winter boots (for boys the size of 9, 11

and 13 year olds)

Boys snow pants (sizes 8-12)

Boys clothing sizes 8-12

Girls clothes sizes 12-14 girls and women's/teens small

and x-small

Gift cards for Old Navy (for the girls)

Daily use products like: Shampoo, conditioner, lotion,

body wash, toilet paper, razors and

deodorant.

Gift cards or coupons for entertainment activities

Gift cards or coupons for places that we usually shop at

like Smith's grocery, Costco, Old

Navy, Target, etc.

Services we'll need each month like haircuts!

Household:

Any food donations of cereal, rice, lunch snacks, canned

tuna, etc.

Paper goods (plates, cups, paper towels)

Laundry detergent (liquid)

Gift cards to Home Depot or Lowes

Small vacuum for hard surface floors

DVDs with Spanish dubbing or subtitles

Soccer balls and small nets

Gift cards for bookstores, toy stores, craft stores, or even

Amazon.com.

For the latest details, please go to www.causes.com/

GrandaCause. Go there to read the full story, see

pictures, and even donate cash through South Valley's

Social Action Council program, Family-Caring-for-Family.

by Drew Carrillo

Showing posts with label school. Show all posts

Friday, October 30, 2009

Awesome kids!

I almost hate to jinx this by writing it down, but all of the kids grades have come in for the first quarter of school. No one has less than a B, with the majority being in the A's !!!!

Nancy has wow'ed us by getting only A and A+ 's and she's jumped in as an 11th grader at the same science and technology charter school that our 8th grader attends!!!

Diana has just advanced to the next level (after only 8 weeks) in her full-time ESL program and has B's in her other classes that are taught in english - gym, childcare and typing!

Miguel is getting all A's and a couple B's in his full-time 9th grade program at our neighborhood middle school, his classes include two Language Arts, Geography, Earth Sciences, and Math!

Marlon too is getting all A's and B's in his 7th grade full-time classes, even though Language Arts just about makes him crazy!

Jefferson is up to his 4th grade level on ready ability now (in Spanish) and is ready to tackle reading in English!

All of their teachers have the same thing to say about our kids "he/she is the best student in my class, works harder than anyone else, I can hardly believe he/she has only been studying English for 6 months!"

They are all really hard working and amazing young people and we are so glad that they are finally getting the chance to be recognized for it!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Quick updates

We applied for social security numbers for everyone on wed, no problems!

We got the estimate for a small addition to our tiny house (to add a 4th bedroom and a second full bathroom) and it was $17,000 more than we have left over in our savings account from our refinance. We don't have a plan of attack yet...

Jefferson and Marlon started school on friday and really enjoy it. We're still working on finding the right fit for Nancy, Diana and Miguel. For now they're doing a computer program at home.

We are just days away from starting our fundraising blitz, the hold up has been with finding the time to get the Paypal non-profit donation buttons ready and trying to get all the info for people put together in the same place while still living our lives! Since Eddie was laid-off early this winter, we aren't able to get a mortgage on a larger house, but we still hope to add on somehow. It's not so bad for now, but once the baby comes (March 20th), this house will feel twice as small!

The kids had their first experience with snow last night and though it was great, we have a snowman to prove it!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Guardianship in Ecuador going well

OK, the two relatives that the kids live with both went into court on friday to give their statements for the guardianship proceedings. Our lawyer, the fabulous Priscila Sanchez, said that Eddie's guardianship could be official as early as two weeks from now!!!

Possible change in schedule: We had originally been planning to bring them here in May thinking that their school year ended at the same time as ours. We've learned that the kids' school year ends in January. So, we can bring them here earlier and get them right into school. It would be a repeat of the same school year for a couple of months, but it would give them a chance to adjust to the language without the pressure of being graded (we'd make sure the school district let them "audit" the classes). This way they would have close to 6 months before the next school year to improve their english. We have three school districts in the valley that we can choose from to find the best fit for each of them. Luckily, open enrollment applications aren't due until after our trip to meet the kids, so we'll know more about what their grade levels and interest are.

The Granda Cause