Florida Catholic | Resourceful 8th–Grader Makes A Difference In Peru

Resourceful 8th–grader makes a difference in Peru

Andrea Loret De Mola is an ordinary teenage student who is making an extraordinary difference for children with special needs in Peru.

PATTI PANARA | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 04.25.08

Photo Courtesy of Andrea Loret De Mola
Andrea Loret De Mola, center, is surrounded by happy children at a school for special–needs children in Lima, Peru, where she spends part of her summers as a volunteer.

Photo Courtesy of Andrea Loret De Mola
Andrea Loret De Mola, behind the desk, spends part of her summers volunteering at a special–needs school in Lima, Peru.

LAKELAND | After spending part of her summers in Lima, Peru, helping at a school for children with special needs, middle schooler Andrea Loret De Mola wanted to do more.

Her high school-age brother, Fernando, suggested a fundraising effort for things the school desperately needed, but couldn’t afford. The task was daunting to Andrea — then a seventh-grader at Resurrection Catholic School in Lakeland — because the school had many needs. But she set about it the only way she knew how: a little bit at a time. Her fundraising centered on things she could do — baby-sitting, baking, selling homemade jewelry and painted wooden handbags. She also asked for donations to her special cause.

“At first the difficult part was just getting people to believe in me and what I was trying to do,” Andrea said. “In order to persuade people to give a donation, they needed to be sure I was serious. It got easier when I started to make some progress. People stopped thinking I’d lose interest and give up.”

Last year she was able to return to Lima with a check for $4,075. The money went to a new roof, windows, doors and other classroom improvements.

For her efforts, Andrea was recently presented with a certificate of excellence from the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community awards program. She also earned a President’s Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, which included a signed letter from President George W. Bush commending her on her achievement.

The eighth-grader also earned the praise of her school’s principal, Nancy Genzel.

“As Catholic school educators we plant the seeds of service in our students, but rarely do we have the opportunity to see the harvest. Andrea’s tenacity, love and passion for the handicapped children of Peru have taught all of us how one person can make a real difference in our world. We are proud of this kind and gentle young woman,” Genzel said.

Andrea, though, is modest about her accomplishments.

“I just enjoy making the children happy. Just being with them and caring about them brings me happiness,” she said, with a wry smile. “People can think these children aren’t useful (to society), but when you get to know them, they’re just like us, only a little different.”

Children at the school have a variety of health challenges, such as Down syndrome, digestive problems, autism and other disorders. According to Andrea, the families in the area are very poor and can’t afford to send their children to schools farther away for specialized care.

“This is the only school they have,” she said. The children in the school, whose name translates to School for Children With Disabilities, are in kindergarten through 12th grade. Andrea’s grandparents are members of a Rotary Club in Lima that founded the school, and that connection led to her involvement.

The school got its start because of a boy who had a mild case of Down syndrome. Due to the superstitions of his rural parents, he was confined to living in a pigsty near the house. When the Rotary Club members heard of the situation, they decided to help found a school for children with such disabilities. Once the school was built, the boy was rescued from his situation and went on to obtain an education. According to Andrea, he now supports his impoverished parents.

“It was amazing as we watched these children try to get ahead and make something of their lives no matter what physical illness or problem they had,” she said.

On her trips to Lima before she began her fundraising efforts, Andrea would help the children learn to draw letters, either by assisting them if they needed help holding a pen, or even drawing letters on the ground that they could trace with their feet. She was willing to do whatever was needed to help.

For the 2007-2008 school year, she is continuing to raise funds, this time for another school founded by the Rotary Club in a poor shantytown area. This school is badly in need of desks — many students sit on the floor or share a chair to be used as a writing surface.

“I feel I’ll always be involved in projects like this one,” Andrea said, “but someday I’d love to be a doctor. You can help so many people that way.”

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