A Defining Moment…How a Rich Kid Became a Humanitarian.

February 7, 2010 aspaceoflove

A few days ago Amelia came running into the house and said, “Shake my hand!”  I said, “Ok…”  She said, “I just shook the hand of Ricardo…he’s the owner of the stables…and Mom, he has the most BEAUTIFUL energy!  I just wanted to pass it along to you by shaking your hand.”

Today Ricardo walked up to me and introduced himself in that sweet Guatemalan way where they give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek, even if you’re a total stranger.  Now I knew Amelia would be right about his energy, and she was; his eyes were luminous and smiling, he had an open-hearted way of being, funny and quick to laugh.  But I had no idea.  I expected a wealthy landowner who was friendly, but as we started talking I was amazed.  Even though he’s only in his mid-thirties, Ricardo has built a hospital, a church, 11 libraries, he’s clearing the land to build a school for 500 children who can’t afford school.  He has facilities to train young women so they can provide from themselves, and he provides free day care as well.   He built the stables where Amelia rides, in order to rescue horses.  And when horses retire from being school horses, they go to lush, green pastures.  The list goes on and on.

I asked Ricardo what caused him to become a humanitarian.  He said he grew up as a rich kid in a bubble – going from parties in Guatemala City to Antigua to the ocean and to the lake (a lot of estates are there) when he went to college he partied a lot.  But he never saw the rest of Guatemala and had no idea how most of the people really lived.

After college he was driving with his girlfriend in a part of Guatemala where it’s not a good idea to drive at night, and it’s extremely dangerous to break down.  His car broke down, and just down the road was a small house.  They knocked on the door and woke the people up asking for help.  The entire family went out to Ricardo’s car and helped unload everything and stored it in the house.  They then offered for Ricardo and his girlfriend to spend the night, which they did.

When they got up in the morning Ricardo realized the people had given him and his girlfriend their only bed, and the family spent the night sleeping on the kitchen floor.  What touched Ricardo was that the people didn’t know who he was, they had no expectations, they simply helped out of genuine kindness.  And that was a defining moment for him.

A few years later, after becoming involved in many humanitarian projects, he saw Katie riding a horse with a little girl who was paraplegic in her arms, and singing to her as they rode.  He told me the minute he saw her he thought, “I’m going to marry her!”   And he did!  And you couldn’t meet two nicer people!

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2 Comments Add your own

• 1. robert Michael FitzGerald  |  February 8, 2010 at 11:53 am

  thank you for sharing this Lovely story

  Reply

  • 2. aspaceoflove  |  February 8, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    Thank you, Robert!

    Reply

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