Meeting Eber

Today I have finally met Eber, or Eber Raul as everyone refers to him here. It was so touching to meet him. He ran at me and hugged me even though he has never seen me before in his life. He was so thrilled to have some photos and postcards I brought him, that he carried the envelope around for the rest of the day and kept showing it to other boys and teachers. We watched some cartoons together and played with tiny toy cars. He would not stop giggling as I chased him endlessly around the yard.

Boys consider their sponsors their god parents. I would have never thought that little kids would care about someone they have never met, but yesterday Claudia told me that boys ask her all the time when their god parents would come and visit them. While all boys seek individual attention, Eber’s sheer delight in meeting me and spending some time with me touched me and at the same time made me feel very sad.