Meet Ismael, or better know as “Pocho”, head of maintenance and right hand to Paty.
Ismael was a home birth in our little village town of La Peña. He has 4 sisters, 5 brothers, and is the oldest of the brothers. Though his personal story isn’t for the faint of heart, we have seen such growth in him over the past 2 years.
Pocho showed up at our kid’s day event in May 2018, he followed Jaclyn around as though he had never seen a “güera” (blondie) before. If he was going to follow he was going to be an extra set of hands, thus she put him to work. Since that day, he has not left. He joined our MARKED soccer team right after, chose to leave the gang life behind, jumped into being mentored (fathered) by Carlos and Karlisa and this last year came on as a staff member.
Though you will still find him quietly staring at you from a distance, sometimes even close up, he is leaning into this new way of life. He asks questions, and genuinely desires to change. Each month he has been given more and more responsibility, and every time he rises to the occasion.
We asked him what his favorite memories are as a kid and he said,
“one of his best memories was swimming in the lake. I also dreamed about being a truck driver. “
This year, we are going to teach him how to drive!
When we asked him his favorite thing about MARKED, he said,