AARON HAAR
Staff Writer
Last November marked a full month that 5-year-old Ana had been learning to tie her own shoes. One of the older girls who lived a couple of doors down had been teaching her. That day, Ana refused to tie the shoes. She wouldn’t even sit down for snack time. Instead, she clutched a young woman and would not let go. Ana was not sick or scared. In fact, she was the happiest she had been in months.
The woman holding her was Pepperdine senior Natalie Abadir. The two had little in common. Like many Pepperdine students, Abadir has been raised in a loving and affluent family.
In stark contrast, Ana is an orphan from Tijuana, Mexico, the daughter of a crack-addicted mother who now serves a prison sentence across the street. Ana speaks no English, and Abadir speaks no Spanish, but despite the class, culture and language barriers, the two share one vital thing: a love for humanity.
“I want to be a doctor when I grow up so I can make people feel better,” Ana said through a translator.
Abadir is a member of Pepperdine’s Rotaract Club, an organization that includes some 30 students. About 15 of them take a trip every semester to a Tijuana-based orphanage known as the Dorcas House.
“I just love coming here because these kids rarely receive the attention they need,” Abadir said. “We can supply that for them, if only for a short while.”
The Rotaract Club, a networking organization in Pepperdine’s Business Division, devotes itself to making a difference in local and international communities, according to the division’s Web site. Rotary International, a 1.2 million-member, service-oriented organization, sponsors it. Malibu Rotary is the parent organization to Pepperdine’s Rotaract, which welcomes students of all majors to join.
Pepperdine Rotaract hosts multiple speaker seminars each semester and also participates in highway pickups, soup kitchen services and trips to places such as Dorcas House.
“Going to the Dorcas House every semester was the highlight of my career at Pepperdine,” alumnus Wendy Messenger said. “There is a sense of meaning and fulfillment I get from these children, who are so eager to love and be loved.”
Like many such institutions, the orphanage is understaffed and overpopulated. Three full-time employees and a part-time cook care for more than 40 children, who range from age 3 to 14.
“The problem is, we have a limited budget and an unlimited number of children who need help,” Dorcas House Director Sylvia Labouin said. “That is why the help of Rotaract every semester has just been an amazing blessing.”
The history of Dorcas House has close ties to Pepperdine’s Rotaract Club. In response to Mexico’s lack of programs addressing the children of convicted criminals, Malibu Rotary created the orphanage on Tijuana’s outskirts in 1999.
“Without Malibu Rotary, most of these children would grow up homeless and quite possibly (get) into a life of crime,” Labouin said. In addition to funding the orphanage, Malibu Rotary also provides money to Pepperdine Rotaract for Dorcas House interests, such as purchasing and presenting the children with gifts during the holiday season.
The Dorcas House excursion, which is set to take place this semester on Nov. 5, usually begins early on a Saturday morning. Students either carpool or take vans down for the four-hour ride to Tijuana.
“The vans tend to be a little more expensive, so we try and carpool as much as possible, so we can save the budget for the kids,” said senior Jessica Haynie, Rotaract’s president.
Students arrive with toys, sports equipment and arts and crafts materials. They play with the children for a few hours to get both students and children comfortable with the language barrier.
“They are always so happy to see us,” Haynie said. “Give them two minutes, and they’re already jumping around … giving us hugs and kisses.”
Students then take the children out for lunch and a movie. Last semester, they saw the Spanish version of “Shark Tale.”
“I tried to use the movie time as nap time,” Abadir said. “Ana wasn’t having it. She made absolute sure that I didn’t miss any of that movie by tugging on my shirt every time I closed my eyes.”
There are other activities following the movie — roller skating at the local rink, for instance. At the day’s end, students and children say their goodbyes.
“It’s sad because we only get to see them once or twice a semester, and we can only stay for one day,” Haynie said. “I’m in awe of the pureness of their hearts and am truly grateful for the opportunity to have the chance to visit.”
On last November’s trip, Ana told Abadir that she wanted to show her a surprise before the students left.
“I almost cried when I put her down,” Abadir said. “She plopped down on the floor, undid her shoe laces and started trying to retie them. She thought it was so important that I didn’t leave disappointed, since I had tried to get her to show me
earlier.”
10-27-2005
