I shouted “bombom,” which is Spanish for lollipop . The old farmer looked up and grinned with a huge smile that included several gold teeth. I leaned out of the bus to hand one to the elderly farmer. I am sure giving him candy isn’t good for those teeth, but I loved seeing him get so much pleasure out of something so little. Who knew that the adults would like the suckers as much as the children?
I hadn’t planned on bringing suckers, but Mark Petersen, our CEO casually mentioned to me when leaving the office the Friday before our trip to Guatemala that the kids like them. So on Saturday when I was doing my weekly grocery shopping I got a bag of 300 Dum Dum suckers. It was quite heavy, but I reasoned I would pack it in checked luggage and I could fill the space with souvenirs on the plane ride home. Little did I know that bringing those lollipops would bring such smiles to both the people of Guatemala and then in turn to me.
The first day we went to visit some of the rural areas I grabbed a handful of suckers. On our first stop we hiked on an uphill dirt road that led to a high plain of farmer’s fields. There were acres of corn growing 15 feet tall. A few small houses, shacks really, were scattered in the distance. Some were lucky to have cinderblock homes, but many were made of cornstalks. As we stepped down from the bus some of the kids hid behind their moms. I am sure they wondered who are these people coming up our lonely road – I doubt they have many visitors. Getting out of the bus, I started pulling the suckers out. I handed one to a little girl with a frown on her face; she took the sucker, but didn’t smile. I asked her through our translator if we could take her picture. She agreed, but never did smile.
We went on to hand out many more suckers that day and every day that we were there. By the end of the trip we were throwing them out the bus to anyone we passed on the street. Most people smiled and many yelled back, “Gracias.” Their smiles were reward enough, and in my heart I only wished we could do more. I knew we were – that Mentors was – changing lives – one family at a time.
I still think of that first little girl. I had asked her how old she was, and her mother replied for her: “Cinco anos”. . . five years old, that is how old my daughter is, so far away from me at home. I thought of my little girl and knew that sometimes she was just sad, tired, shy or maybe had been in trouble. Five year olds are universal right? I could picture her laughing and playing another time – maybe playing with my daughter. I am sure she is normally happy, because so many of the people are in Guatemala – but I wondered if that sucker made her world a little brighter that day. I know she held onto it as tight as she did that kitten. I like to think she took it and savored every lick.
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