“The Walk of the Immigrants” website
Saul explains:
My beautiful mother, Norma Leon, immigrated from a rural town in Puebla, Mexico; Atencingo. The town’s main source of income is a sugar refinery named el Ingenio de Atencingo. The sugar refinery purifies the sweetest and most flavorful sugar canes throughout all of Mexico. However, the conditions under which the people of Atencingo live are unimaginable, shocking, and at times, heartbreaking. The children of the town scramble at night to find a warm spot on the cement to sleep on, and parents pray that they have food for their children the next day. The students go to school every morning at 7am and learn from the most thoughtful and beautiful teachers despite the limited resources. In the afternoons, the students return home to work the rest of the day in hopes of helping their families.
During the hot summers, the streets burn with heat and the students sweat away their energy. To them, excitement is shooting marbles along the cracks of the sidewalk. Such enjoyment is so evident in the faces of these pure people. To see a marble hit a marble triggers my thoughts. How can such beautiful beings be so happy with having so little in their lives? To find enjoyment in such a simple game is inspiring. I admire how beautiful of people they are, and I hope to see them reach their biggest dreams.
It breaks my heart to predict the lives of these students. To see such great potential contained and limited for a lifetime is a burden that I live with. These children have so much room to grow, to become doctors, teachers, accountants and most importantly, to become content with themselves.
This is why I want to rebuild the school.
the link to “Buy Prints” and the link to “Share/Donate”
Chancellor Caldwell’s legacy is one of servant leadership. Originally formulated by Robert Greenleaf, this understanding of leadership results from a desire to serve others first and is grounded in a strong sense of stewardship for one’s various communities (academic, professional, civic, national and global). Characterized by an emphasis on personal growth, community-building, principled behavior, collaboration and mutual empowerment, servant leadership is not only what John Caldwell lived, it is also a leadership style that the Caldwell Programs seeks to nurture in its members.
Ultimately, the Caldwell Programs strives to be an organization of which Chancellor Caldwell would be proud, serving as a home for students who share his vision and as a force on campus for its realization.
- photo by Saul S. Flores
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