The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | April / May 2000
| The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | April / May 2000 |
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Noel Now Knows No Limits
By Noel Alexander Garcia
For my father and his siblings, this Christmas Eve brought no rejoicing. The living conditions of Immokalee, Fla., were not what they expected. "If we had had enough money to go back to Texas, we would have turned the car around that very night," my dad, José Garcia, explains to me. For years, his family regularly had traveled from town to town, chopping cotton and picking fruit and vegetables. This was their lot as migrant farmworkers. "We were used to moving around," he says, "but that night I realized that I did not want such a life for my children." My mother, Maria "Lupita" Garcia, was born in Mexico, and lived on a small ranch with an extended family of 10. Of her childhood, she tells me: "There were no beds for the kids. My grandparents slept in the only bed, everyone else slept on the floor. When my father passed away in 1972, my mother went to the United States to acquire permission for us to work there." The family made the move north to Florida later that year. "My dreams included a home for my family and a better life," she says. Over time, she learned flower arranging and manicuring. Later, she became a successful, self-employed manicurist. My parents were neighbors in Immokalee. When they married, they lived in a small rented apartment. It was all they could afford. My father attended junior college, and my mother worked in a flower nursery. Owning a home of their own seemed out of reach. Habitat for Humanity opened a door that may not have opened otherwise. "Habitat helped me establish a good home where I could raise my family and teach them the value of education," says my father. Everything that revolves around that word is highly regarded by my family. My father instilled in me that without an education, you will never turn your dreams into reality. "I didn't want you working out in the fields or doing any other kind of job while you were in school," he explains to me. "That was my job. As long as you do your best, that is enough for me." You could say education was my life, and I was determined to give my all for that life. When I walked down the aisle as valedictorian at my 1995 graduation from Immokalee High School, it was not for me, but for my parents. Today, I am a university graduate with a bachelor's degree -- the first in my family. My communications degree is the culmination of 22 years of my mom and dad parenting with love, sweat and tears. I am proud of my family's achievements, and grateful to my parents and Habitat for providing part of the foundation for my life. Habitat's example of providing for those in need drives me to live my life, not just for myself, but for others as well. This was Jesus Christ's example first, and I choose to follow this path. The foundation is set and I am ready for what the future holds. José and Maria Garcia tirelessly toiled to overcome a heritage of migrant work and substandard housing so that their children might have a better life, an education and decent shelter. They have lived in their Habitat house in Immokalee, Fla., since 1981, having moved there when their son, Noel, was just 3 years old. Today, the 22-year-old has earned his family's first bachelor's degree and has never worked in the fields -- the fulfillment of his parents' dreams. Noel's story is as much theirs as it is his. Armed with a degree in communications, Noel Garcia works in the media center at his alma mater, Southeastern College in Lakeland, Fla. Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, April/May 2000. This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ©2000 Habitat for Humanity International |
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