-
Oct 4, 2005 9:49 pm US/Central
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Honduran Girl Learns Hope From Local Family
Family Has Given 4 Years, $85,000 Already
by Mike Puccinelli
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) ―
It's a story that started three years ago with a flyer sent out by a charity soliciting donations for poor third world children.
A Naperville resident received one of those flyers four years ago and read the background information about the girl whose face was on the flyer.
At that point he knew that this particular girl was going to need a lot more than money.
At first glance Mrs. Bartkowicz's second grade class at All Saints Catholic Academy in Naperville seems pretty typical.
But then you notice 52-year-old Greg Hubert. He's a computer consultant who's given up his job to go back to class.
"He is acing the curriculum," said teacher Beth Bartkowicz. "And so is she!"
She is Josselin Garcia, a Honduran girl who's never heard a question in her life.
When asked how old she is, she could answer, "I am ten years old."
Josselin was able to read lips and vocalize her answer. That's a testament to Hubert who was raised by deaf parents and also has a deaf child who's benefited from an auditory implant.
But Josselin's deafness is so profound she can't be helped by technology. Hubert refused to give up on her.
"We just weren't able to give up on her and limit her options in life. How could you?" he asked.
The Hubert family couldn't, so four years and $85,000 later Josselin is still here. And Greg has gone back to school to try and bring one girl out of a world of silence.
"You save the world one child at a time," said Hubert.
A life lesson about love and acceptance on display each day at a Naperville school.
"By having her in the classroom, the children are learning the most important lesson they can," said Bartkowicz.
Hubert says Josselin will likely have to continue training in America for another three and a half years before her lip reading skills will be good enough to return home to Honduras.
If you would like to make a donation or volunteer your time as a tutor or teacher for Josselin call All Saints Catholic Academy in Naperville or log onto the dreamtospeak website.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)