If you can dream it, you can achieve it.
Zig Ziglar
When you follow your dream, a dream that is bigger than yourself, the universe will conspire to give you all that you need.
Sure, the path is not going to smooth sailing all the way to the promised land of fulfilment. You must be prepared to have some challenges on the way; that is part of life.
Norman Vincent Peal said “ The people who have no problems are the ones in the cemetery". Problems will serve you to become stronger.
This is my story.
When I was a little girl, I used to tell myself that when I get married I will have at least 6 children.
Sadly, I could not have kids of my own.
Early in life I wanted to share a little bit of what I had with those around me. I often shared food or clothing with those that were less fortunate….poor children in my neighbourhood and school. I grew up in Morelia, Mexico. There were many less fortunate than myself.
Our family was not rich but my Father worked hard to give us an education and support us the best he could. My parents taught us to be good Christians, to look after each other, be compassionate and to love and respect our neighbours.
I wanted to have children because I love children. Learning that there were so many children in the world without parents, that were raised in toxic environments; houses filled with abuse and neglect. Houses without love or care or simply a lack thereof.
An option was to adopt a child or children for that matter. However, when I married my husband he did not want that. I never stopped dreaming.
It was necessary to keep an open mind. I continued to learn, acquire new tools and build my life and career. All of which helped me achieve my ultimate goal: to empower children in disadvantaged situations and give them love, an opportunity to build confidence and experience joy. And for them to believe they are capable of becoming successful human beings in life.
After retiring at the age of 65, I was eager to stay busy and have a purpose in life and remain connected to a group of people. I made the decision to learn how to sing (strange I know, to learn such a skill at 65 years of age) and joined a community choir to have fun, make some new connections and live happily ever after.
It wasn’t long after starting that I began noticing I was much more joyful and confident. I was connected to my group it ways I was unable to predict and I importantly had never experienced the freedom to sing before.
During this time I was sponsoring a child in an orphanage in Mexico and remember mulling over the decision of what the ideal Christmas present would be for my girl….Mmmm toys??? Clothes??? And what about the others children?
Whilst contemplating the decision of how to help my sponsor child feel special on Christmas, the idea to create what has now become I Have a Voice Orphans Choir was born.
It would make a difference for not only one child but all children in that orphanage. YES!!! I told myself that this was what I was going to do.
Whatever I had accrued during my working life, I wanted to give away to the children; the future citizens of our world.
It has since become my mission and is provided a significant sense of meaning and fulfilment in my life.
When starting out, I realised that I had such a great dream but didn’t have all the skills required. That didn’t bother me, I had a dream, a goal in mind and I had awoken my passion.
When I joined a choir, I learned the choir director can be a source of beauty and the platform to allow people to be the best.
Simple.
This led me to sourcing a suitable choir master for children. My logic proved that this would in turn assist them in being the best versions of themselves. It too would create a platform for them and would encourage the best values in humanity; love, happiness, joy, integrity, respect, compassion and self esteem.
My search led me to a young lady named Elizabeth Espejel Cruz. She was a true choir master and already directing a children’s choir at a festival.
Elizabeth has built a powerful, experienced and professional team of choir masters for I Have a Voice Orphans Choir in Mexico. You can see our full team here.
Remember that the road is never without hurdles. In 2020 I was diagnosed with cancer. Whilst frightened by the diagnosis, I saw it as a treacherous path I needed to walk. Luckily it was a cancer that was curable.
I said if I’m still here, it is for a reason.
I need to trust, all is in the hands of our creator and I have faith that I can lead my team of choir masters until the day that I can no longer. Every day that I have left, I will encourage and empower the team by providing them with tools for them to help support the development of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. I have built a strong and passionate team that are committed to making a difference and continuing the work in my absence. Together we are making a significant difference in these children’s lives. Something I am extremely proud of.
Today we have 255 children in our program.
255 children finding joy, improved confidence and their own freedom to sing, long into the future.
Find out more about our program here.