A small group of Carbon girls found a way to make a difference in the lives of children in Mexico, and brought one a smile where it wasn’t thought possible.
Jody Ohlhauser and his wife Marlies have been mentoring a small group of high school students in Carbon. They meet on Sunday mornings, and often will head in to Calgary to do work with the homeless. This year they zeroed in on a project that would help youngsters in Mexico get surgery for cleft lips and palates.
Jody explains he and his wife often travel to Mexico and became aware there were many children with the congenital abnormality. They also learned there is an organization that performs surgeries to help correct the deformity.
“It only costs about $1,100 (for the surgery),” said Jody. “The doctors donate their time, so it is only the supplies we pay for.”
They pitched the idea of a bottle drive to the mentoring group and they were enthusiastic to raise the funds. Residents of Carbon were also enthusiastic to support the project and the group is grateful for their generosity.
Their efforts made a difference in the life of two-year-old Jose Che Cache who received the surgery last month. They are planning a second bottle drive in the fall to pay for the operation for another child.
Jody says they have confidence working with this charity.
“The reason we are interested in working with this organization is we have been involved with lots of organizations and non-profits, and you can pay for kids to have a meal, or buy people goats, or build them a house, but you don’t really know if it will change their lives. With this we know it is going to change a kid's life forever.”
Jody explains they began working with some of the youngsters in Sunday School, however as the kids got older and interest in church began to wane, they continued to mentor the youngsters. Marlies has a background in counselling. The group is non denominational.
“We talk with them about the Bible and life issues and things like that,” said Jody. “We hang out and talk and see what is going on in their lives.”
Each year in May they head to a large Christian youth gathering at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
Jody said the group is planning a trip to Mexico next year.
