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Gerardo and Nora's Story

Nora was born in Mexico and emigrated to the United States with
her father who had been working in the fields as a migrant farm
worker for many years. Nora is the oldest of 7 siblings, and felt
the responsibility to help her parents and siblings to survive and
meet their basic needs. She came to the U.S. with one purpose,
"to work". Nora mentioned that working in the fields as a migrant
farm worker was not easy, and was the hardest work she had ever
done, working daily from dawn to dusk, earning just enough to
survive but being so exhausted that she couldn’t even eat dinner.
Nora told us that back then the only thing she thought about was
survival and the work that awaited her every morning was always
exhausting. Nora never contemplated the possibility of looking for
another job, or learning English, let alone going to school. Rather, she and
her family were just trying to survive to get food on the table and keep a
roof over their heads. Nora's life went on and several years later, after meeting
and marrying Gerardo, her life changed for the better. She soon became a
mother and housewife. Nora always had the desire to engage in a program and work as
a volunteer, so when Nora discovered Rebekah Children’s Services programs like Prevention and Education and the Family Resource
Center, she gradually became involved in them.
In our Abriendo Program where Nora first attended family workshops, she explored and set goals for the first time in her life. During
these classes, Nora realized the possibility of studying and perhaps even going back to school. She recalled an exercise in one of
Abriendo Puertas classes where she was asked to write a step-by-step list of actions that must be taken in order to achieve a goal. Nora
said, “that exercise allowed for me to now have in my hands a college degree. I never imagined that I could have ever attained a college
degree, not even in my dreams.”
Now Nora is a woman who inspires many women in our community, and has even inspired her husband Gerardo, who made the decision
to continue his studies, and is now in his second semester of college. Gerardo is also involved in RCS programs, like 24/7 DADS, a
parenting class just for fathers, The Incredible Years and other parenting classes. He is a leader among the Associate Community
Workers and also facilitates workshops for fathers using different curricula. He also inspires other fathers in the community. Gerardo
shares his experience with parents and helps them to understand the skills needed for positive parenting. Gerardo has shared that he is
a new person, a better father and a better husband. Gerardo said, “I have skills to communicate more effectively with my family. I know
how to control my stress, and I have more patience. I understand the importance of spending quality time with my family, and spending
time with my wife.”
Nora and Gerardo are now leaders in the community and help other parents learn positive parenting skills and how they can foster
academic success in their children. The Prevention and Education programs and the Family Resource Center are fortunate to have
them on the team. We know that Nora and Gerardo are changing lives in our community and continue to serve as great role models for
their children.

Nora Outreach