Page 13 - Demo

This is Another Reason that we are Lions
This is a letter that was just emailed to GP Host Lions President Esmeralda Rodriguez. She was attending graduation at one of the sessions, and met the mother of a camper. This is another reason that we are Lions.
My dear sweet Esmeralda,
Here's the picture we took at camp together. You are such a joyful soul. I've attached a picture of camper as well. Her name is Percaya. It's pronounced /purr/ like a cat, /chai/ like the tea, /yuh/ like you were to say yup but forgot the p.
Percaya is 14 and headed into the 8th grade. She did 3rd grade twice because of her struggle reading. You see Percaya's muscles around her eyes are not well developed and are not very strong. One eye is especially weak to the point her brain turned it off because it was too confusing to figure out what she was looking at.
One year of eye physical therapy, a ton of tears and frustration, and a lot
of prayers later Percaya could follow a line of text if the print was 16 point font or larger. Percaya was homeschooled for 3 1/2 years before re- entering public school. The schools in Texas gave her the accommodations that she needed to succeed, but Percaya kept struggling.
(L) Jenni Langston, (R) Lion Esmeralda Rodriguez
Percaya was tested for and placed in the Gifted and Talented program, because of not only her intelligence, but also for the unique way that she views the world around her because of her eye sight. For the first time Percaya realized that maybe her "disability" could be a blessing, but she wasn't confident in herself at all. She was embarrassed about her large print papers and the fact that she read in her textbooks with a magnifying glass. If Percaya couldn't see something in class she just didn't see it. She would not stop the teacher and let her/him know she couldn't see it. Percaya didn't realized that Percaya was worth standing up
Camper Percaya
for. I frequently heard her say, "Well the OTHER kids..."...And then she went to Lion's Camp...The world changed for my daughter in ways that I can barely put into words.
Percaya went to Texas Lions Camp for the first time in 2017. I dropped off a broken and hurt child who was different and "disabled," a child who different from everybody else and had little confidence in her own amazing view of the world around her.
When we walked into Lions Camp a cheer went up. I was tickled. I was getting cheered for as a suitcase bearer. What would they do when my camper arrived in the hall? A few seconds later I got my answer. A HUGE cheer went up. Percaya was floored. No one had ever cheered for her like that, who wasn't mom, and they didn't even know her yet. All her nerves left her and she was so excited to be at
camp.
The child I picked up was a whole other person from the one I kissed good-bye in cabin C6. The girl who greeted me when she arrived home in her grandparents care was alive for the first time in ages. Percaya glowed from the inside out. Despite all her vision struggles Percaya decided she would sit down and write a book. So she did! Percaya spent the rest of her summer writing her story about two mermaids and their adventures under the sea.
Percaya went back to school and for the first time in her public school education finished the year on grade level and won the reading award. That was her biggest accomplishment in her life so far. This school year Percaya finished above grade level for the first time ever.
After camp this summer Percaya has been busy working to edit her book for publication next summer complete with illustrations done by a friend she met at Lions Camp. (continued next page)
VOLUME 29 ISSUE 1 / JULY 2018 PAGE 13