As the famous African saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Raising a child is not an easy task. Though, with today’s technological advances, we have such increased access to resources. It seems like everyday more and more people are preferring to get all their information, even on parenting, by searching Google or reading blog posts. We have become reliant on having information at the tip of our fingers thanks to our smartphones..
While receiving information face-to-face has become increasingly less prevalent, the story of one family from El Centro, California, shows the unique value of face-to-face communication and relationship. Blas Lopez and Lluvia Padilla have a 3-year old daughter named Leilanie. Raising Leilanie for them has involved the help of family support worker Rosendo Gil. Ms. Padilla admits that she was not always aware what to do when her daughter was born. “We were asking question after question after question.” The help of Gil has continued to provide them with knowledge throughout these last three years. The main objective of support workers like Gil is to train parents how to raise healthy children while overcoming challenges such as poverty and depression.
The results of these programs show that children have a lower chance of experiencing abuse and neglect. Overall it improves their health and well-being. The Lopez family has greatly benefitted from the visits, gaining Gil’s trust and making him a part of their family.
It is inspiring to see people like Rosendo Gil making a positive impact in the lives of many families nationwide. Gil states, “I see parents going back to work and back to school. I see parents breaking the cycle on substance abuse. I see families becoming role models to other families.”
