• In praise of Lauryn Galindo In praise of Lauryn Galindo By Gabriela Taylor I am writing to share my experience and views pertaining to TGI front page story June, 24, 2004 regarding Lauryn Galindo. I became familiar with Ms
• In praise of Lauryn Galindo
In praise of Lauryn Galindo
By Gabriela Taylor
I am writing to share my experience and views pertaining to TGI front page story June, 24, 2004 regarding Lauryn Galindo.
I became familiar with Ms Galindo’s work after visiting Cambodia and seeing the abject poverty in a country where a holocaust killed a third of the population almost 30 years ago. The horror of Pol Pot’s rampage has left physical strife in the form of children (now mostly adults) whose legs were blown off by land mines, and mental anguish, which is still not healed in a country that is too poor to provide social services in the way of food, housing or heath care, and where begging is a necessity. I have seen naked children picking through garbage piles and legless men begging while pushing themselves along on wheeled boards.
Feeling sadness and compassion for these amazing survivors, who are some of the friendliest people I have ever known, led me to support a young man I met there. I am putting him through business school (he was earning $30/month, working 48 hours a week as a waiter), and am also supporting an eight year old child in a Cambodian orphanage. I met the director of the orphanage support program through Ms. Galindo, as well as meeting several of the American parents and adopted Cambodian children at her home, on that occasion. The health, joy and love that those children exhibited was evidence to me that Ms. Galindo was doing a wonderful service. I learned that the Cambodian government also appreciated her humanitarian work and gave her their full approval and support.
Ms. Galindo was charged with taking children for adoption who had at least one parent. It was only after I had supported the girl in a Cambodian orphanage 2 years that I found out she has a mother who was too poor to keep her. The mother wanted the child to have a better life in the orphanage. I think it is hard for people to understand in this country that Cambodian parents give up children willingly because they are thinking of the child and want them to grow up healthy and not have to pick food from trash piles or to beg.
They are happy to see children adopted by Americans or Europeans.
I know nothing about Ms. Galindo’s business or banking, but I do hope I have shed some light on why her work is so important.
If only on Kaua‘i, I want people to know the truth about Cambodian poverty and how Ms. Galindo has worked miracles in a very sad and desperate situation.
Gabriela Taylor is a resident of Kapa‘a
