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FAMILY:
We invite you to meet families who are embracing life with courage,
resilience and grit. They have small hopes and big dreams.
Published Thursday, December
25, 2003, in the San Jose Mercury News
Fifteen year-old Karla Rangel and her younger sister Berenice
Rangel, 8, open a box which holds a computer. The two girls
and their brother and sister survived a car accident that took
the life of their mother in July. They are now living with their
grandmother Maria Castro in San Jose. |
Easing
the grief of a mother’s absence
Wish
18 • when
the two big boxes containing a brand-new computer and monitor arrived
at their downtown San Jose home, it didn't take Karla Jessica Rangel
long to get things organized. She sailed through the set-up and very
quickly was showing the younger kids how to play a pre-installed video
game.
It was a bright moment in an otherwise sad holiday season for Karla,
15, and her siblings - Kristine, 13; Berenice, 8; and Noah, 2. It's
the first Christmas since their mother, Selene Rangel, was killed
in a car crash as the family was en route from San Jose to Louisiana.
Selene planned to work there to buy a house and improve the future
for her struggling family.
Today, the Rangel kids are settling in with their grandmother, Maria
Castro, who is filing for permanent custody. But Selene is very much
a presence in the home; her photo is at the top of the family's Christmas
tree.
Eleven
year-old Lose Palefau, left, Sosifate Palefau, 6, and their
mother Malia Palefau, right, admire a new television/DVD player.
The family of eight also received bunkbeds, bikes and a computer. |
New
furniture and jobs brighten family’s holiday
Wish
19 • three
new sets of bunk beds have been assembled. Six shiny bikes are locked
up securely in the back yard. A computer will open up a wider world.
And there are gift certificates that will be used for school clothes
and supplies. They're all much appreciated presents for the Palefau
family of East Palo Alto, who have been overwhelmed by the generosity
of Wish Book readers.
But the most exciting present came the day after the Wish Book
was published, when dad Siaosi got a call from the manager of the
Home Depot in East Palo Alto, offering him a full-time job. The
Wish Book story had mentioned Siaosi's persistence in applying there.
Now, he's on the payroll 40 hours a week, and his wife, Malia, will
begin working there in January.
Malia hopes that the boost to their bottom line will make it possible
for the family, who left their native Tonga and lived in a homeless
shelter for awhile, to finally begin to pursue their American Dream.
For the kids - Falaviena, 14; Vaiolini, 12; Lose, 11; Pauline, 8;
Sosifate, 6; and Semisie, 4 - that would mean a safer neighborhood
in which to ride those new bikes.
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Thanks to Mercury News readers, all of the wishes in the 2003
Holiday Wish Book will be fulfilled.
Here are the details:
Wish
18 • Maria Castro, who is raising her grandchildren
in San Jose - Karla Jessica, Kristine, Berenice and Noah -after the
death of their mother: computer, printer, CD player, small stereo,
toys, gift certificates for clothing. (See story at left)
Nominating agency: Grandparent Caregiver Resource Center,
Catholic Charities, San Jose.
Wish 19 • Malia and Siaosi Palefau and their
children, Falaviena, Vaiolini, Lose, Pauline, Sosifate and Semisie,
East Palo Alto: three sets of bunk beds, computer, printer, bicycles,
helmets, toys, clothing, school supplies. Nominating agency:
Shelter Network, Burlingame.
 Wish
20 • Coco Abdul and Alan Garcia, Redwood City:
household items for their new place, a special frame for a wedding
photo.
Nominating agency: Shelter Network, Burlingame.
 Wish
21 • Angelica Jimenez and her son, Angelo,
San Jose: gift certificates for clothing, bus passes, sketchbooks,
pastels. Nominating agency: Santa Clara County Victim
Center, San Jose.
 Wish
22 • Te To and Yuhee Tat and their children
Mary, Donald and Helen, San Jose: repairs to their townhouse,
carpeting, insulated curtains, gift certificates for clothing. Nominating
agency: Silicon Valley Independent Living Center, San Jose.
 Wish
23 • Cesar and Mary Cervantes and their children
Meghan, Jonathan and Aundreah, Gilroy: hypoallergenic beds and
bedding, vacuum cleaner with special filter, car seat. Donations also
will provide clothing and school supplies for about 120 children who
are living at the Arturo Ochoa Migrant Housing Center in Gilroy this
winter.
Nominating agency: St. Joseph's Family Center, Gilroy.
 Wish
24 • Becky McPherson and her son, Ryan McWilliams,
San Jose: computer, printer, graphics software, desk, gift certificates
for clothing, movie passes. Nominating agency: Campbell
Union School District, Campbell.
 Wish
25 • Frances Merrill and her daughter, Laura,
Sunnyvale: computer and printer. Nominating agency:
Silicon Valley Independent Living Center, San Jose.
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