“Everything Was Worth It'“
Hard journeys are a little bit easier when you have someone walking alongside you.
Josefina Jimenez left Mexico City because she was looking for a better life for her children. She arrived in Minneapolis with four kids and a lot of hard work ahead. It wasn't easy. Working is hard when you have four children to care for. Building a life in a new place, in a new language, takes a lot of time. And time is a luxury for many in our community.
Josefina was working as hard as she could but felt like where she wanted to be was getting further and further away. That's when someone told her about Siempre Padres at Urban Ventures.
Siempre Padres is Urban Ventures' parenting support program for Spanish-speaking families. Classes are taught in Spanish, bringing together parents and facilitators who understand both the culture and this neighborhood. Parents build practical skills, gain confidence, and find connection with others who are walking a similar path. 100% of participants say it has improved their life at home.
Siempre Padres means “Forever Parents." The goal of the program is not just to help parents figure out the here and now, but to prepare them for a lifetime of supporting their kids and creating healthier dynamics than many of them grew up with. For Josefina, it was both a comfort and a doorway to more knowledge and opportunities.
As she connected to Urban Ventures, her children did too. They joined the youth programs and found connections and opportunities of their own. When Cornwell Early Learning Center opened, Josefina's granddaughter Mia was one of the first students.
"I saw that environment where they were safe. Where they received the food, the learning they needed, and the help for their tasks."
Seeing her kids and grandkids do well makes the hardship and the hard work worth it. When she came to Urban Ventures, she wasn't looking for a handout or for someone else to do things for her. She was looking for someone to walk with her as she navigated a challenging path.
At Urban Ventures, everyone in her family found someone to walk side by side with them. The results speak for themselves. Josefina's daughter was the first in their family to get a college degree. And her granddaughter, at eight years old, already knows exactly what she wants to do with her life.
She wants to be a teacher so she can help students the same way she sees her teachers helping her. Grandma can't stop smiling.
"I see my dreams realized. The suffering I went through, the obstacles, the adversities. Everything was worth it to see the future of my children, which is better."
You can hear Josefina tell it in her own words in the video below. Her granddaughter Mia makes an appearance too. We filmed the video a few years ago, and the family has only grown from there.
Siempre Padres is one of the programs made possible by supporters of Urban Ventures. If you'd like to be part of this work, the Side by Side campaign is a good place to start. Every gift is matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 and directly benefits Siempre Padres.
