Catalina Peruchet

My Vision of a Better World
My interest in helping the world started when I remember my first conscious thoughts about making the world a better place. I would babysit anything that was alive in my community. I can still hear my name shouted by goo goo eyes while I was walking to school. I have an internal album of awesome memories that included taking care of small children who were challenging at church. It’s OK to be a toddler, I would say to them. When I became a teenager I volunteered my time to help people with special needs in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Hardly no one visited them, but I did. Once I remember a young man, named Pedro. He couldn’t talk. Every time someone would visit him, he would scream. His eyes looked like shooting stars. After I visited, he would hug me. His hugs said more than word could describe.
People volunteer for different reasons. My motivation is to make a difference. Just to know I make a contribution it makes me feel good as well. My community did not need a “Wendy” from Peter Pan, only me and my creative stories.
I am a single mother. I believe that in order to have a better world we should care about others. I am a board member of People for Equal Justice, an organization in Liberty, New York. I advocate for people’s civil rights, and I am active in social action. Every Sunday you can find me supervising parents with “family court order supervised visits.” Our service is free. We are not there to judge, but to unite. Safety is important as well as Hugs. We don’t need Super Man, if we give, and care. Just like the ceramic made in low heat, the earthenware.