LONGTIME TOT CARETAKER SEEKS JOB: AND SHE’S THE BEST!!!!!! FIRST THURSDAY WILL HAVE GUIDED ART WALKS! TAKE A LOOK....

Day Care Provider

My son’s longtime baby-sitter – who I can highly recommend to take care of any tot – is seeking a job taking care of children Monday through Friday – and even weekends.

For many years, Rita Dheming took care of my son when I was ill. He learned a lot of Spanish and gained a new family to boot! Rita, who we call “Mama” teaches the alphabet, numbers, colors and pre-kindergarten materials. For older children, she sets aside a structure to do homework.

She has babysat for children for more than sixteen years and will care for them in your home. For more information about Mama, email hartchap@cox.net.

__________________________________________________________________

MEET DOWNTOWN SAN PEDRO WITH DOCENT LEAD ART WALKS

First Thursday in San Pedro takes on a new look with guided tours of different sections of downtown. On December 3, visitors will be welcomed at Mishi’s Strudel Bakery and Café, 309 W. 7^th Street, San Pedro. The tour will start from there at 6:30. Each month a different meeting point and route will spotlight unique historical buildings, shops, restaurants, galleries, and artists’ studios. Following the one hour tour, visitors will have an opportunity to shop, eat and enjoy the music and ambiance that fill the streets on First Thursday.

--------------------------------------------------

SAN PEDRO HIGH OFFICIALS LOOK TO THE COMMUNITY TO AID FAMILY TO BURY 17-YEAR-OLD BOY SHOT TO DEATH SUNDAY: HE HAD MANY ADOPTED MOTHERS AND ONE CALLS THE KILLING A “HATE” CRIME; POLICE SAY BOY HAD DONE NOTHING WRONG ADDING THE KILLING WAS OUT OF REVENGE AND UNRELATED TO EITHER THE TEENAGER, GANGS OR RACE

By Diana L. Chapman

While San Pedro High School officials seek financial assistance from teachers and residents to help bury a likable, 17-year-old boy shot and killed Sunday, the mother of Geilser (Michael) Alfaro’s girlfriend called the shooting devastating to her family and believes it was racially motivated.

The teenager, a former Dodson Middle and San Pedro High school student, was shot and killed in a dispute that started in an alleyway around 18^th and Grand avenues about 11:30 Sunday morning. Police arrested two suspects, but one has already been released, said Los Angeles Police Lt. David McGill.

“It’s so sad,” said McGill, who added detectives believe it was a revenge killing that nothing to do with Alfaro. “It had nothing to do with race or gangs. We have the most up to date information. It’s got no bearing on the case.”

He added, however, that the Alfaro may have paid the price for some long ago feud between another family member and the suspect that didn’t involve him.

Gang members, however, had taunted Alfaro, who was Hispanic,for dating his long time, African-American girlfriend. He had a run-in with one of the suspect’s in the past.

Within a few hours of the shooting – which kept many residents locked in their homes on 18^th Street, police arrested two brothers -- Albert, 21, and Joaquin Ortega, 19. Joaquin was released Wednesday because the District Attorney believed there was not enough evidence to charge him, McGill explained.

Albert, however, has been charged with murder and remains in jail, McGill said. Police continue to call Joaquin “a person of interest.”

Friends and family described Alfaro as a happy-go-lucky teenager, who believed life was good.

Nicknamed “Batman,” -- a super hero Alfaro adored -- friends and family members in mourning Tuesday say the boy was always smiling, loved to play with young children, hated tomatoes, was a maniac dancer -- with or without music -- and still watched and enjoyed Pokémon shows despite his age.

He even played with Pokémon toys, said Jessica Dorado, a friend and neighbor, who called him “a big kid.”

“He just made the best of everything,” Dorado explained. “He’d play with bugs and put them on strings and watch them fly around. His saying was: ‘Be a happy camper.’”

He befriended just about everyone, from nerds to gang members and he saw no racial barriers dating an African-American girl, which some friends and family believe ultimately caused his death.

Regina Williams, mother of Michael’s long time girlfriend, said she’s outraged by his death; she considered the boy her son. Her daughter, Ken Ya Broadnax, dated Michael for nearly five years after the pair met at age 13. Because they were so young, Williams said, she believed it was a passing fancy and that Michael would soon vanish.

Five years later, the two announced they would finish school, marry and have a baby.

At an apartment on the north end of San Pedro, friends, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors poured in and out to talk about Alfaro.

The young couple, they said, had quit going to San Pedro High, because they felt uncomfortable and were frequently teased about being a bi-racial couple. Due to the issues, the two left San Pedro High and enrolled at Toberman Settlement House’s: the City of the Angels, an LAUSD program, the girlfriend said, to get their degrees and complete their high school studies independently.

Ken Ya insists the taunts and slurs they received forced the couple to leave the campus, because they were fearful – especially after the shooting death of African American LaTerian Tasby, a San Pedro High football player who was killed at a party allegedly by Hispanic gang members two years ago.

That killing was never solved.

Michael “had more problems because of me,” Ken Ya lamented about her boyfriend. “There were just so many problems. Gang members were saying: “You know you can’t be with her.”

Several friends gathered at the site of the shooting this week, one friend trying to scrub away all the blood in the street. But large, pooled stains still remained on the road. Several candles were burning and bunches of flowers leaned against a fence.

Despite ridicule, Alfaro refused to quit seeing Ken Ya and the couple continued to plan their future together, family and friends said.

“He didn’t see color,” explained Ken Ya’s mother Regina, who has been helping Michael’s Spanish speaking-only father by taking him to see detectives and make funeral arrangements expected to be held next week. “He had every friend, Asian, Mexican. He was a good kid, a really, really good kid. I hoped and prayed that my daughter would end up with a good guy…and she did.”

Schools officials are asking the community to help the family.

San Pedro High Principal Jeanette Stevens immediately notified teachers, some of whom sobbed when they learned who died, and has asked that the community to come together to bury the teenager.

“Our school community was saddened today because of the loss of one former young student,” Stevens said. “Many students were overwhelmed by the tragic situation...

“As I look at how we work together as a community, I am inspired to see programs that exist to support our students in our neighborhoods, but with events like this shooting, I can't help but wonder what more we might be able to do to engage more students in activities and clubs that keep students in safe environments.”

Los Angeles School Board Member Richard Vladovic extended his "sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Alfaro. As a community, we need to reach out to his loved ones and ensure that they have love and support in their time of need."

Friends said Alfaro was bubbly and happy and always advised everyone to enjoy life. At school, he was extremely successful in math, but was intimidated and troubled by English. At least two teachers at the high school, they said, took interest in him and tried to help him with his struggles.

Viridiana Juarez, a neighbor who helped raise Alfaro since the age of five and also considers him like a son, said her younger children were charmed by his playfulness. He’d toss them in the air, pretend he was Batman and get on the ground to play with the boys and their toys. The boys considered him to be like a brother, and are “devastated,” Juarez said.

Most of all, Alfaro liked to prove repeatedly that babies adored him more than anyone else – and would do everything to make them smile. In his short life, he became extremely close to his uncle, Hugo Alfaro, and the two often went four-wheeling together that strengthened their bonds.

The uncle, tears welling in his eyes, just said: "I loved him."

While police reported that Alfaro was shot in the head, the family says that medical staff told them that he was hit once in the arm and again in the back when “he was running for his life,” his girlfriend said who believes it was tied to their dating.

“Gangs are racial,” she said. “They run along racial lines.”

One boy, who asked not to be identified, said Alfaro was always there for him, even when he was kicked out of his house. He listened to his troubles. The friend added that he was that way for everyone.

Services are pending, but will be announced soon. Alfaro is survived by his father, Fermin Alfaro, his mother, Kembly Bararalizsett Tamyo Oyama, a sister, Jennifer, 10 and a brother, Fernando, 13.

Friends are asking for financial assistance for services. A car wash will be held over the weekend where donations will be accepted. The time and location will be announced.

REFLECTIONS AND TIPS FROM MARY

A JUNIOR HIGH GIRL ABOUT GOSSIPING/AVOID IT/AND ADMIT IT WHEN YOU’VE ERRED!

Dear Readers: I just love when students write about things that happen in their daily lives. In this instance, Mary wrote about gossip and how other youth might want to handle it. She has decided to write pieces called "Reflections by Mary" for the Underdogforkids blog. Enjoy -- Diana

By Mary Ortiz

Everybody hates gossip, but think about it. How many times have you said something you didn’t mean or was very mean about a friend? Gossiping can cause so much drama. For instance, as my youth group leader tells you: "When you girls are gossiping and one of you leaves, the gossiping backfires on you and suddenly you are the target." Think about how you would feel.

I have lost a few friends because of gossiping. Some of it wasn’t even true. When girls gossip it always backfires. If you are the victim, confront the person because you never know if their words have been twisted.

If you are the person talking and the person confronts you, don’t lie. That will make the person lose trust in you. Realize everybody makes mistakes. If you say something and know it wasn’t on purpose or you didn’t mean it, admit it. Don’t let the person find out from someone else. Tell the person truth. Sure they'll be mad, but at least you might still have a chance to keep them as a friend. And that would be truly lucky.

TWO LOST BOYS OF SUDAN COMING TO SAN PEDRO HIGH TO TALK OF THEIR EXPERIENCE ESCAPING DEATH: THEY WILL COME WITH THE C0-AUTHOR OF “THEY POURED FIRE ON US FROM THE SKY”THAT TELLS THEIR AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TALE: THE EVENT WILL BE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC THIS COMING WEDNESDAY

ONE SAN PEDRO HIGH TEACHER SAYS THE BOOK AND THE BOYS CHANGED HER LIFE AND THAT OF MANY OF HER STUDENTS

“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled,” an African Proverb used in the book: They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky.

By Diana L. Chapman

I sat up with my head buried in the book.

Deja vu shivered up and down my spine, as though I was reading the Diary of Anne Frank all over again – a book that rocked the world once Anne’s father, who lost his family to the Holocaust, discovered his daughter’s diary and published it after World War II.

“They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky,” – an autobiographical telling of three Lost Sudan boy’s stories hurts, but is one of the most unforgettable, heart wrenching, culturally provocative books I’ve ever read in my life -- one all of us should read.

I learned. I laughed. I cried. Two of the Lost Boys in this book will be here next week at San Pedro High to share their stories along with the woman who helped them author it, Judy Bernstein. The life-changing event is open to the public in the school’s auditorium from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. and again from 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 18.

As I absorbed the book, I couldn’t help but feel the stories of Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng and Benjamin Ajak (Alepho and Benjamin will come to the school) seemed eerily similar in so many ways to Anne’s. While it’s dressed in completely different attire of a new time, another country and a wildly different culture, the underpinnings remained the same – that of mass genocide, one group trying to scrub the world away or obliterate another group of innocent people due to their race, religion or ethnicity.

About two million people died and five million were displaced in Sudan’s Civil War, which launched the ugly journey of the Lost Boys. Some 27,000 boys, as young as five, were forced to criss-cross the desert to head for refugee camps. More than half died, some from being picked off in the middle of the night by lions and hyenas. Others died from illness and lack of food.

The 1,000 mile journey – which trekked through Sudan’s desert to reach for Ethiopia and Kenya began in the early 1980s when Northern government troops attacked and razed the boy’s villages, killed their parents and raped, killed or enslaved their sisters. During the attacks, many of the boys were out guarding their families herds – and escaped the bloodshed, at least at that moment.

Once, I picked up the book, I was entranced with learning about their culture during more peaceful, happier times.

Benson describes living in a small, mudded hut and explained family riches stemmed from the number of cattle your father owned.

“I would hear the echoes of the ground horn bill howling and weaver birds singing…” he wrote. “I would stand under the acacia trees and watch the giraffes curl their black tongues around the leaves above.”

Then the pastoral village life turned to a whirlwind of black chaos and destruction when the troops decided to cleanse the southern villages.

It was the fault of a San Pedro High English teacher, Tobey Shulman, that I was reading this book “that changed,” her life, she said, when she announced at Back to School Night that not only would her students read it -- more importantly, they’d be meeting Benjamin and Alephonsion. This is their third trip to the school and this time, Shulman decided to offer it up to the public as one way “to help humanity.” The book’s sales proceeds go to the boys.

The three boys came from villages where most the men were at least six feet tall, so when Shulman and her students spotted Benjamin for the first time – they knew instantly it was him.

“When Benjamin came, all of us were just floored,” the teacher explained, whose husband knew author “Jud—eee,” as the Sudan boys call her, from a writing group. “It changed my life. My girls were screaming: “There’s Benjamin. They wanted to hug him and hold his hands. They were all crying.

“The whole experience is just altering. One of my kids, Timothy Do, wanted to start an “End to Genocide Club” and did it.” At last, she said, Do settled down from a class joker to find he had a purpose in life.

What it taught her students overall, she continued, was the absolute importance of education. The Sudan boys proved that in their relentless journey to survive, some of whom later came to the United States through the United Nations to pick up the pieces of their lives, had a fierce respect for education and called it “their mother,” Shulman said.

“They walked 1,000 miles and they brought their books,” Shulman explained, with tears in her eyes. “They brought their Bible.”

Like hundreds of other boys, these three escaped the Muslim-run government death squads who slaughtered thousands. This led to the boys’ remarkable journey along with hundreds of others -- some boys as young as five being taken care of by 11-year-olds -- to trek across the desert, snaking past feeding lions, through crocodile-infested rivers to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

The co-author – who insists the boys are the true authors and she just guided them -- and I tried to reach each other several times, but have yet to connect. She, however, has spent much time helping the boys – actually now young men in their early 20s -- resettle in the United States. The author hooked up with them when a San Diego caseworker asked if she could mentor them when they first arrived.

At first, she was a bit uneasy about the mentoring , but that vanished once she met them, she said in her foreward, and they became “near and dear” to her and her family.

Bernstein did an extraordinary job guiding these boys to tell their stories and made me laugh in her foreword. Once she and her son, Cliff, who was 12 at the time, took the boys to shop for pants at a Walmart.

When they got out at the parking lot, she wrote in the foreword: “Benson says: “Cars stand here like a cattle in a cattle camp,” and when she warns them the parking lots are dangerous Benson again says: “It is like when walking among the cows. One must use caution. A cow may swing her head very, very fast to get a fly. The horns, very long, can injure a boy.”

When “Jud….eee” asks why they don’t remove the horns, he explains: “Cows need the horns to fight lions.”

As a mother who mentors students in writing, I shuddered when the author visited the boys in their sparse apartment one morning and Benson and Alepho hand her some composition paper saying: “These are the stories we wrote…they are for you.”

What a gift to cherish!

From then on, the author mentored them, helped them pull together the book – and still helps them to this day. The proceeds from book sales go to the boys.

“I begin to dream,” she writes, “that if we can weave their stories into a tapestry and if we’re granted a great stroke of luck, the resulting book might pay for some tuition and they can fulfill their dreams of getting an education.”

By attending the event, where the books will be sold, it’s a dream we can all help make come true.