What Can Ten Years Make Possible?
Ten years ago, when we first opened the doors of Cadaniño in a small garage, we had no idea what the next decade would bring.
We simply wanted to create a place where children could be known, loved, encouraged, and given opportunities they might not otherwise have; a place where they could receive help with school, discover new interests and abilities, learn about God, and have people in their lives who believed in them.
At the time, many of our first students were only six or seven years old.
Today, those children are becoming young adults.
And after ten years, we are beginning to see what can happen when a child has access to these opportunities year after year…and chooses to take advantage of them.
Jefferson is one of those students.
Jefferson’s Story
Jefferson is 16 years old and has been part of Cadaniño for ten years. We recently asked him to tell us, in his own words, what those years have meant to him:
“My name is Jefferson. I am 16 years old, and I have been part of the Cadaniño Foundation for 10 years. During all this time, I have loved being part of the program because it has contributed in a very important way to different areas of my life and has prepared me for my professional, academic, and spiritual future.
When I joined Cadaniño, I learned everything from the basics, such as how to use a computer and type correctly on a keyboard, to developing more advanced skills. Over the years, I have learned to use Office programs and then moved on to gaining knowledge in computer programming and website development.
I have also had the opportunity to learn about electronics and robotics, participating in very interesting projects. I have developed skills in 3D printing, learning how to design models, print them, and understand how different types of printers work.
Currently, thanks to the knowledge and experiences I have gained at Cadaniño, I have the opportunity to be a leader in the area of 3D printing and in the area of Arduino. For me, this represents a great responsibility and, at the same time, an opportunity to continue learning and share my knowledge with other students.
In the spiritual area, Cadaniño has also had a very important impact on my life. I have grown up learning about the Bible and Christian values, which have helped me face the difficulties of life and understand that God has never abandoned me.
I have also learned to offer words of encouragement to other people and to mature so that I can face my future responsibly.
In addition, the food we receive at Cadaniño has been a great help. After attending school, I can come and enjoy a good lunch and begin my classes with the energy I need to learn and take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.
I am very grateful to Cadaniño for everything it has taught me during these 10 years. I have not only gained technological and academic knowledge, but I have also learned values, responsibility, leadership, and principles that will be important throughout my life.”
What Jefferson doesn’t mention is just how far he has taken some of those opportunities.
Today, Jefferson leads our 3D printing club at the Santa Fe Center, where he is teaching other students many of the same skills he has learned over the years. He has gone from a six-year-old learning to use a computer to a leader helping other students discover what they are capable of.
He has also begun putting those skills to the test. At a recent Science and Technology Fair, Jefferson built a 3D-printed robotic hand that could be controlled through the movements of his own hand. The project won first place.
For us, the award was exciting. But what it represents is even more exciting.
Ten years of opportunities are beginning to turn into leadership.
What Ten Years Can Do
This is why we believe so deeply in long-term investment in children.
No single class, project, Bible lesson, or conversation explains who Jefferson is becoming. It is the accumulation of thousands of ordinary moments over ten years.
A teacher helping with homework.
Someone opening a Bible and answering his questions.
A computer class that introduces something completely new.
A robotics project that challenges him to think differently.
A meal waiting for him after school.
An opportunity to try, fail, learn, and try again.
And eventually, an opportunity to take what he has learned and give it to someone else.
Jefferson’s story is unique, but he isn’t the only student following this path.
Andrea
Andrea is 16 and has been part of Cadaniño for six years. She remembers arriving without knowing how to use a computer. Today, she is learning programming. But when she talks about Cadaniño, she doesn’t only talk about what she has learned.
She talks about belonging....
"Cadaniño has been and continues to be an important place for me, because I have found a home here. I don’t just receive classes; I have also felt at home through every piece of advice and every word I have received.”
She also talks about learning more about the Bible and about God, and looks toward her future with confidence: “I know that I will go very far with the help of God and Cadaniño.”
Then there is Victor
Victor has been part of Cadaniño for about four years. Like Jefferson and Andrea, he remembers struggling in his education when he began, but today, he is learning programming.
He says Cadaniño has helped him improve academically, grow closer to God, and make better decisions.
But one of our favorite parts of Victor’s story is what he sees happening behind him. Five of his younger brothers and sisters are also part of Cadaniño.
“I am happy that they also have the opportunity to learn. Even though they are young, it makes me happy that they will grow up with all of these opportunities that Cadaniño gives us.”
And perhaps that is one of the most exciting things about reaching our tenth year.
We can now look at students like Jefferson and see what years of consistent investment can produce. At the same time, we can look at younger students just beginning that journey and imagine what might be possible for them.
This is what we hoped for when Cadaniño began, not simply that children would participate in a program, but that they would discover and develop the gifts God has given them and learn to use those gifts to serve others and glorify Him.
Today, younger children are sitting in the same classrooms where Jefferson once sat. Some are learning to use a computer for the first time. Others are reading a new book, building their first LEGO project, receiving help with difficult homework, or hearing a Bible lesson that will stay with them for a lifetime.
We don’t know which one will become an engineer.
We don’t know which one will become a teacher.
We don’t know which one will discover an ability they don’t even know they have yet.
And we don’t know how God will use them.
But they will have a relationship with God and know that He loves them.
But after ten years, we are beginning to see what is possible when children are given opportunities, surrounded by people who believe in them, and choose to make the most of what they have been given.
And we can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring.
Sincerely,
Timothy and Sharie Martiny
