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EDWIN RAUDALES
Edwin Raudales is a remarkable teenager
who had a dream.
He was only fifteen years old and working at a dead-end
job stocking bananas for 13 or 14 hours a day. He
was exhausted by the end of the day and saw there
was no hope of getting an education.
Edwin:
I wanted to find a job when I could work part-time
and go to school the other half. But there were
no such jobs. Most jobs are 13 hours a day and so
I realized that I needed a change in life.
Edwin left his family in Honduras and began the
dangerous journey north.
Edwin: I didn't know
where Canada was, but I knew it wasn't going to
be hard to find.
He was injured as he hopped trains,
escaped the police numerous times and was robbed by
gangs. Edwin successfully crossed the border to the
U.S. and then hitchhiked another 1600 kilometres,
all the way to Nelson, B.C. where an uncle lived.
Edwin:
I prayed for my family and prayed to have a good day
without too much trouble and to meet nice people and
to make it safely here.
When Edwin arrived found himself in a new world. He
enrolled for classes at a local high school and told
the story of his incredible journey to one of his
teachers, Karl Machato.
Karl Machato:
He was in a social class where it was very difficult
for him to get a higher education. He couldn't go
to school because he had to support his family. He
was kind of naive and brave when he took on this dream.
Machato, a former refugee from
Uganda, became a mentor. Edwin adjusted to his new
surroundings and befriended the French teacher, Mrs.
Pulsifer. She offered him a place to stay - rent free.
Soon Edwin was living every Honduran kid's dream;
new friends, a new home and a new identity.
His classmates thought he was an exchange student.
He didn't tell the story of his incredible journey
to anyone else.
Edwin: I
didn't talk about my trip or my life. They couldn't
relate to me, so I thought why should I tell them,
they wouldn't understand. I just wanted to keep a
secret.
Find out more about what happened when Edwin Raudales
reached his destination.
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