San Antonio, Texas, Jun 21, 2009 / 11:46 am
Five little girls were carefully dividing up a portion of pistachio nuts, when Gina Gonzalez-Inglett and Sister Luz Moreno, CSB, pulled into the gas station in Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, México. Inglett, a photographer, was returning to the states after an excursion to photograph Mexican scenery in 2002, and while her friend was engaged at the station’s office, decided to snap a quick photo of the children. It was a picture that would change her life and those of the residents of nearby Rancho Nuevo, the girls’ impoverished village.
Hearing the click of the camera, the youngest stepped forward and extended her hand, palm up. Instead of money, Inglett offered the girl and her companions some mints and struck up a conversation. “If you’re from America,” said one of the girls, “do you know Barbie?” Tongue in cheek, Inglett assured them that not only did she know that American doll icon, she lived next door to her.
Before she knew it, Inglett had promised she would bring all five girls Barbie dolls, planning to send them via Sister Luz the following month. As they drove on, Sister Luz pointed out to her, “You can’t just make promises and not complete them.” The children, she explained, were expecting to see Inglett return with the dolls herself.
Once home, Inglett realized that this was definitely something she needed to do, but decided to use it as a teaching moment for her nieces and nephews as well. She began calling them, asking each for a toy they no longer played with or a pair of shoes they didn’t wear. “And before I knew it,” she adds, “I had a truckload of stuff and I had five Barbies.”