My ‘Kiwanis Moment’

By Martin L. Neuringer
Kiwanis Club of Mapleton Brooklyn, New York

In November 2001, my Mapleton Brooklyn Kiwanis club received a holiday grant-a-wish application from a student at McKinley Junior High School. My fellow members were surprised by what they read:

“My holiday wish would be to have my daddy back. To be able to converse, hug, and tell him how much I love him. Daddy, wherever you are on this holiday, I wish that you bless us with love and happiness. Also, for you to come back, because we miss you and you will always be in our heart.”

We learned that Wilson and Ricardo Asitimbay, age 12, were twins and had two other siblings, Wilmer (8) and Edwin (4), born to Carmen Mejia and Manuel Asitimbay.

Their father came to the United States from Ecuador to build a better life for his family. He was followed by his wife, Carmen. They worked hard and sent money back to Ecuador to support their children. They saved diligently to bring the children to the United States and reunite their family. Manuel was employed as a cook at the famous Windows on the World restaurant atop the World Trade Center in New York City.

Manual and Carmen were trying to secure visas for the children to join them in New York. As reported in the New York Daily News, the Asitimbays already had paid US$4,500 to a scam artist who promised to help unite them. On September 11, 2001, Manual went to work, where he died during the terrorists’ attack.

Unfortunately, the children found out about their father’s tragic demise via a TV broadcast in their home in Ecuador.

The Red Cross helped Carmen secure the proper documents and paid for the children’s airfare, bringing them to the United States to be reunited with their mother. They resided with an aunt in Brooklyn, and the twins enrolled in a bilingual program at McKinley Junior High School.

At this same time, Fordham, Bronx Kiwanians received a phone call from Paige Thornton, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Alpharetta, Georgia. She explained that her club wanted to send money to purchase toys for the tragedy’s victims’ children. Paige felt relieved that “Kiwanians would know how to get these toys in the right hands.”

We in the Mapleton Kiwanis club jumped into action and partnered with fellow Kiwanians from the Fordham club to bring the Asitimbay family some holiday joy. The family did not speak English, so a Spanish-speaking school guidance counselor went along to help Kiwanians distribute the gifts. We climbed four flights of stairs with armfuls of holiday presents for the children and their mom. The counselor explained why we were there, and we were welcomed into the home.

Though language was a barrier, the mother, Carmen, and the boys quickly offered us drinks and what little sweets they had. We urged the boys to open the gifts. When Wilson opened his present, he screamed with excitement, “Mommy, mommy,” over and over. It turned out that his gift, a Casio keyboard, was identical to the one his father had purchased for him and sent to him in Ecuador. Unfortunately, when Wilson left Ecuador, the keyboard had to remain behind. His twin, Ricardo, a music lover, received a stereo system. The younger boys received trucks and other gifts.

In that moment, I realized how Kiwanians from different clubs and different communities can join hands to make a difference. We gave these boys a brighter future.

The Asitimbay boys currently attend Ft. Hamilton High School. Debra Dishon, who was their middle school guidance counselor, reports, “The boys are working very hard and making good progress.”

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