All mothers face struggles in raising their children. Some mothers give up when their children are grown, thinking that once their children are adults, they have to make their own decisions. Not Noemi. Some mothers express how awful their children were growing up, but don’t try to keep training them into adulthood. Not Noemi. Some mothers toss their children out of the way if their children get angry with them or seem to hate them. Not Noemi.
She believes her job is to take care of her family, her children, and everyone else while she’s at it! Many people look at the pressures placed on an inner-city mother, the fight against gangs, drugs, alcohol, bad friends, corrupted manners, and academic failure, and express the hopelessness of raising good kids in that environment. Not Noemi. Even though her job was difficult and often thankless, she worked to make her children good people. Fights were met with love, but discipline too. Sickness was met with tender, dedicated care. Bad friends were met with careful rules.
Has it been a hard road in raising kids in an inner-city environment? Noemi would say “yes.” Yet there are some mothers who try anyway, and succeed. Noemi is one of them.
We are grateful for Noemi Juarez Le and her faithful service each day at the Oak Grove Community Center with our new Community Impact Initiative. Noemi has impacted and continues to impact, the lives of her own children and many other children of the Oak Grove community. Thank you, Noemi!
