Janeth at high school graduation

You are about to meet an angel on earth . . .

Let us introduce you to Janeth Garcia.

Janeth is a very special young lady who has a dream . . . a BIG dream. She has had this dream for a long time, and she is about to begin her journey down the path that will make her dream a reality.

Before we reveal Janeth's dream, let's take a closer look into the life of Janeth Garcia.

Janeth and a friend as children, in Mexico

Janeth was born 18 years ago on June 5, 1985, in Tijuana, Mexico, to Parfirio and Juana Garcia. Parfirio was a policeman and Juana was a homemaker. Janeth has one sister and two brothers. For many years, Juana Garcia longed for a better life for her family, but she was unable to convince her husband to move the family out of Mexico to Southern California. Although Parfirio was skeptical about moving to California, he finally gave in to Juana's desire, and the family moved to California in 1997.

Parfirio tried for five or six months to adjust to their new lifestyle in Long Beach, California, but he missed his homeland so much that he came to the painful decision to return to Mexico, even though Juana refused to go back with him. They had to split the family, whereby Janeth's sister and one of her brothers went back to Tijuana with Porfirio, and Janeth and her younger brother Julio remained in Long Beach with their mother.

The breakup of the family was difficult for all of them, but they managed to stay in close contact with each other and have periodic visits. Life as a single mother was challenging for Juana, but she was determined to stay in California and raise Janeth and Julio there. She was able to find work at a local hospital in Long Beach. Unfortunately Juana found it necessary to move frequently. Although they stayed in the Long Beach area, Janeth and her brother had to constantly leave their friends behind and change schools.

During this time, Janeth observed that small kindergarten-age children from poor immigrant families have no place to go for a proper education and an opportunity to learn English. That's when Janeth's dream began to take shape. With hope in her heart, she decided she would dedicate her life to helping immigrant Mexican children by establishing and managing a special kindergarten where she could teach children by establishing and managing a special kindergarten where she could teach children in the Long Beach area who had a background similiar to her own

Then in 1999, Janeth and her family were shocked to receive the sad news that Parfirio had died suddenly from a stroke. Janeth was so devastated that she was unable to talk for a long time, because she had a very close relationship with her father. Janeth's life was shattered and in the midst of her grief, she lost sight of her dream. Before Janeth was able to recover, she found herself in yet another devastating situation. In 2002, her grandmother, whom which she was very close, passed away, leaving her disillusioned once again.

After a long period of time, Janeth was able to work through her grief over these deaths, and she again began to have hope in her heart and thoughts of reviving her dream to to help young Latinos by establishing a kindergarten in the Long Beach area.

In March of 2003, Janeth's family was dealt yet another blow. Juana had a stroke, too. However, after much concern and prayer, her mother did survive the stroke. Unfortunately, the stroke was very disabling and Juana is still in therapy and unable to work at this time. Janeth is hoping to get her driver's license in the near future so she can transport her mother to her therapy appointments.

The good news is Janeth's Uncle Jose had compassion on the family and offered to let Juana, Janeth and her brother move in with his family. The bad news is that they are sharing the small Long Beach apartment with about 17 other people. That can make life interesting at times! But Janeth takes it all in stride because she has a dream . . .

Janeth's dream was further stimulated with new hope when she was able to find employment at a local Quizno's in Seal Beach. With the coaching of her employer, Fred, she enrolled at Long Beach City College for the fall 2003 semester and plans to transfer her credits to California State University, Long Beach, in two years to complete the education she needs to make her dream a reality. Fred is very supportive and has offered to let her use space at his business location for quiet study time. Janeth's affinal sisters, Heather and Hasti Barahmand, Fred's daughters, have assisted her in graduating High School, enrolling in College, setting up this web-site, and have joined in partnership with her to accomplish her goals and endeavors. Together they are determined to make this dream a reality. Hasti, 15, is currently a freshman at Santa Monica College and Heather, 18, is working on her Masters degree at UCLA.

Look out, world. Janeth Garcia is on a mission. Her dream is alive and strong and nothing will stop her now. She has hope in her heart, and she believes God has a special plan for her life. In 2007 Janeth will graduate from CSULB and begin her quest to help poor immigrant children be the best that they can be.

Would you like to have a part in helping Janeth on her journey to achieve her dream? You can! We have established a trust for Janeth to be used solely for her education and applied toward the purchase of a venue to establish the kindergarten of Janeth's dreams. Send your check payable to:

(TRUST NAME)
ADDRESS
CITY, STATE, ZIP

Thank you for your contribution to this Angel with a Human Heart!