Children International’s communications coordinators are the field correspondents who serve as the eyes and ears of the organization at each agency. Because they are the reporters who feed us the material you later read in Journeys, eNews, our website and our other publications, we thought you might enjoy getting to know them a little better. This month we chose to introduce you to Patricia Calderón, the communications coordinator from Barranquilla, Colombia.
Patricia holds a degree in Journalism and, prior to joining Children International, served as an award-winning television reporter and program host in Barranquilla. She also served as the Director of Communications for the Barranquilla Carnival Foundation.
We found a couple of her answers to be particularly engaging:
What is your favorite memory of your job as communications coordinator?
One day as I was interviewing a 9-year-old boy, I asked him what made him feel happy and he just laughed very mischievously but didn’t answer. I repeated the question and he laughed even more, but he still didn’t answer. I asked him again and he came close and whispered, “Being close to María Alejandra!” I laughed and asked him who she was, but he put his fingers to his lips and went “Shhhh!” and let me know through gestures that it was a girl sitting at a table next to us at the community center library. We both giggled and I told him I’d keep his secret.
What is the most touching experience you’ve had in your job?
I was covering the announcement to a family that lived in horrible conditions that they were going to receive a house. The sponsor requested that they find out the news through a letter he had written, so we sent word for the whole family to gather. The Sponsor Relations Manager went to the family’s house and read them the letter. As the family of 10 heard the news they became more and more excited, until finally they all burst into tears. They were hugging each other and crying and couldn’t believe such happy news. The family’s excitement was so great that even those of us who went to break the news ended up crying to see how overjoyed they were.
Patricia concludes, “I’m happy to be doing this job because it allows me to put into practice a lot of the areas I studied. Besides, I feel like I’m contributing a little to the neediest families by making their stories known, which gives them an opportunity for change in their lives.”
Patricia holds a degree in Journalism and, prior to joining Children International, served as an award-winning television reporter and program host in Barranquilla. She also served as the Director of Communications for the Barranquilla Carnival Foundation.
We found a couple of her answers to be particularly engaging:
What is your favorite memory of your job as communications coordinator?
One day as I was interviewing a 9-year-old boy, I asked him what made him feel happy and he just laughed very mischievously but didn’t answer. I repeated the question and he laughed even more, but he still didn’t answer. I asked him again and he came close and whispered, “Being close to María Alejandra!” I laughed and asked him who she was, but he put his fingers to his lips and went “Shhhh!” and let me know through gestures that it was a girl sitting at a table next to us at the community center library. We both giggled and I told him I’d keep his secret.
What is the most touching experience you’ve had in your job?
I was covering the announcement to a family that lived in horrible conditions that they were going to receive a house. The sponsor requested that they find out the news through a letter he had written, so we sent word for the whole family to gather. The Sponsor Relations Manager went to the family’s house and read them the letter. As the family of 10 heard the news they became more and more excited, until finally they all burst into tears. They were hugging each other and crying and couldn’t believe such happy news. The family’s excitement was so great that even those of us who went to break the news ended up crying to see how overjoyed they were.
Patricia concludes, “I’m happy to be doing this job because it allows me to put into practice a lot of the areas I studied. Besides, I feel like I’m contributing a little to the neediest families by making their stories known, which gives them an opportunity for change in their lives.”
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