Bacilio's sponsor through Children International is Cristiane Relvas.

Cristiane writes:

Bacilio Ramirez is a wonderful boy of 10.  When I started sponsoring him about 2 ½ years ago, I was concerned with the conditions in which he and his family lived.  Bacilio appeared to be malnourished and to have somewhat severe developmental delays (per my lay opinion).  There was something in his expression, though, that completely captivated me.  It went beyond the fact that he direly needed sponsorship. 

Bacilio in 2003

Behind that sad and dazed look, I felt there was someone very special who definitely deserved a better hand than he had been dealt.  After sponsoring him for a few months, I received an updated photo of him.  I was stunned at the change I saw.  He did not look as malnourished anymore, and that ever-present dazed look had softened: he was starting to look more like an eight-year-old boy should.

The quick improvement in his condition encouraged me to gather more information on Bacilio and his family.  I found out they come from an indigenous group.  They owned the land on which they lived, but their living conditions were atrocious. See the pictures. Bacilio’s mother had been abandoned by her husband and she now lived with her parents and a few other family members.  Bacilio was not able to attend school due to poverty.