A young boy who decided to sell his toys in order to buy a computer tablet to keep up with his school work has been given two tablets by kindhearted citizens after a newspaper published a story on his plight.
So he turned around and gave the second away to another student without a device to access the internet.
Mario Lara, 11, of Ciudad Madero in Tamaulipas, had been struggling with technology as he attends school online. When classes began in August, he used his mother’s smartphone, but that situation quickly grew complicated as his mother also needs the phone to run her business.
She struggles to make ends meet so purchasing a tablet for their son was financially impossible.
But Mario was determined to keep up with his studies, so he decided to sell off his toy collection, mostly action figures like Max Steel and Spider-Man and Star Wars characters.
He placed them on a plastic table in front of his house to which he affixed a sign reading “My toys are for sale. I need a tablet or a cell phone for my classes, help me with your purchase.”
Word soon spread on social media and Milenio published a story on Mario on September 23.
A non-profit called Movimiento Benito responded and gave Mario a tablet.
But so did a person from Guadalajara who was moved by the story. Mario gave the second tablet to another child in his same predicament.
“I am proud of my child for his noble heart,” his mother said.
Other Mexican children have come to understand that tough times can mean sacrifices have to be made.
Such was the case of a young man in Tampico named Dereck Peto Castorena, who in May decided to sell off his extensive collection of “The Simpsons” figurines to help his family survive economically.
The sixth-grader set up shop at his father’s mask and hand sanitizer stand where he sold the figurines for 15 to 70 pesos (US 70 cents to $3.27) each, using the money to help his family survive because “they have struggled a lot,” he said.
A child in Tijuana adopted a similar tactic in April. After his mother lost her job he began bartering his favorite playthings, placing stuffed animals, puzzles and balls on the fence outside his family home with a sign reading, “I’m exchanging toys for food. We want to help my mom.”
Source: Milenio (sp)
