On the edge of the tent city that hugs the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico, children are crouched on the dusty sidewalk, leaning in as Elizabeth Despaigne reads to them from a book on sea life. Originally from Cuba, Despaigne is one of a handful of asylum seekers who were professionals in their native homeland that are now employed at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, teaching the children of those living in the makeshift camp as they wait for their U.S. asylum hearings just over the river in Brownsville, Texas. Since the beginning of the school, founder Felicia Rangel-Samponaro has been able to expand the school to five days a week while providing lunch for students, and started offering lessons to parents, as well. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has been forced to go virtual with the help of donated tablets. To learn about how Pittsburgh has become tied to the Sidewalk School, head here.
Ray Rodriguez and Rodney Prepo, asylum seekers from Cuba and from Venezuela, respectively, look over the work of their students while teaching at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Prepo were both recently granted asylum and are currently living in the U.S. The school employs professionals seeking asylum as teachers and for lesson planning.Children work on handwriting and the alphabet at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. The pop-up school meets on the sidewalk by the tent city the children call home as they wait for their families’ asylum hearings, a process which can take months and was halted by the U.S. government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, of Brownsville, Tx., owner and founder at The Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, gets snacks for the students as classes end for the day, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Ms. Rangel-Samponaro, who was a schoolteacher in Houston, Texas, started the Sidewalk School in her vision of having asylum seekers have a larger role in the school as teachers and board members.Children spend an afternoon at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. When the school first started it had 25 children. As word started to spread and more kids began to show up, new teachers were hired to fit their needs.Kenneth, 9, an asylum seeker from Honduras, holds a granola bar that came with a goodie bag brought by Pittsburgh’s Worth Manifesto team during class at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Worth Manifesto galvanized people across the Pittsburgh region to donate snacks, notes of encouragement, school supplies, and hygiene products for people awaiting their asylum hearings in the Matamoros tent city on the U.S.-Mexico border.Elizabeth Despaigne, an asylum seeker from Cuba, is surrounded by students as she gives a lesson on sharks at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Teachers and organizers aim to give stateless children a sense of routine and normalcy at the pop-up school, and a chance to learn their numbers, letters, language, and arts and crafts.Kenneth, 9, an asylum seeker from Honduras, practices writing in script during class at the Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico.Yanisleydis Fernandez Roman, left, and Rosario Mederos, both asylum seekers from Cuba and teachers at the Sidewalk School, prepare lunch for students, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Ms. Roman was a teacher in Cuba and Ms. Mederos worked in IT.Pamela Anticole, back left, of McCandless, and Danny Klimetz, back right, of Oxford, Ms., follow Victor Cavazos, assistant director for the Sidewalk School, as he goes to the market to gather lunch for students, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. After realizing children were not getting enough fresh fruits, Mr. Cavazos and founder Felicia Rangel-Samponaro decided to add giving children fresh fruits and snacks to their curriculum.A fruit vendor, left, places tangerines in the bag held by Victor Cavazos, assistant director for the Sidewalk School, as he buys lunch supplies for the school students, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico.Printed lessons are placed on a bed as Victor Cavazos, assistant director for the Sidewalk School, prepares lessons, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Mr. Cavazos uses a home printer in order to print out the daily lessons for students before each class.Victor Cavazos, assistant director for the Sidewalk School, sits silently at a printer as he prepares lessons for students, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Matamoros, Mexico. Mr. Cavazos began his volunteer work with Team Brownsvile, but since building a connection with Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, he has since dedicated more of his time to the Sidewalk School.
This is part of the story of a woman saved from a life of homelessness and abuse because a few people reached out and offered her compassion, love and respect. In turn, she threw herself into a mission to help those most vulnerable. Her journey offers a glimpse into the understanding of what we need to make us feel human. Read and see more here.
By 
