Our Story and History
The seeds of this foundation were planted in the spring of 1989, in front of the Managua Cathedral in a war-torn Nicaragua. There, 19 year old Sheva Carr, a North American aid worker, met Jorge Silva, a 12 year old orphan abandoned in the street. At the time, Jorge was selling peanuts to try and put his way through school so that he could realize his dream to become a doctor
. Taken by his sincerity, ingenuity, and initiative, Sheva made it her goal to see that Jorge would have all that he needed to actualize his dream. When she was forced to return to North America shortly after their meeting because of heightened political tensions, she sent Jorge (against the advice of experts) $40 per month to cover the cost of his food, clothing, and school. With each money order, she sent a card of encouragement, assuming that she could never know for sure the outcome of her action of unconditional love. With one of those cards, she sent Jorge a packet of unmarked seeds. ”Plant these seeds in soil where there is plenty of sunlight. When you see them blossom into flowers, you will know that my love is with you every day helping you to grow and blossom, too! You’ll also get to see the surprise of what they grow into!” To Jorge’s delight, the seeds became giant orange sunflowers like the color of Sheva’s hair. After six years of monthly money orders and loving cards, Jorge and Sheva lost touch. Care Counts
Sheva had watered a seed with these care packages, never expecting to see what the flower in the form of Jorge would one day become. But she too, was to receive a delightful surprise. 12 years to the day after she and Jorge had met in front of the Managua Cathredral, he found her again to tell her of the impact her love and care had on his life. Though tempted at times into drugs, prostitution, or crime to survive, Jorge kept telling himself that he had a mother in Canada in Sheva, and would one day find her again to make her proud. Following the trail her care had left behind, he had blossomed into a psychologist, and was now the head of an orphanage responsible for the care of 30 children. Just as one sunflower seed turns into a flower that has hundreds of seeds in store, Sheva's small act of service had blossomed in Jorge to reach many more! Did you know that you cannot plant sunflower seeds backwards? One of our participants planted sunflower seeds in front of a ribbed metal wall painted white. When the plants were fully grown and began to blossom, a strange thing occurred. The radiant orange and yellow blossoms were facing the wall instead of the garden. “They’re backwards! Did we plant the seeds backwards?” No! Sunflowers grow towards the greatest light. The sunlight reflected off of the metal wall was stronger than the sun itself! What helps a human being grow? We believe that human beings grow the same way sunflowers do- towards the greatest light, in the form of love. Sunflower SunPower Kids aims to offer individuals, families and classrooms the opportunity to be “the metal wall,” reflecting the light of love that developing children and communities may grow under and aspire towards. The Fyera Foundation and the Sunflower SunPower Kids Today? Today, Jorge and Sheva have grown up and teamed up to be of benefit to hundreds of families and thousands of children in three Nicaraguan cities. Sheva is now a doctor of Oriental Medicine, and a licensed HeartMath trainer with her own stress management training company. She has taught people all over the world (including the goverment in Nicaragua!) to access the heart's intelligence for conflict resolution, stress reduction, healing, optimal performance, creativity and social change. The Sunflower SunPowerKids has programs for sponsoring children, classrooms, small businesses, and hospitals. We hope you will join us and contribute to a world culture based on cooperative creativity and care for our whole human family!
