Cidalia Campos is a dedicated gratitude tracker, wholeheartedly tallying the goodness in her life in a journal she tends to daily. Wellspring, she says, is high on her list.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means the world to me to be a volunteer at Wellspring. It gives meaning to my life. I am so lucky and happy that I can give people the help that I did not have available to me 20 years ago when my husband had cancer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Cidalia lost her husband Jose to metastatic colon cancer at the age of 62. Originally from Mozambique, the pair were living in Brazil at the time of Jose\u2019s untimely death.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe underwent several surgeries and had all kinds of treatment. He lived for two and a half years, but they couldn\u2019t save him,\u201d Cidalia said. She explains that though she had a strong network of church, family and friends to support her, there was nothing quite like Wellspring to help the family through the difficult journey and eventual loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very hard losing Jose. But my strong religion, my wonderful kids, and my positive attitude, that\u2019s what has kept me going,\u201d she said. She also notes that she continues to feel Jose\u2019s presence and guidance \u2013 a testament to the deep connection they had in their 36 years of marriage.<\/p>\n
Cidalia\u2019s story is unusual and incredibly interesting. She and Jose and their two children were originally from Mozambique, back when this small country in southeastern Africa was a Portuguese colony. In 1975, after 30-plus years of war, and just after Mozambique had won its independence from Portugal, the couple and their two kids were among the 250,000 Portuguese settlers who fled the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went to Brazil where we had family \u2013 my husband\u2019s uncle. My husband got work in his field (IT) and I worked as an executive assistant. We stayed there for 10 years,\u201d said Cidalia. \u201cTo this day, my son and daughter really identify as Brazilian even though they were both born in Africa and we never became Brazilians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next, the Campos family moved to Mexico City for a three-year work contract, and when that ended, they moved to Florida where Jose was once again scouted for his in-demand computer skills. \u201cWhen Jose accepted the position in Florida, the move was very much in line with the vision he had for his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had witnessed the communist government stripping away all the property from our family back in Mozambique, so we had made a decision, we would not save for property, we would save for the children\u2019s education,\u201d she said, adding that the U.S. offered excellent options for their kids\u2019 educational pursuits.<\/p>\n
Fast forward five years and with both kids launched and educated, Cidalia and her husband returned to what felt like home to them \u2013 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Their son Claudio obtained a master\u2019s degree in international business, married, and settled in the Dominican Republic. Their daughter Luiza achieved a bachelor\u2019s degree in science and eventually laid roots in Calgary.<\/p>\n
Then the difficult news of Jose\u2019s cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all did the best we could, but it really was very hard,\u201d said Cidalia. \u201cAfter Jose passed the kids were worried that I might fall into a depression. My son said I should come to the Dominican Republic, but my daughter felt I\u2019d be better off near her in Canada, so that is where I decided to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years after she arrived in Calgary, Cidalia, then 61, got a job as an assistant at Momentum, a Calgary-based non-profit organization that offers programs and services\u00a0<\/strong>for people who are living on low incomes, to increase their ability to\u00a0manage and save money,\u00a0train for and maintain good jobs, or\u00a0start a business.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved my job at Momentum! I worked there until I was 70. I had no intention of retiring \u2013 until the Immigrant Access Fund was taken inhouse and we lost the program. That\u2019s when the decision was made \u2013 it was time for me to retire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n After retirement, Cidalia needed a new challenge \u2013 a meaningful place to focus her time and efforts. She was volunteering for some programs through her church when Luiza said, \u201cMom I know this great organization called Wellspring. I\u2019m sure you would love to volunteer there!\u201d So began her new passion \u2013 offering support to those living with cancer.<\/p>\n Cidalia started in 2016, volunteering for the Brain Fog program that Wellspring offered in a south Calgary satellite location (Cedarglen Homes) back before Randy O\u2019Dell House was built. \u201cMy job was to set up, greet members and then clean up,\u201d she said proudly. \u201cThat was back in the day when we could ask people if they wanted a hug, and if they said yes \u2013 I was right there to give them one!\u201d<\/p>\n Now she is a permanent fixture at the front desk of Carma House on Thursdays. She loves to greet members who attend inhouse programs, and when there is no virus wreaking havoc with personal space, she looks forward to returning to the Wellspring welcome that includes offering a hug.<\/p>\n \u201cWellspring is something special \u2013 it really is! It offers so much to help so many people in need. All I can say is, I\u2019m so lucky to be one of the people who gets to help others find their way to Wellspring,\u201d said Cidalia. \u201cThere\u2019s no other way to put it, Wellspring means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cidalia Campos has come a long way from Mozambique to volunteering at the Wellspring front desk! She is a dedicated gratitude tracker, wholeheartedly tallying the goodness in her life in a journal she tends to daily. Wellspring, she says, is high on her list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-7835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-inside-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n