Bob Hentzen

Bob Hentzen: CFCA President and Co-founder is walking 8,000 miles through 12 countries from Guatemala to Chile. (http://twitpic.com/wlt93)

My hero is Bob Hentzen. He is my dad’s uncle, so that makes him my great uncle. I met him at a family reunion a couple of years ago. He is about 73 years old. His name used to be Keith Hentzen but he changed it and I don’t know why. I learned about him through my parents and why he’s so special.

My hero has done many wonderful things. He has changed the lives of thousands of people. He started a foundation called C.F.C.A., which stands for Christian Foundation for Children and Ageing. This foundation gives money to poor children so they can go to school all over the world. They also give money to the elderly that are too sick to work and don’t have a family to support them. The foundation provides services people in over 20 countries throughout the world. In 1996 he walked from Kansas City to Guatemala, that’s 4,000 miles! “The walk was inspired by a desire to show his love for the poor and to call attention to their gifts, potential and realities,” says Bob Hentzen. On December 29, 2009, he’s going to begin an 8,000 mile walk from Guatemala to Chile!

My hero, Bob, lives in Guatemala. He grew up in Kansas City on a farm, and was a poor child. He had big family - a family of fourteen, in fact. He had four brothers and seven sisters, but only four of his siblings are alive today. He was fourth from the youngest.

Bob was born in 1936. When he was young, there weren’t many cars on the road, so he, his brothers, and his sisters rode horses. Even though his family was poor, his parents made sure that all the children were educated. His family were also faithful Catholics, and two of his aunts were nuns.

Bob is important to me because, well, he’s my inspiration. He helps all of those people who are in need of help. Bob reaches out to them and helps them with their lives. My family has sponsored a child from this C.F.C.A foundation. We send money to the foundation once a year and they buy anything he needs to go to school. Things like school supplies, a backpack, clothes, and food.

Our sponsored child's name is Jose. We get letters from him and pictures of him. We also send pictures of us to him. Some of his brothers and sisters help him with the foundation. In videos I watch of him, everyone just loves him so much, like I do. Bob also plays the guitar like me. When I get older I want to help with this foundation.