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I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives

A “typical twelve-year-old American girl,” Caitlin Stoicsitz began her correspondence with fourteen-year-old Martin Ganda as a result of a school assignment. Her letters were full of middle-school melodrama, while gifted student Martin was determined to find his way out of the slums of Zimbabwe by pursuing his education. Though Caitlin initially knew very little of Martin’s abject poverty, she eventually began sending him money and soon enlisted the help of her mother in finding ways to fund his school tuition and to send care packages of clothes and shoes. The Stoicsitzes’ generosity did not stop there: upon learning of Martin’s ambitions to attend university in the States, Caitlin’s mother worked tirelessly to find him a full scholarship to Villanova, and the book closes with pictures of Martin and Wallace, another boy from his school whom the Stoicsitz family took under their wing, at Caitlin’s wedding, as well as an epilogue where Martin describes his career success. While this is certainly an inspirational story with which to open a unit on cross-cultural communication, Caitlin’s claims to be “typical” are somewhat strained given her multiple international vacations with her family, and there’s a strong sentimental overlay to the account. However, Martin’s story is eye-opening to say the least, and the suspense generated by Caitlin’s mother’s repeated and often frustrated attempts to secure funding reads like well-wrought fiction. Martin seems so earnest and well intentioned that it is impossible not to root for his success; readers may be encouraged to find their own Martin to support. KC