My father was born and raised in Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela. He was raised hiding aracha and squash (that he didn't want to eat) in the chinks of the garage, which were discovered years later. He went to a bilingual school and immersed in the struggles of other Venezuelan families that didn't have the resources he did. He said that he was "like a pebble washed on many shores". He says he is a "citizen of the world". He studies anthropology and traveled the world. He speaks Spanish, Norwegian and English and feels very connected to indigenous languages. He has led numerous Quaker schools in inner cities like Chicago and Detroit and loves writing people through his love of music. He is a composer, guitarist, poet and artist and a lover of the joy that crossing cultures brings. Chevere! Vacano!

I hold the symbolic pebble in my hand. My father's legacy of giving his heart to others is mine through Manos Unidas. I once wrote a poem that my backbone is of the Americas. My roots run down to the deep south of the mountain ranges of my ancestors, and the oceans that wash pebbles like my father burnished by the man of many lands.

– Anaelisa Jacobsen

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant