"Set against a backdrop of economic crisis and political uprising against the brutal military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, this beautifully written memoir recounts life among the most vulnerable, yet resilient residents of Latin America—its poor children."
—The New York Review of Books, May 15, 2008.
"Santiago's Children is immensely satisfying. …It's hard to imagine someone who finds himself an outsider in one of the tougher neighborhoods of Latin America or Africa or other 'foreign' parts of the world—or someone interested in learning about one of those places—who would not find this book immensely instructive and moving."
—Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health, from the Foreword
"This book is a gem and offers a wonderful roadmap for students of any age who are thinking about engaging in a complicated world."
—Abraham F. Lowenthal, Professor of International Relations, University of Southern California
"Urgent and moving. ...This is a story of Chile we will not forget."
—Martín Espada, author of The Republic of Poetry and other award-winning volumes of poetry
Santiago's Children: What I Learned about Life at an Orphanage in Chile
Unclear about his future career path, Steve Reifenberg found himself in the early 1980s working at a small orphanage in a poor neighborhood in Santiago, Chile, where a determined single woman was trying to create a stable home for a dozen or so children who had been abandoned or abused. With little more than good intentions and very limited Spanish, the 23-year-old Reifenberg plunged into the life of the Hogar Domingo Savio, becoming a foster father to kids who stretched his capacities for compassion and understanding in ways he never could have imagined back in the United States. Read more...