Navajos do get bright Christmas

Three weeks ago, she wondered whether anybody would care about helping a bunch of teenagers living a world away on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Amid the bustle of the holiday season, would anybody remember that the kids at Whitehorse High School had nothing to open on Christmas?

Today, Linda Keams has proof that people do care. Since she told about her students' plight in Free Lunch, Deseret Morning News readers have contributed everything from candy and cash to basketballs and blankets. Now Linda wants to say "Ah'ehee." That's "thank you" in Navajo.

"It's been overwhelming — I thought I'd be lucky to give everybody a little stocking of candy," she says. "There are some wonderful people out there. It's been a real blessing."

As you might recall, Linda, a new Navajo language teacher at Whitehorse High in Montezuma Creek, was shocked when she learned that most of her school's 310 students wouldn't receive a single present for Christmas. So she single-handedly started a last-minute campaign to get the kids shoes, socks, CDs and chocolates — something to show that they weren't forgotten.

With the majority of families on the reservation living in poverty and a 45 percent unemployment rate, money for Christmas gifts and decorations has always been hard to come by, she says.

Until now.

So many people responded to her request for help that Linda hopes to set up a permanent fund to take care of simple needs throughout the school year. New basketball shoes for boys who once borrowed old pairs from the coach? Done. Eyeglasses for kids who haven't been able to see the chalkboard in years? No problem.

"Even the smallest contribution has made a big difference in these kids' lives," says Linda. "Most of my students come from single-parent homes. Their dads aren't in the picture. Their Christmas gift requests weren't anything like what you'd hear about elsewhere."

One teen told Linda that all he wanted for Christmas was a chain saw so that he could cut enough wood to keep his mother and siblings warm through the winter. Another boy, whose father recently died, wanted a few bales of hay so he could continue to feed the family's horses.

Thanks to your kind contributions, Linda was able to fulfill these wishes and more. Several children mailed in their weekly allowance, while one man drove from Salt Lake City with two truckloads of clothing, shoes and goodies. Kerry and Gayle Smith, owners of Fat Boy Ice Cream, talked several business owners into helping them pay for eye exams and glasses for every Whitehorse teen who needs them.

The holiday spirit will continue next month, when the Smiths come to town with a truckload of ice cream sandwiches — enough for every kid in school to take home a box.