Getting Daisy to emerge

It’s only 276 miles from Las Vegas to Compton, but for a girl whose family has gone through catastrophic changes, the two are worlds apart.

Daisy is a lovely but painfully shy 13-year-old. Although she smiles and giggles liberally, she hardly says a word when meeting new people.

“She can be talkative,” says Yolanda Barba, a case manager at El Nido Family Centers, explaining that Daisy has come a long way this year.

Daisy lived in Las Vegas with her mother and brothers. In 2000, her mother was diagnosed with cancer; two months later, she died.

“She was a very happy child,” says Daisy’s aunt, Martha, through a translator. “After her mother passed away, she became very isolated -- she just wanted to be alone.”

Her father has been out of the picture since she was 5.

“Daisy’s mom left him because he was not treating the kids very well,” says Martha. Daisy doesn’t remember him.

She and her two older brothers were split between Martha and another sister. Thinking that the separation was bad for them, Martha brought all the siblings together again a couple of years ago.

With her husband, four kids and two grandkids, that brought Martha’s household to 11 people, all living in a four-bedroom home in Compton.

Daisy and her brothers are very close.

“They get upset with her when she wants to have a boyfriend,” says Martha. “And whenever Daisy goes out with me, she’s always thinking about them -- what are we going to get for them?”

Daisy says she wants to be a pediatrician, to “take care of lots of kids.” For now, though, her shyness prevents her from doing things like taking part in the Ballet Folklorico, which she had gotten into with her aunt’s encouragement. She quit after one rehearsal.

Martha says that the only memories of Las Vegas that Daisy talks about are going to the park with her mom and how on payday her mother would take the kids to the children’s area of the casino, where they would play video games.

“She was very loving with all her kids,” says Martha of her late sister, who worked in a casino. “They were always her priority.”

This summer, Daisy will have her first opportunity to experience the great outdoors at Woodcraft Rangers Stanley Ranch Camp, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign. There, she will play volleyball, swim and take part in team-supported games.

“I’m hoping that interactions with other kids will help bring her out of her shell,” says Barba.

About 11,000 children will go to camp this summer thanks to the $1.6 million raised last year.

The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make credit card donations, visit latimes.com/summercamp.

To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.