Isolated 9-year-old craves friends

Not far from the replica windmills and countless bakeries of touristy, Old World-style Solvang, the “Danish capital of America,” is Buellton. This less-heralded town is sprinkled with cattle and horse farms separated from the ocean by a range of rolling hills, and it is populated mostly by ranch hands and their families.

Jorge lives here in a one-room metal trailer with his parents, two younger siblings and grandparents on the ranch where his grandfather has worked for years as a landscaper.

Until earlier this summer, there were 11 people in the trailer, but his aunt, her husband and their children moved out, leaving only seven.

Through an interpreter, his mother says that 9-year-old Jorge is doing well in school despite not being a native speaker. He was screened by the district for language concerns and some learning disabilities.

She says he was expected to learn 50 English words between annual screenings. He learned 150.

Jorge squints at the ground although the sun is behind him on this hazy day. Round-faced with an overgrown flat-top, he is excruciatingly shy. He and his siblings joined their parents here only two years ago.

The children walk two-thirds of a mile to the school bus stop each day. Jorge doesn’t get much contact with other kids outside school because of the remoteness of his home and a lack of transportation.

Jorge went to the Salvation Army’s Camp Gilmore in Malibu Canyon this month via the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign.

Before he went, he said he was definitely most excited to “know other friends, do some hiking, socialize.”

“They really need interaction with other kids to grow,” says Charles Uhrig, community resource deputy for the city of Solvang.

Shortly after meeting him, Uhrig offered Jorge a spot in a free basketball program. The deputy had to offer to pick the boy up himself to take him to Solvang, 10 minutes away.

Although Jorge kept his face turned down, he did break into a smile.

“It’s a shame that they don’t know about the resources that are available to them,” says Uhrig. “But getting the word out is tough. And the biggest problem is transportation.”

To families like Jorge’s, Solvang -- and most of the world -- can be 10 minutes or a million miles away.

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

The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family 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 donations by credit card, go to 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.