SAUCIER — Rich in kindness

It wasn’t much warmer than temperatures here, but the allure of visiting Mexico’s Yucatan in February is the color.

There are the vibrant reds and purples of the bougainvillea, the towering pink and yellow of the maculis trees, and the many shades of orange in the flowering Mother of Thousands.

It is the name, and the simple beauty of that last one — a succulent that thrives in a semi-arid climate — that reminds me of Gabriella — “Gabby” to her friends.

Gabby is a diminutive, but intense, Mayan woman, who runs a kids’ nutrition program and respite center on the south side of Merida, the capital of Yucatan state.

The center is in a desert of sorts, a poor and rough area in a city that is otherwise safe and comfortable.

It is called Emmanuel, “God with us.”

Gabby chose the name with the intention that what happens at Emmanuel would be a reminder that, no matter how hard life may be for the neighborhood kids, they are never alone.

From the hot meals, to the computer classes, to the shelves of books and games, Gabby wants the kids to feel welcomed, loved and protected — feelings not always found in their own homes.

Each day, she and the women who help her, feed about 75 children and any hungry elderly who show up, knowing they will never be refused a meal.

We’ve been supporting her for years, but the impact of Emmanuel is all Gabby. A shy, reticent woman, she was not afraid to talk to strangers and beg for donations to start the program and to keep it running.

She’s been at this a long time. It started when she was 16 and distributed food to the hungry congregating in a local park.

For 32 years, she has fed and comforted the poor, the outcasts and the forgotten. Now, she wants to start a shelter for girls — some orphaned, some abandoned, some abused.

With Gabby, it will happen.

I told her I was in awe of all she had done — the thousands of kids she had fed and cherished as her own. Her response, typical of this humble woman, was “Dios es amable” — “God is kind.”

She could have meant that God has been kind to her and that she, in gratitude, was paying it forward.

Or maybe that she sees her work — her life — simply as a vehicle for delivering divine kindness.

Knowing Gabby, I’d say it’s both.