Lady

Last week we went out into the neighborhood with flyers to announce our free after school program. Our first stop was the home of the 8 kids whose father is in prison. Bo Bo and Mario led us a few blocks away from our house to their apartment, which ended up being on the back half of a lot behind another home. The building it self looked to be falling apart and the empty lot next door looked like a garbage dump. We approached the door and met the children’s mother. She spoke to us from her seat on the couch in a smoky, dark room lit in mid afternoon by the glow of the television. We gave her our flyer and several applications as she showed interest in at least the older of her kids attending. As we spoke, Emily and I both saw Lady (the oldest girl, 14) sitting on the couch, her eyes reflecting something not visible in the darkness of her home. We said goodbye and gave strong encouragement to the mother to let her kids join, they are the main reason we made the program free. As we walked down the driveway, escorted again by Mario and Bo Bo, Lady came out from the house to speak to us. In the light we could see that her eyes were completely crimson blood red where they should have been white. As she looked at us it was almost hard to look back. She looked to be in shock and her eyes showed no life, no hope, and no joy. We couldn’t help but ask her what had happened as Emily and I both began to feel very emotional at the thought of what this little girl had been through. She told us she had been attacked a few days prior when a man came through her window at six in the morning. Emily gave her a hug and told her that she was not alone and then we left. Before we made it to the street we were both weeping. I’ve never looked into to eyes so hopeless and scared. Throughout the week by talking to others as well as Lady we found out the details of what had happened. A man from around the corner came in through a window with a broken lock that the landlord won’t fix because the rent is overdue. The man put a bag over her head and attempted to or did rape her. The police were informed but wont do anything without a warrant. A couple of older guys from the street told me that everyone knew who did it and they even took me to the attackers house.

The next day Lady, her older brother Troy, and their cousin Tiny turned in applications and joined our after school program. They have been coming everyday and we have begun the slow process of earning their trust and friendship. We have been seeking advise on how to handle the situation from John Perkins and others who have been through stuff like this countless times. The whole situation is opening our eyes even further to the problems that contribute to a never-ending cycle of poverty. Hopefully we can be a voice of love in their lives.