Journal entry: October 2nd, 2014
Today we went to one of the most well known areas where the homeless street youth in Guatemala City live. Abandoned buses, trash, and sellers flood the street alongside them. The combination of smells from garbage, drugs, and urine hit you like a brick wall as you enter the street. How could anyone live in these conditions?
I was pulled to 19 year old Carolina like a magnet. She agreed to let me paint her nails so I sat next to her under a small tree providing shade over a dirty folded up blanket and a trash bag containing the only personal items she owned. Sweet Carolina chose a beautiful, bright “Periwinkle Pink” nail polish.
Not only is Carolina a lifelong user of the very popular chemical inhalant, solvent, she is the main dealer of solvent in that area. This became very evident when I was painting her nails. I had to stop after almost every nail to let her sell the inhalant. Young teenagers to grown men came up to her feenin for their next fix. It was astounding how many people came up to her in a matter of 25 minutes. They all seemed to be running from something. As we waited for her nails to dry, I was able to learn more about her story, before she became too high to really converse with me anymore.
Carolina has been living on the streets and doing drugs for so long that she can’t remember how old she was when she left home. She thinks she was somewhere between 7 or 8 years old when she ran away (likely due to an abusive home life.) She told me she liked sniffing solvent because it made her feel numb and allowed her forget for a moment that she lived on the street. She spoke softly and with deep sadness in her eyes. I learned on top of everything, she was also grieving having a miscarriage just 3 months ago. I asked her if she had any dreams or plans to leave the streets and she told me she doesn’t think she could ever leave. That broke my heart to pieces.
Petite Carolina with almond eyes and adorable dimples. You are just 19 years old and have gone through more than anyone should ever have to go through. You’re circumstances have made you blind to see your heart and potential is as beautiful and bright as the periwinkle pink on your nails. How do I show you that you’re not slaved to this life of prostitution and drugs on the streets of Guatemala City? How do I show you how loved and cherished you are?
Right now, all I know I can do is pray.
