When they arrived at Esperanza’s house, they sat down quietly in random seats around the room. None of them spoke. We tried interacting, but got no response from them, other than a blank stare.
Abbie (non-relative) and Joshua (6 years old)
“Who are these kids? Why aren’t they speaking?” we thought frequently, as our continued attempts at interaction failed. Their appearance was the definition of poverty. One little boy, about the age of 2, could eat 2 full bowls of food—he would continue eating until his bowl was empty or until someone took it away. Maybe this was his only meal for the day.
After the meal, we followed to kids to the church; we played games, sang songs and acted out a bible story for them. But these kids stood by the support beam with their blank stare—we tried welcoming them into our activities, but had no success.
Fatima (4 years old) and Owen (assuming 3 years old)
Oct 16th—same results.
Owen and Taylor (Left); Nicole (cousin) and Joshua watching a game
Oct 17th—same results. One of the little boys looked exhausted and had a lethargic cry. Taylor held him for part of the time, then passed him off to me so she could play a game with the others. His blonde hair and puppy-dog eyes squeezed my heart! I didn’t want to put him down. He looked very similar to my nephew, Gavin. At this point, nobody knew his name—everyone at the church called him “Gringo” because of his white skin tone. As he cried, I held him close and sang songs to him. His brother finally put a dollar bill in his hand, and he calmed down.
Manuelito with his comfort dollar
It didn’t take much until he was fast asleep in my arms, resting his head on my beating heart!! His diaper was soiled; he looked as though he hadn’t bathed recently. I didn’t dare look in his hair, because I expected it to be infested with lice. But this little boy stole my heart, and I was willing to love him, no matter what that looked like!
Manuelito found his place of rest
Oct 18th–“Gringo” didn’t show up—his sister, Angee, said he was sick. We started asking her questions about the quiet kids, since nobody else could answer our questions. Turns out all the quiet ones are siblings—some we could tell, others we couldn’t. I assume, with the various skin tones and facial differences, that they are from different fathers. “Gringo’s” real name is Manuelito; he comes occasionally but is frequently sick. He is 2 years old. That family has 11 children and 2 cousins all living in the same house. We pass by their house daily as we walk to and from the church. The older children, in their teens, don’t come for food; instead, Angee takes them food after she eats.
Sometimes the older kids come to the gate of the church and watch us play; sometimes they bring the younger ones who didn’t come for breakfast. Today, they came. One of them didn’t have a shirt on. Her chest was nearly transparent—you could see every rib, and a round and malnourished belly. However, she had a beautiful, shy smile as she peaked between the rods of the gate. It was hard to see a teenager look this awful—my question lingered: how is Angee doing so well?? She looks better nourished than all her siblings. And she definitely has a spunk in her spirit—something we have yet to see from her siblings.
However, by the end of the day, after persistently trying to interact with the siblings, a smile FINALLY broke out from Joshua!! He still didn’t interact much, but I count a smile as success!!
