Children of Poverty

She arrives early every week.  When I arrive she looks up to see if I notice her.  As I say her name she lets herself smile, but only a little.  She pretends to go back to sleep but I think she is watching everything that is happening.  We all move to a large, cold room with a table.  Seven other girls take their seats at the table.  The girls range in age from 14 to 20.  They all have unique qualities and personalities.  But they also have a few things in common.  The first is what they hold in their arms.  Each one cradles their baby.  And each one lives in poverty.  Poverty I don't know that I could ever imagine.

Today as I sat at the table I thought about all the teens I have worked with in the US.  I thought of how in so many ways these young ladies are similar to so many groups I have sat with for so many years.  And yet their lives are so different.  Today we did a tree of life where we placed our values, our abilities, our dreams, our desires and the names of those who support us.  This was like so many activities I have done in the past and yet the outcome was so different.

When it came to writing abilities a few of the girls said they had none.  They were not being modest, I think they really believe that have no abilities.  When it was time to write about the future the girls said I use to have dreams for the future but now I don't any.  I have a baby.  And when it came time for dreams the girls dreamed of having money, and one said I hope my baby has a house some day.  She was not hoping for a big fancy house she just wanted a house because she has none.  She bounces from place to place and she fears that the next time she has to leave the place she is now she will be on the streets.  She is 14, has a 3 month old baby, and is pregnant again.  Her mom is in prison and when she stays with her grandmother her uncle beats her.

These girls lives are full of violence, drugs (the girls don't necessarily do drugs but others in their life do), sex, and uncertainty.   The group they go to is an attempt to help them to see beyond their circumstances and dream of a different way of life.   Very difficult when you are 15 have a sick baby and are not sure where your next meal is coming from.  After the session the girls get something to eat.  As they ate I held one of their babies.  I held the 5 month old boy in my arms and I wondered what his life would be like.  Like his mother he is a child of poverty.

Poverty is dreaming of a house no matter what it looks like.