Grace one month ago in the hospital with with her baby Brenda
My desk is small. It sits in my house against a living room wall. I have a small lamp and a box for pens. But most of the focus is on my 4 lb. lap top. It is small and compact for field work.
I opened my laptop today, just like every other day; Windows popped up... Outlook popped up. I usually have a lot of email from Africa to look through, and I started looking at the subject lines on them to check for urgency. I froze when I saw, "bad news".
Bad news? My mind was racing to consider all the possible situations. Even though I braced myself, I couldn't conceive what this email was saying... "Grace died this morning".
Grace? Beautiful Grace? 17 year old rape victim Grace? Grace with AIDS and a HIV positive baby? NO! It can't be! Please God say it is not true. Tears stream down my face in frustration and pain. Anguish wells up inside of me. The scream is coming... I don't know how to deal with this.
Grace was the hope of her family. Her mother Nakalula is dying of advanced syphilis. She was the oldest child. But when I first saw her, I had found her so sick that I had to take her to the hospital myself. Now that she is gone, who will take care of the other children now? The ten year old girl named Magdelene? The oldest brother who is 12 and mentally sick. I guess this 10 year old is about to become the provider of her family. And what will become of her sick baby Brenda that the doctors suspect will die soon?
Magdalene (10 years old) on the right
How is this possible in todays world? How is it possible that children are left to watch their siblings and parents die right before their own eyes? How are they supposed to process the pain? How can this be?
I am broken in my spirit. I am crushed. I have lost too many of my African friends to this disease. These are good people -- who love their family and life. Why is this happening? God help us. I don't know what to do. I want to do more. I don't want to watch any other child suffer this kind of death.
Grace was a kind girl. Even exhausted from sickness, she smiled at me. She struggled to care for her baby Brenda. Baby Brenda will have to die without her mother to comfort her. My heart is heavy. I can't get a full breath. It is as if I have been punched in the stomach.
Baby Brenda... sick with AIDS and only 1 1/2 years
I want to personally thank Sarah and Elton Lin who made Grace's life the best possible for the last 2 months. You were the bright hope of her life.
Grace meeting Elton and finding out that he is her sponsor
If you want to do something... if you want to change this world, don't wait. Don't wish... consider donating to GFR today at donations@globalfamilyrescue.org
1 comment:
I don't know what to say... I want to say all the "right" things, but but there are just certain times when there's no such thing as the "right" thing to say... like now.
I can't beat around the bush, I just gotta say... I want to go with you guys. I want to do something.
Post a Comment