Yo sí puedo....Yes I can

A large number of the kids we care for at Casa Alianza have zero or very limited reading or writing skills.  As you can imagine, for a kid sent out to sell chewing gum on the streets since six years of age, reading has never been a major priority.

Every kid who comes is Casa Alianza is thus given the opportunity to learn how to read or write, either by specialists working in our residential shelters, or in formal schools and colleges.

There are, however, a number of kids who never quite make it to Casa Alianza.  One such group are the kids who live on the streets of Managua's Oriental Market, the biggest and most dangerous market the city has to offer.  These are the kids that live and sleep on the 'callejones de la muerte,' the death alleyways, where since about seven years of age they have been hooked on drugs (mainly glue) and have slowly deteriorated their physical and mental capacities.  They are kids who wander barefoot, covered in cuts and bruises.  The most determinable characteristic is the little jar of glue permanently stuffed up to their mouths and noses.

For kids such as these, making a change to come and live at Casa Alianza can often be too drastic.  As I have said on this blog before, the street is highly addictive.  On the streets, these kids who have been taking drugs for the best part of their lives can do so as and when they wish, there are no rules, no structure and nobody to tell them off.  In Casa Alianza, however, it is different.  There is a structure and a clear set of rules, especially prohibiting the use of any harmful substance.

As such, many of these kids are unable to readjust to a new way of life.  This, however, does not mean that we can't do anything to help them.   Last month at Casa Alianza we launched 'Yo sí puedo....Yes I can', the initiative to train children how to read and write, for the kids living on the streets in the Oriental Market.

For the last few Friday's we have been heading out the market, armed with a set of notebooks, pencils, coloring pens and textbooks, and of course a set of fruit juices and biscuits.

In the first session, two kids arrived to study.   In the session last week, 14 kids arrived to study and the numbers keep going up.    

Gradually, we are getting somewhere with this initiative.  The kids who come to study are kids who were not even able to write their own names, but our now proudly able to write their names, dates, the abc, and are gaining a feeling of accomplishment from what they are achieving   Additionally, the 60 minutes they are in the class is 60 minutes away from drugs.

We might not be able to achieve everything we would like to with kids such as these, whose lives have been so affected by abuse, drug addiction, violence and poverty, but it does mean we are able to make some form of difference, and keep moving in the right direction.

After a long, long absence........Sara's story

After a long, long time of writer's block, it was more than overdue to get this blog up and running again.

I guess for one reason or another I lost the ability to tell the stories of my life here in Nicaragua and my work with Casa Alianza, but after just having come back to the country from a three week holiday in the UK, inspiration is running high again.  

So, time for a story.....

When I arrived back at Casa Alianza on Monday morning, I headed into our main residential centre, the Hilton Home, which cares for over 100 at-risk youth, and I was very surprised to see somebody there.   This person, lets call her Sara, had come to Casa Alianza back in December 2011.    From a background of extreme poverty, she arrived heavily addicted to drugs, was missing teeth as a result of the substance abuse, had been living on the streets and involved in criminal gangs, and was, in general, facing unimaginable difficulty.

Sara, however, managed to do extraordinary things while she was at Casa Alianza.  She quickly managed to get off the drugs, she became a confident and thoughtful teenager, got into formal education and vocation courses, and became one of the Captains in the residential center.  

After about seven months of going really well, as can often happen, Sara hit a crisis point.   She mentally blocked everything, dropped out of the school we had placed her in, stopped her vocational training courses, and went into heavy depression.    She decided she no longer could face being in Casa Alianza, and we arranged for her to go back to a family member.  

On Monday, however, after three months in which she had been away, I saw Sara back at Casa Alianza.   Seeing as Sara and I had worked a lot together during her first time at Casa Alianza, she immediately came to my office to tell me what was going on.   She told me she hadn't managed to stay long with her family but instead took again to life on the streets, and faced lows she never thought possible.   She became heavily addicted to all forms of class A drugs, and was imprisoned for one month after being caught dealing drugs.    She looked unhealthily skinny, her body was bruised and scarred, and a light and enthusiasm I once saw in her eyes had been turned off.    She is 16 years old, but looked a lot older.  

For me this story shows something very important, the exceptional difficulty these children and teenagers face to be able to get their lives back on track.   Sara had developed extraordinary lengths at Casa Alianza, but due to how she had suffered in the past, she ultimately hit a crisis and found that she couldn't go on.   I have now been working at Casa Alianza for two years, and seeing Sara in this situation has proven to be a steep learning curve for me, showing that we need to make sure the care we provide understands that when children appear to have 'recovered' it is often the case that they still have a long way to go.  I think most of the team are already more than aware of this fact,  but for me, it has given me the opportunity to take stock.  

So for now, I sincerely hope that we can provide the care and support that Sara needs, to go beyond where she was before, to help her get away from risk, and restore the smile and enthusiasm that was once a part of her.    

Thanks for reading, and I hope these updates will now be back online on a regular basis.  

Un abrazo

Another one of those happy endings....at least for the time being

When boys and girls are abused sexually, be it within their family, trafficking, rape, or sexual exploitation for commercial purposes, one of the consequences that we see very often, is the very high sexualisation of that child.

A girl, for example, who since 12 years old has been raped frequently and forced to have sex with multiple men in order to not be beaten up, has learnt, tragically, to hold next to no value to her own body, and to see sex as a way to survive.   This means, that when kids come to Casa Alianza’s residential centers, after having suffered in such horrific ways, we have to find ways to help them learn handle their sexuality and once again value their bodies and themselves, to no longer feel obliged to have sex with someone, in order to survive or just to be recognised.  

Isabel is 14 years old (names changed as always), she has been abused, raped, and forced to work as sex worker.   Severe poverty meant her mother was also working in the same fashion.  She now has very limited contact with her family.  Since Isabel came to Casa Alianza she has faced extraordinary problems.  On many times she has expressed desires to take her own life, she has injured herself, and the over sexualisation is a common feature to her behaviour.

During the Christmas period Isabel was finding things very tough.   She felt restrained and restricted and wanted to get out.  We all did our best to help, and I remember speaking to her on December 30, as we prepared to bring 2011 to a close, hoping she would see the benefits of staying at Casa Alianza. 

But things did not work out as we hoped.  Isabel had made contact with a guy outside, an adult, around 30 years old, and on New Year’s Eve, just after dinner she snuck out.  Witness later told us that the man had been seen lurking around the outside of Casa Alianza, awaiting Isabel’s escape, and no doubt had found a way of contacting her, and making sure that she would leave.  

When we received the news, relevant enquiries were made and the police was informed.  A few days later we found that Isabel was staying with her grandmother.  It was a relief to her she had managed to get away from what would almost be certainly further abuse and exploitation and had made it to a safe place.

Last night, however, as I was preparing to leave work for the day, Isabel arrived back to Casa Alianza.   I did not need to ask questions.  I knew, and I was delighted to see that she had made the decision to come back and make the most of all the care and support we try and offer. 

It is, for the time being at least,  a happy ending.

There are a number of reasons why I wanted to share this story.  One is to stress how very complex the psychological situation is for a child or teen who has been abused.   They are often expected to be shy and withdrawn, and so the over sexualisation can often take people by surprise and lead them to make the wrong decisions.   The other reason is to stress just how very difficult it is for boys and girls who have been abused and have had their confidence and self-worth shattered.   As this article is stressing, it may look like they are fine, but it is vital to look beyond the surface, and to do our best to see what is really going on, and in spite of all the difficulties, keep doing all we can to help, protect and support. 

Two new additions to the Casa Alianza family

In my last entry I wrote about the somewhat bittersweet nature of spending my second Christmas here with the kids at Casa Alianza, the enjoyment of being with them, but at the same time, the difficulties for the kids with no families or safe places to go during this time.

This Christmas, however, something a bit special happened.  Two of the girls living at our protection center for teenage mothers, gave birth.   The first happened on Christmas Eve when Sofia (as always I am changing names) gave birth to  a baby boy.   Three days later, on December 27, Helena also gave birth to a boy.  

Both of these girls are 16 years old, and have been the victims of various abuses including rape, sexual exploitation for commercial purposes and violence and sexual abuse by members of their own family.  They have suffered unimaginably, but at the same time, they have shown remarkable strength and resilience over the last few months. 

I truly hope that the new life bought into our community will have the chance to grow and develop in a healthy and sustainable way, and never have to face the same difficulties that their mothers have gone through.   This, therefore, is a short but happy entry.  Sadly some less happy things have happened here during the Christmas period as well, which will feature on here shortly.

But for now, I will leave it at that.   Through all of the opportunities Casa Alianza hopes to provide to these two girls and their children, providing education, support, activities, unconditional love and absolute respect, family reintegration etc, will be able to ensure that these two newly born youngsters are able to get the healthy and happy childhood that every child deserves.

A very happy new year to you all.