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