Suubi means hope. And for half our women there is hope. They are busy learning how to sew. They get a monthly allowance. They also have food at the workshop. But half of our women still have to sell soda or corn on the streets. And sometimes they probably sell themselves to feed their children. I try not to judge it. I cannot imagine how it is to be young, uneducated, and unable to make more than one or two dollars a day selling soda (with a baby on my back). One of our women who is waiting to get an education as a hairdresser just gave birth to a 2nd child. No one actually knew she was pregnant. She has been hanging out at the sewing workshop every day for two months. We feed the women there. Perhaps that was all the food she and her daughter received. She has no family. And she did not confide in anyone that she was both pregnant and homeless. So two days ago she delivered a baby on the side of a road, as she tried to make her way to a clinic. Some women stopped to assist her. And I guess she and the new baby are ok. She went to the clinic where a nice nurse checked her and her child. She went to the home of one of our leaders and ended up being taken in by two of our teen moms. I have to admit I feel so sick with sadness. She should have been receiving the same allowance half our women receive. She should be getting her education. And I honestly do not know the back story. Maybe she had a love affair, maybe she was attacked, and maybe it was prostitution. I do not know because fear and shame have caused her to hide her pregnancy. And we do not know what has happened. I do not have the money to sponsor all our women. I give all I am able to give, but I cannot feed them all or house them all without help. Half our women still sell soda and corn on the streets with their babies. And one of our women now has another child to feed and educate. We will do what we can to support her. I think we will hire her to help with the kids at the workshop (after she recovers from the birth). It is only a short-term answer. She needs sponsorship. And we need money to start the hairdressing school. We are trying to win grants. We are trying to sell our soap. I wish good will could feed and house them…but it cannot. But I cannot beat myself up. This is what I tell myself. I wish I could believe it…
I am glad she and the baby are ok. And I will keep working to find her the hope she has waited for. The hope half our women wait for.
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