Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Our reason for being here

I was sitting outside in the shade enjoying the afternoon breeze when one of my boys asked me if I wanted to meet his younger brother. Yvio Castel was standing a few feet away with his eyes downcast. We started to talk and he told me his story. His mother and father are both deceased. No family could or would take him in so a nice neighbor welcomed him into her small home. This woman is poor and could not afford to pay the rent when it came due so she and her children had to vacate and Yvio could not go with her. Yvio was allowed to sleep on another neighbor's porch and would eat the scraps of their meals in exchange for cleaning up after them. That was all he had to eat and it shows as his hair is turning rust color from malnutrition. I asked him why he wasn't able to live with an aunt or uncle or grandparent. He lowered his eyes and his head and he whispered, "because no one loves me". Yvio is eleven years old and the newest member of the Espwa family where hopefully he will learn that he is loved.

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