I was back in Liberia this last week checking on current projects as well as meeting with staff members and directors. In hanging out with kids, I saw amazing things, and saw some very hard things. Amazing in the sense that kids who were once living in terrible circumstances are now healthy and thriving due to our intervention. There is nothing more rewarding than that. On the other hand, my heart was completely ripped out unexpectedly by a little girl who has been taken out of a negligent home along with 27 others and plopped in an overcrowded home. She had been there a week and still felt lost. With only the clothes on her back, she had lost her whole identity. No one seemed to be concerned for her welfare. She followed me everywhere, and I knew God was wanting to get my attention to this particular injustice. Many in the home did not even know her name.
We have to say that we are happy that the government is serious about taking action to get the 17 terrible homes closed down once and for all, but we are deeply concerned about the implementation of how they are going about these endeavors.
We have been encouraging them to act upon these horrible situations for a long time now, and have known that this was going to be complicated as to where they could put these kids once the homes were closed. We have worked hard to help the government come up with some alternative homes for some of the children, as well as as we know the Government is working to try to reunify kids that do have at least one parent alive.
Unfortunately in this process we are already starting to see that there are going to be many more displaced and scared kids lost in this system.
The greatest need I see if for a transition center of some sort that would be equipped to help these kids with counseling and emotional and physical help till a new home can be determined for them..
As it stands right now there is no place for these displaced kids once removed from bad and abusive homes. When plopped in an already overcrowded orphanage home, they are lost and unwanted. They just have the clothes on their backs. While sitting with the kids at lunch I noticed the displaced kids did not even have their own bowl or cup in which to eat and drink at meal times. They had to share with one of the permanent kids in the home.
Yes, they are better off than in an abusive home, but this form of injustice is not okay either.
I was caught off guard by the emotions that I felt for this little girl who really represents all the displaced and soon to be displaced kids within these negligent and abusive homes soon to be closed.
I am asking God what to do with that burden. Is it for us to carry? Or just be a voice within the government to try to bring about change?
Please pray with us on this, for the sake of these precious ones.
