Kayla | From Disposable to Loved in Peru
- Shannon Hicks
- Feb 20, 2019
- 9 min read
KAYLA WAS ABANDONED IN THE JUNGLE AT 10 YEARS OLD. SHE LIVED ON THE STREETS OF THE CITY. THEN SHE WAS TAKEN IN BY A FAMILY UNTIL SHE HAD A BABY BY AN ADULT IN THAT HOUSEHOLD. AFTER THAT HER USEFULNESS TO THEM WAS OVER.
Paul Opp - People of Peru Project | Oct 15th, 2018
Now I will tell you about Kayla, our 17-year-old mother who is living in our foster care facility. Unbelievable is all I can say... She remembers seeing me years before in Palosaco, a small village five hours up river. It was there that she had been abandoned for two years, assaulted in every way and survived it all - I will be interested to hear more of her story as time passes. She is special and is quickly winning the hearts of those she meets.
She is just a little thing. The first time I saw her I thought that this could not possibly be the 17-year -old that they are taking me to meet. She wore tattered clothes, thin from years of wear. Her shorts had been long pants at one time. Now they were cut off - hand stitching was visible as an indication of an honest attempt at making a seam. The front of her t-shirt was covered with milk stains from feeding her 6-month-old baby, Kevin. Some stains were still wet from nursing with no pads or burp rags. Her feet didn't touch the ground from the bench she was sitting on and her turquoise flip flops lay on the dirt floor below her. You could see at a glance that they were much too big for her tiny feet.
Various family members gathered in from the household that took her in. It was the woman who lived there that had compassion and invited Kayla to stay with them for a while. We were welcomed into this humble wooden home and the scramble for chairs only lasted a moment or two until everyone was seated.
I could see the kitchen behind the row of curious onlookers. There was a rustic stove where food was cooked over charcoal, much like a campfire on your kitchen counter-top. There was a tattered towel draped over a small pile of cheap aluminum pans, and some dishes that had apparently just been washed, though there was no sink or running water visible. Some boards in the living room had been painted but there was no apparent pattern and only a few of them were done.
The thatch roof was in decent shape - Some of these houses require strategic placement of the sitting area or beds due to the many leaks from aging woven palm panels.
Jimmy, Camila, and Lorenzo had been here a few days earlier so they were not strangers but I was not only new...but also a Gringo. There is an immediate suspicion that accompanies any foreigner that takes interest in children here in Peru. People buy and sell children and the profit margin for an unscrupulous foreigner is high, creating an instant barrier for those of us that are helping for other reasons.
Baby Kevin is a big boy. I couldn't believe that he was only 6 months old and that Kayla was the mother. He was so big on her lap - for as young as he is - that there was a comical element while watching them. Kevin was restless but happy. Kayla randomly breastfed on and off during our conversation - In this culture, there is no attempt to hide or cover something that is so natural.
As I asked questions and listened to her story, the rag that was tucked between the babies legs soaked through. Kayla unceremoniously removed it and set it on the table behind her. The baby started to cry and in the middle of her story she made shooshing sounds and patted him like she had been doing it for years.
I have felt fairly uncomfortable the few times I have held babies that were not wearing diapers, but when baby Kevin produced a green stream of diarrhea that puddled on the floor below his mother's chair, there was barely a hint of surprise on Kayla’s face. Her leg and ankle were involved in a direct hit. It didn’t seem to concern her that he had had diarrhea since the day he was born. She simply adjusted the baby into a sitting position that made her less vulnerable.
Kayla is soft-spoken but looks you in the eyes when she speaks. She is comfortable engaging adults in conversation, but there is a shyness that is endearing. She is genuinely interesting to listen to, and her stories are detailed and funny. She was eager to come to our facility, as the family she was staying with could not afford an unemployed young mother and a baby. Taking in a young girl is one thing, but there is work to be done, and a capable child earns her keep. However, as soon as she becomes a mother she becomes a liability and is often put back on the streets.
The father of baby Kevin was a relative of her host family. He had stopped in Iquitos while on a break from his job in the jungle when they met. He is in his mid-twenties, and his age and aggressiveness were more then Kayla knew how to deal with. The intimidation factor for a young girl with no family support is huge. Either way, there are consequences. In this case, Kayla was pregnant, and the father, who had never even pretended to have a long term interest, was gone.
So there we were. In kind of an interview process. The supporting family, checking us out to make sure we didn’t have any bad intentions. Us checking them out, wondering why she was sexually assaulted while staying in their home. Kayla, wondering if this dream could possibly be true - a home, an education, diapers for the baby, a bed to sleep in at night, and clothes to wear while washing the dirty ones. She told us later that she wondered if - for the 5 days between our initial contact and our return - this opportunity could really be possible. I assured her it was.
By the end of the interview, she had tears in her eyes. She told us about her little sister and how badly she wanted us to find her. The stepmother still tolerates the nine-year-old, but her animosity toward Kayla had forced her onto the streets. On the rare occasion when they see each other, the little girl clings to her big sister and cries. “This is the worst part of having no home,” she said. “I really miss my little sister.”
The conversation came to a natural stopping point. I asked if she was still interested in seeing Santa Thomas, our crisis foster care facility. She gave us a huge grin and an emphatic, “Yes.”
So we loaded up the whole group - 3 motor cars, and two motorcycles later we were on our way. It took about 15 minutes to drive in Santa Thomas - to get to Poppy's House.
A hundred yards of 12 foot high Terra Cotta block wall looks quite impressive while you are approaching, but the beauty that is behind the wall goes beyond imagination. There are fruit trees, a small river, and a soccer field. It is quiet...tranquil. You feel like you have entered a special place as you walk through the big iron gates.
Kayla was delighted. She grinned so big she looked guilty of something. Immediately she was surrounded by Lorenzo’s - the host family. they have three girls, ranging from early teens to early twenties, and one handsome young boy of 12. The oldest daughter has a special needs baby - she and the baby’s father are frequently visiting with the grandparents from across the river. There was an instant bond...you could tell right away this would be “family.”
We showed Kayla to her room. New, white - the baby furniture made it quite obvious that we were ready for her and her baby. The little mosquito net over the crib made the sleeping quarters look like a bed for royalty...and indeed it was.
They been with us for just over a week, and I could have already written a couple of chapters on her. The first morning Lorenzo stuck his head into her room early - as he is the first one up - Kayla was gone. He told me later that his heart jumped into his throat. He ran into the other area of the house to get his wife, and there was Kayla sweeping the kitchen floor...at 5:00 in the morning. She was so excited to be a part of this family that she said she just couldn't sleep.
We took her to Heidi and Luis - the dentists that our organization put through school. She needed 2 extractions and 16 fillings. Kevin had a pretty bad intestinal infection - which explains his diarrhea for the last six months. Really she said, “since the day he was born.”
I saw them tonight. They look so good. Martha - my youngest Peruvian daughter - emptied her room of all her clothes that were too small and delivered them to Kayla.
She was cheery and all smiles when we arrived tonight with our new girl, Anna. Kayla is a one-week veteran and leads the charge in making Anna welcome. Anna is 17. Her baby is only three-months-old. Anna's mother has been dead for 13 years. Her father is working near Brazil, but Anna will be a story for another night - She too is precious.
There are thousands of girls like Stephanie - our first, Kayla, and Anna. Some are barely hanging on. Some have given up. Susanna - our elementary education student - told me of a neighbor girl that is prostituting for the family she lives with. This is the alternative that she picked, over being on the streets.
How can we help them all? We can’t, but by God’s grace, we will come alongside some of these kids one life at a time. We are humbled by the privilege of serving these precious girls. Girls who have been used, abused, lied too and thrown away. Girls that are now raising babies in conditions that claim the lives of children every day.
We will educate, love and protect the vulnerable of this society. I believe with all my heart that in the future - girls like Kayla, Anna, and Stephanie - will be the ones going door to door looking for more girls that need a chance.
We need sponsorship for Kayla and Anna. We took them both in on the faith that somebody would help us support them. They will attend the local school, but first, we need a tutor to get them caught up. At the moment they are being “mothered” by Lorenzo’s wife.
All the expenses associated with providing care for two more mothers, and two more babies, will need to be raised. If you have a heart for these kids, please help. You can’t give too much. We have a $108,000 project to fund, in order to house the 15 girls and babies that will fill this facility.
Our operating budget is creeping up as we develop the project and hire the staff. We need transportation to get back and forth to town, more baby furniture and financial reserves for education, food, clothes, medical care, and baby supplies - diapers.
This is good work. Trust me, your dollars will be well spent.
CLICK ON THIS IMAGE TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE OF PERU PROJECT.
Editor’s Note: I met Paul Opp as a teenager, I thought he was a ‘cool guy’. Since then we've had some cool conversations. I haven’t seen him for a few years now, but the last few conversations we did have were quite substantive. Let me explain:
Paul and his wife had a business in 2000 when he went on a high-school trip to Peru with his oldest daughter. He was overwhelmed by the poverty and suffering they saw. In many cases, their only need was a $10 antibiotic. Something many can not afford in the cities of Peru.
After this initial trip, he and his wife began to develop the ground work for what is now People for Peru Project. At some point after this, they began selling off most everything they owned - including their business and home - as a result they were virtually debt free, and free to do as the felt led. Since 2004 they have been fully immersed in the organization they started.
The work they have done - with the team that has drawn together - is nothing short of miraculous. Their stories never end, and like many quality organizations around the world, they have discovered there are always more broken and suffering to help get on their feet. Though this might seem an insurmountable task, it is nevertheless worth every effort, every drop of blood and sweat, every penny - it is the rewards of one child healed, or one person saved, that drives them.
This is only one story of the beautiful Peruvian peoples, we will hear from them again.
Peace be with you...
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