27 April 2024

September 2023- Let’s remember what Amparo is about

‘You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.’ – William Wilberforce

Sometimes I forget the girl’s stories. I forget what they have been through. I forget…. And I have to confess that recently I realized many times I forget willingly or on purpose… Why? Because it’s too painful to remember, specially knowing personally the girls from the stories. I get afraid of losing faith while facing so much evilness.

So I had to train myself to remember, to go through the dark path in order to face the beasts and continue alive in this fight. Ultimately I trust blindly in the One who defeated death and Evil itself and there is no exception to that. I have also realized that remembering fuels my passion to continue fighting and in a way remembering serves a little bit of justice to what the girls went through.

Today, as I ask the Lord to produce in your heart the kind of sadness that leads to transformation, I want to invite you to remember with me three of the stories of the girls that live in our girl’s home:

ELA

On December of 2020, right between Christmas Eve and New year’s Eve we picked up our smallest one from the hospital. She was only 6 years old. After a short life full of abuses and neglect she was brutally raped. Thankfully doctors were able to save her life.

Here is the testimony of one of our staff who received her upon her arrival:

‘The first time I saw Ela, she was sitting at the table and one of the aunts was feeding her because of how weak and beat up she was. I approached, tried to touch her to say hello. Her whole little body shivered as I tried to hug her. I stepped back and we looked at each other. She didn’t know if she could trust me. In her eyes I saw pure fire burning. Probably result of all the adults who abused her. After a week she allowed me to hug her for the first time. Today, two years and a half later, she is the one who opens the door and jumps to my shoulders, putting her legs around my waist.’

Ela arrived covered with visible wounds, wounds that did not fit into her small body. We all saw her. I think that’s why the older girls have been so patient with her. They know she survived a war.

LINA

“Scared, hunted and not knowing where to go.” That´s how Lina felt, literally running for her life. Before she was found by Childhood Services.

Lina was born and raised in a small town. Mom gave birth to her when she was 15. Both dad and mom were alcoholics. She grew up with no healthy family structure around her. At the end of 2021, she was raped by a random man that took advantage of her vulnerable situation. The man was sent to jail shortly after and Lina was again placed with her mom by the local authorities. A few weeks later, Lina went missing. Being 12 years old Lina ended up 400km away from home. After being deceived by a ‘friend’ she was held against her will in a brothel. She spent four very dark months before being able to run away from hell.

It was almost 5 months after she went missing that Childhood Services called us to see if we could help Lina. She has been living in our home since July of 2022. When you’re around her is impossible to imagine what she has been through as she abounds in joy, sweet as only she can be.

SI

For Si’s story I will plainly quote part of her testimony, given to the psychologists from Childhood Services after being rescued:

‘My mom takes me to lodgings to be with men I don’t know. (…) Once she took me far from where we live. We went to the 3^rd floor, to a room with several beds. At the beginning it was only the 2 of us. Then she called those men. They were 3 old men. They closed the door behind them. (…) My mom sold me. I saw how they gave money to my mom. I heard how they counted the money, bill after bill. (…) While it happened my mom was recording with her phone.’

Honestly we are not sure how Si is still sane. She was the last one to arrive to our home on April of this year. She is currently one of the oldest; she will turn 15 years old in December.

Probably you’re feeling sick by now. Perhaps it all seems fictional and unbelievable. But these are accurate, reported facts. The girl’s testimonies confirmed by forensics, stated by several Childhood Services officers and judges of the cases. It is horrifying to know what happens around us. And we are overwhelmed by how patient and loving God is with us as humans.

So… Yes! These stories are the reasons why Amparo exists! To restore, to serve and to protect girls that have experienced hell on earth and to prevent it happens to more girls. We need your support to continue doing what we are doing and more! We want to serve, restore and protect more girls in Bolivia but we need more people to join the fight. The girls are now in a safe place where they have the opportunity to know Jesus and have every need met. We were able to welcome them because of the generosity of people like you. You can be sure Amparo is the place where these girls will be cared for and immersed in God’s mercy.