True Compassion

Today has been a full day . . . and it is not even over yet.

This morning we went to La Salle University to review the location for the Street Youth Symposium on Monday May 28. The facility is fantastic. The school has generously donated the entire use of their campus (well - not the whole campus) for our efforts.  A huge thank you to La Salle for their generosity and support.

After visiting with the La Salle administrators, we went to an albergue (a home) for special needs children. The home, run by a group of Catholic nuns from the order La Familia Religiosa del Verbo Encarnado, is one of the most compassionate examples of true service I have ever encountered. Pieced together on a plot of land no larger than one hectare, the nuns have an extensive network of educational, vocational and rehabilitation programs. The nuns work with abandon and neglected children from very impoverished areas. Areas where many of the street children come from.

Many of the children are brought to the "Instituto Servidoras del Senor de la Virgen de Matara" home by their mothers. The mothers often suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse or poorly managed mental illness. Their lives are extremely complex and filled with abuse and trauma. The nuns have been working to expand their housing to offer the opportunity for the mothers to move into the home with their children - rather than completely abandon them. It is a remarkable model that is serviced by 8-nuns and 12-staff.

We were given a full tour of the facilities and had the opportunity to meet with some of the children and the staff. At one point on our tour we were joined by one of the children's mothers. In fact, we had been carrying the child (an 8-month old) with us on the tour. He latched onto Carmencita (HBI's Peru Coordinator) and would not let go. The mother was very disheveled and appeared to be suffering from a mental illness. The nuns later told me that she had severe schizophrenia and was "heavily medicated." The nun told me that she was so severe that they had moved her into the albergue and were working to assure she had access to medication and treatment. The nuns told me that they were worried the child would also suffer from mental illness.

The most amazing part of this comprehensive service delivery model, an institution that houses, feeds, and truly cares for over 48-children, is the fact that they receive no government funding and rely solely on private donations. Their work is truly a blessing to all of the children of Peru and it was a real honor to meet with them today.