The girls of Piyali Learning Center are full of joy. They have a strong desire to learn, even beyond the classroom. Every girl has a smile ready to greet you, along with so many questions that you can hardly provide answers fast enough. You would never know from the first glance that they are victims of poverty and abuse.
In speaking with the girls, we quickly learned that their home lives are not ideal. Kelsey, the director, said when they teach the girls about abuse, the question is not if they are abused, but how severe the abuse is. Some students who were identified as high risk were removed from their homes to live in a safer one. Pastor Luther came across a girl who said her father was a very bad man and was no longer with her family. Dave identified many girls who had scars indicative of violence. Sonia and I sat in a classroom where a woman who worked at the school came in crying. We later learned that her son was sick and it was not looking good. Her daughter attends PLC and there is no father. The issues are great, and yet despite all of this, everyone in PLC is happy and has hope for the future.
Below are some of the letters the older girls have written to me. In them, you will see how sweet the girls are, as well as some of the things they are up against.
Also, just as a side note, Joan and I played water dodgeball with the girls and my team crushed Joan's team two wins to one. :)
~~ Megan
In speaking with the girls, we quickly learned that their home lives are not ideal. Kelsey, the director, said when they teach the girls about abuse, the question is not if they are abused, but how severe the abuse is. Some students who were identified as high risk were removed from their homes to live in a safer one. Pastor Luther came across a girl who said her father was a very bad man and was no longer with her family. Dave identified many girls who had scars indicative of violence. Sonia and I sat in a classroom where a woman who worked at the school came in crying. We later learned that her son was sick and it was not looking good. Her daughter attends PLC and there is no father. The issues are great, and yet despite all of this, everyone in PLC is happy and has hope for the future.
Below are some of the letters the older girls have written to me. In them, you will see how sweet the girls are, as well as some of the things they are up against.
No comments:
Post a Comment