Valesca, Katarin and Angelica Return to AFE

This Sunday my worship was more joyful than usual. I had the opportunity to share the experience with someone long missed. Valesca Mondragon sat next to me at church and smiled at me as we danced together unto the Lord.

About two months ago we received news that Katarin, Valesca, and Angelica had returned to Tegucigalpa and were back living with their aunt near the garbage dump. We were not sure why this decision was made, but the girls were back at their old home, happily hanging out with their extended family. Mysteriously, the aunt who had once forced them to work in the garbage dump was no longer doing so. Perhaps this was one of the prerequisites for her taking them back. Thank God that the girls did not go back to picking garbage, but they were still not in school.

AFE needed to tread carefully.

This aunt knew that we were partly responsible for taking them away from her and moving them to Catacamas. After friendly visits the aunt began to see that AFE did not wish her any ill harm, and was only acting out of love for the children. Then a medical brigade came to AFE and the aunt found herself in need of medical attention. When she experienced the expert care from the doctors a

nd free medicine for her family, she began to think: AFE is here to bless us, full of benefits for peo

ple in need. It would be ridiculous to miss out on these things. Jesi Ordonez, AFE’s director, met with her and asked if the three girls could come back to school at AFE. The aunt agreed, but mentioned it would be difficult with the increasing costs of transportation. The girls live about 2 miles from the school, on a dangerous road, and walking to and from school was just not proving feasible. We worked out a situation in which our volunteers could

pick them up in the mornings and then AFE would provide bus fare for their way home.

Since then, the girls have come to AFE and church and quickly fallen back into their old places….the centers of our hearts.

YOU Responded!

In February I posted the blog, “Follow up with Valesca and Katarin,” which detailed how my two favorite girls serving as maids in their aunt’s house instead of attending school. Three days later the emails began to pour in with offers to help. YOU responded in your graciousness and generosity and reached across country lines to help three little girls who had no one else.

Now Katarin, Valesca, and their little sister, Angelica, are sponsored and attending a Christian school in Catacamas. They still live with their aunt but are studying during the day instead of doing dishes. This school is a private school for rich kids, yet these former garbage workers are getting a chance to attend and put the beautiful potential of their minds to use. Especially exciting is the personal interest the principal has taken in the three.

Now Katarin, Valesca and Angelica once again have a positive mentor in their lives, a Christian woman who will love them unconditionally and stand up for them against any forces which might try to pull them down.

Thank you for getting involved. Thank you for praying for them. Thank you for making yourself and your resources available to these beloved by God.

Follow Up with Valesca and Katarin

Several weeks ago Pastor Jeony, Rey and I had the opportunity to visit our former students Katarin and Walesca Mondragon in their new home in Catacamas (a small city four hours from Tegucigalpa). Last June AFE helped these two second graders escape forced labor in the garbage dump and move in with an aunt who would care for them in another city (see: “Valesca and Katarin Find New Home”).

Our aim was to check on them, to see how they liked their new living situation, and review their progress at their new school.

When we arrived at their small, well-kept home in the suburb, I had high hopes. The large living room was cared for lovingly, painted in warm colors, and decorated with framed family pictures and pretty tiles. This family was certainly in a better economic situation than the aunt with whom they had lived formally.

When we met Katain and Valesca’s new caregiver (another aunt), she seemed a responsible, middle-class woman. But something was not right.

The aunt called Katarin and Valesca to come out and my suspicions were confirmed.
Three inhibited girls slowly emerged from the door, heads downcast but shy eyes glancing up. I was shocked that a third Katarin and Valesca existed; Angelica was their younger sister, although we had never heard about her when Katain and Valesca attended AFE. Yet, what shocked me the most was the change in the demeanor of my two favorite girls.

I remembered when they used to visit me during recess and huddle around my computer as I worked. They twirled as they chattered, would sass Rey as needed, and their eyes danced too. But something was different now. They seemed bound by invisible chains and reminded me off an abused dog who cowered under his master’s hand.

Their aunt explained to us how difficult it was to care for them (while the girls listened on), but that they would never go back to the garbage dump; it is just not right for a child to be there. She told us how she fed them well and took good care of them (they did seem to be well-nourished). But then we asked Katarin and Valesca what they did on an average day.

“Wake up, clean our room, eat breakfast, tidy the house, sweep and mop the floor, dust the curtains and furniture, tidy the patio, make lunch, do the dishes…” The list of housekeeping went on and on.

Why were they not in school?!

The aunt explained that there just wasn’t enough money to put them in school. Their father sent 100 Lempiras ($5) a month back from the States to support them, which did not even cover their food. It was good that their aunt was providing for them from her own means, but was she also providing love and care? The children knew they were a burden, it was obvious on their faces, and they were working as servants in the home to lessen their load.

Our hearts wept for these girls. But we knew that their heavenly father’s heart hurt even more. We went to work, searching for God’s plan to rectify this situation.

Pastor Jeony thought quickly. It happened that one of his mentors pastored a church in the suburb. And this church also hosted a dynamic Christian school, except only upper-middle class children could afford tuition.

Pastor Jeony met with the pastor of the Catacamas church and shared Valesca, Katarin (and now Angelica)’s story. His heart immediately went out to them. Although enrollment in this private Christian school was competitive, the pastor pledged to find a place for the three girls.
This situation is better than we could have hoped. There is currently no way for us to place the three girls in another home because the aunt has full guardianship and let us know in no uncertain terms that she did not intend to give them up. But what if we could enlist these children in a local AFE, where they would find loving care-givers who would speak God’s truth into their lives? Would their eyes begin to dance once again?

For each girl to attend the school it costs $50 a month. Will you consider sponsoring them?

If you would like to help sponsor Valesca, Katarin, or Angelica to attend a Christian school in Catacams, please contact reyangeldiaz@gmail.com

Valesca and Katarin Find New Home

They were my two favorite girls at AFE. Maybe it was because of the sassy way they talked back to Rey when he teased them. Maybe it was because they shared my fascination for picture books and loved it when I read stories to them. Or maybe it was because they danced and twirled when they talked.
Whatever the reason, I always looked forward to recess time when Katarin and Valesca Mondragon would come to my office and sit and watch me work on my computer. Today, however, I need to report that they will never again visit me during recess at AFE, and that’s a good thing.

Katarin and Valesca came from one of the most heart-wrenching situations at AFE. Their parents left to work in the United States, abandoning them when they were too young to remember. They left them with an aunt who worked in the garbage dump, along with their older brothers and sisters. This aunt was the only parent-figured Valesca and Katarin knew, but she abused that privilege. She forced her charges to work in the garbage, often at the expense of school, and if they did not bring home enough income, she would beat them.

For a long time, AFE has been working and strategizing to end Valesca and Katarin’s oppressive situation, with a healthy outcome. Recently however, the circumstances deteriorated. Valesca’s older brother and sister had had enough. They ran away to live with another relative in Olancho, a state an hour away from Tegucigalpa. Missing the revenue from the older siblings, the aunt pulled Valesca and Katarin out of AFE indeterminately to work in the garbage dump. Valesca and Katarin were only in the second grade. Despite the promise they were showing at AFE, they had no hope of returning to school. AFE began to enlisting Honduras’ child protective services to seize Valesca and Katarin from their home.

Working with the CPS in Honduras is a risking gamble. Once the children become charges of the state we lose track of them. And stories abound of foster care situations even more abusive than the ones the children were taken from. Yet, there were no other options available for Valesca and Katarin.

Then AFE’s director, Jesy Ordonez received a mysterious call from the United States. The girls’ father had gotten wind of what was happening. He pleaded with Jesy to help Valesca and Katarin escape from their aunt and move in with the relative in Olancho. Jesi graciously obliged.

When I returned to Honduras after a brief trip to the States, Valesca and Katarin were not at AFE any longer. But they also were not living with their aunt. And they were free from the garbage dump. Valesca and Katarin are back in school. The school is not AFE, but it will do. Perhaps they have found another young woman to connect with in Olancho, maybe it’s a teacher who can serve as a positive role model. Although I will miss them, I am happy that Valesca and Katarin will not have to work in the garbage any longer. And I continue to pray that the good work God began in their lives at AFE will continue on to completion, and that they can break free from the cycle of poverty into which they were born.