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15
August Update,
Dian
L. Doody, M.D. Pediatrician, who volunteered with us in
early 2006, has published the book she wrote while in Peru,
"MI BEBE" ('My Baby'), which is a How-To manual
for young mothers who have to take care of their newborn
baby on their own - perfect for our teen moms. Here Juliana
(who will give birth later this month) receives her baby
shower. She was too bloated to come down to the centre,
so we and all the pregnant girls walked up to where Juliana
lives in a reed shack; and there we gave gifts and celebrated
her baby shower. One of the main gifts was a copy of Mi
Bebe.
Dian is giving us enough for all the teen victims who will
pass through our programmes in Peru, and elsewhere in Latin
America - plus we will have copies to give to other NGOs
for their moms.
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Midyear
, Some
of the at risk teens who gave birth while in our programme
returned to celebrate with us.We had presents for mums
and babies, In all 35 babies were born this year in our
programmet, and all of them were kept by their loving
young mums [.Street girls converted.]
Worldwide,
of girls who are raped and give birth, 50% leave their
babies in the hospitals where they are born. This completes
the first full year our project for at risk pregnant adolescents
has been operating. We could not be more satisfied with
the progress the girls have made, and with the results
of the programme. Our thanks to everyone who helped our
street girls..
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Trujillo,
Some of the matrons
of Trujillo have joined us in knitting baby clothes for the expectant adolescent
mothers in our Delicias project. Their work is beautiful - one of them is the
former owner of one of the city's finest knitwear houses. We now have 25 girls
in the programme, and more arrive each week.With all that we offer our girls,
including paying their transport, some nutrition ans some of their medical expenses,
it is becoming increassingly expensive for us. If any of you would care to share
this load, we won't complain:  |
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June
2005 - Our
second Director, Marta Lozano, a nurse from Madrid, has taken the project to a
new level. The hard part is making contact with the girls who need our help, and
the problem is that the culpret usually lives in the same house, and for obvious
reasons does not want the girl to go public. But Marta (legs crossed) , with the
help of Erica (to her left) has found a way around this. We now have 25 girls
in the programme, and more arrive each week.With all that we offer them, including
paying their transport, it is becoming rather expensive for us. If any of you
would like to donate, please do: |
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January
2005 - After
planning and fretting over this project for over two years, we have finally started
it. With a social worker, a community leader from Esperanza barrio and our project
director we went around and found our first at-risk pregnant teens. We started
with 10 (not all pictured here). Our criteria is: the girls must be under 15,
not more than 12 weeks pregnant (to give us enough time to work with them), and
without support from either their families or the man who got them pregnant. Not
all of our first girls fit perfectly into this mold, but we are spreading the
word to all of Trujillo's barrios, and more and more girls in this condition are
being proposed to us. The first group are not living with us yet, but we are giving
them all the help we can, including: Support from our Psychologist, social worker,
volunteer staff, handicraft teachers, we cooperate with their Doctors, and we
provide job training and assistance, basic education (where needed), nourishment
and lots of love and encouragement. The self esteem of our first girls is up already.
Our first Director, Monique Saville, from France, did a wonderful job launching
the project. |
Teen
moms-to-be show wares of their micro enterprize 17.02.05 |
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| In Peru it is not uncommon for women to raise 5 or more children.,
each with a different biological father. What is also common is for the mother’s
latest companion to rape the eldest daughters, often resulting in pregnancy. One
expects a reaction from the mother, but not the sort of reaction that is so evident
here in Peru. As a result of the rape the mother feels shamed and jealous and
abandons her own daughter who is often without the comfort of additonal family
members for support and understanding. These abandoned, pregnant, adolescent rape
victims (‘adolescents’), often only thirteen or fourteen years old face a dull
future. They are without money; support; homes and job prospects. Most worrying
of all, they are carrying an unborn baby, who will enter a world where education
will not be available to them and their options for a self-sustainable life non-existent.
It is not uncommon for such desperate girls to drift into the sex trade and drugs;
further blighting their lives and potential to contribute to society Our mission:
To save as many of these girls and their unborn children as we can, to prepare
them for and steer them into a richer more productive life than they could have
known without this project. | | |
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