Maria was 17 years old when she joined the New Mothers group. She was pregnant with her first child. Unlike what most think, a 23 year-old man flirted with her, and she deliberately chose to get pregnant. Maria thought having his baby would motivate him to take care of her and help get her out of her family home.
Seems a bit drastic, doesn’t it? But we are not living like Maria…not only is her family desperately poor, but Maria cares for her mother’s baby and all her brothers and sisters. She doesn’t go to school. She doesn’t even get out of Nueva Vida very much. Her father is an alcoholic and would beat her mother, her siblings, and her when he was drunk…twice he even tried to rape her. Drastic situations call for drastic measures.
A baby was now on the way, and the 23 year-old dad was long gone.
Maria wishes she had made different choices, but what choice does she have now?
We have support groups for New Mothers, Mothers with Toddlers, and Las Lobas (She-wolves), a group of teen and preteen girls where we show them different choices and a bigger world.
But -- and this is a big “but” -- all these groups need a private space to meet, and we don't have one. They meet in our second clinic building, either in the lobby with people moving in and out, or in crowded storeroom where sound carries out into the busy hall. None of the participants are going to bare their souls in such environments, and how can one help if all the pain is bottled up?
A third clinic building will have a private space for sharing and talking, with no one walking through the area. We will be able to have a room…really private room...for women’s care, and we will be able to give our counselor a better space.This season, give a gift to help us build the third building and give Maria and others like her the space to talk and share and so, so much more.
-Kathleen
