Parentless

Written by: David Strickland
5/4/2008 1:14 AM 

     We have two contacts in the area where we went to get the girls that we thought were going to help us track down the children in the greatest need. Our first contact was the pastor of the local church. As Mercy's rented car drove onto the property, she noticed some changes had taken place since we were there the previous time. The church had been fixed up and there was a new house being built on the property.

     Now one of the local men that was acting as a guide for Mercy had already tried several times to disuade her from going to see the pastor but Mercy insisted. He said the pastor would try to get us to take the children of all his relatives instead of children that really needed help. Well she insisted we've known the pastor for almost 5 years and though we don't know him well we knew him better than the villager. Mercy got down from the car and after formalities sure enough the pastor began to try to convince Mercy to take the children of his relatives. So they went to the village to meet pastor's relative who was a 16 year old pregnant women with a 2 year old daughter. According to the wife, her husband was struck dead by a demon when he walked out of the house one morning. As the pastor spoke to the 16 year old mother, she clutched onto her little daughter like a life perserver. One glance at the mother and you knew her only connection with her dead husband was the little girl clutching her knees. Her father felt though evidently that the child would be better off in an orphanage, the uncles all agreed but one glance at the women and you knew she didn't. So Mercy decided not to take the girl with her. Finally pastor started talking about his own granddaughter.  We eventually found out that he was building a house for his daughter and her husband there on the property and felt he needed to send her granddaughter with us. Somewhere along the way the pastor had lost the point. We weren't here to take children away from parents that loved them and wanted to care for them. We care for the parentless. Children that either have no parents left. Obviously this was getting her nowhere so Mercy left. Determined that this "pastor" was no pastor at all if he was willing to abandon his own granddaughter.

     The other contact we had in the village was one of the only other men with a cellphone. He also had a luna. What we would call a Mo-ped in America. Though a cellphone and a Mo-ped aren't much they give a man position and authority in a village. He guided Mercy around as she talked with parents and helped her select girls that were in greatest need. Mercy came to one house there were three girls all being taken care of by a very poor women or so we were told. The story seemed true enough three sisters all from the same family all with the same story. They had niether father nor more they were parentless. So we brought them to Bangalore. Yesterday though a mother showed up. This isn't abnormal. Some of the girls have 1 parent that is unable to care for them so we'll accept them. Occasionally the parent will come by and spend time with thier daughter we encourage this as much as possible. The odd thing though was she claimed to be mother to one of the three that we assumed had no mother. She also was mother to only one not all three "sisters". Eventually the truth came out. This girl wasn't actually related at all in fact her father was the man with the cellphone and luna. One of the leaders of the village.

     The father assumed that once she had gotten to Bangalore and settled in we wouldn't send her away. He thought she would have a better chance in our orphanage than in his home. Pastor, Village Leaders how desperate a situation would you have to be in to be willing to send your daughter away with someone. There's a danger of providing so well for the girls that we end up splitting up homes instead of caring for those girls that have no home. I recieved a phone call middle of last week two girls to the north. No Mother No father and no one to take care of them, could we take them in. They had no food and no place to stay. I had no choice but to say no. We were full and funds were short already needless to say yesterday when the women came I was upset we had been decieved and the spot this girl was occuping could have gone to one of the two girls we had turned away. Comes back to that same old question who do we help. Who don't we. The girl is at her home today. Her spot is empty. Who do we help next?

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