Isabell's House

You may remember about a month ago I wrote about a little girl named Isabell. Jen and Ashley came across this situation. Isabell is very malnourished, has cerebral palsey, among other things, and was curled into a fetal position. It is a very sad situation. Ashley has spent the last month in and out of the hospital with Isabell and, currently, is in the process of trying to get her to the states for some surgery. This is not an easy process. The parents have to sign that this is ok. When Jen and Ashley found Isabell she was living with her grandmother and we were not sure if the mother could be found.

Today Karen, Dorian, Richard (the preacher from Ojojona), Marc and I set out on a mission to find the mother. We were going to drive to the grandmother's house and ask if she knew where her daughter was. The house was quite a ways out of Ojojona and the road just climbed higher and higher into the mountains. As we were driving, Richard said stop, there is the mother. She and her husband were walking up the road toward the grandmother's house. She lives a very long ways away and was just coming for a three day visit. I do not believe that was a coincidence, do you? Richard asked them to get into the truck with us.

Two dirty little girls stood in front of the house as we drove up, wide-eyed with amazement as

a red truck came to a stop in front of their house. This little house is so far from town. It is certainly not the worst house we have ever seen, but it was bad. There were holes in the walls. There were two beds, each with one thin blanket. It must be cold in there at night with all those holes and the wind blowing. There is no running water. No wonder the little girls were dirty. There is no telling how long it had been since they had had a bath or had their clothes washed. The little girl that was eight had a mouthful of teeth that were rotting out of her mouth. I am fairly sure that none of the children have ever set foot inside a school building. We looked and there was no food. And no way to get anything except a long walk back to Ojojona.

The grandmother sat in the floor making pottery. The grandmother is probably fifty. I know I could not sit on a concrete floor all day making pottery. She sells her pieces to some of the shops in Ojojona for seven limpiras each. That is about thirty five cents. She makes and sells pottery in an attempt to eke out the most meager existence.

Karen asked if they had eaten at all today. They all just looked at the ground. When there is food, the eight year old little girl does all the cooking.

Tomorrow, Ashley will return to the grandmother's house. She will take Isabell with her. A lawyer and people from INFAH ( similar to DHS or CPS) will be with her. The mother says she will be there. They will attempt to get the mother's approval to take little Isabell to the states.

It is so, so sad everytime I see a situation like this.

Terri