Sunday, November 10, 2013

The devastation in the Philippines brings me back there, remembering the little faces I got to know when I had the honor to travel with UNICEF 2008 to do work with the street kids. Especially Ella, who you can see in most of the pictures. The UNICEF workers told me not to get attached, it took me about a second.... She was 7, no parents, rotten teeth and she lived under the bridge with her friends, her new family. They stuck together like glue. They helped each other finding food and staying warm at night. Ella wanted me to bring her back with me to the US, she asked me to adopt her. She begged and when she realized I couldn't do it, (trust me I wanted, and probably would if it was possible) she turned her back. She walked away...I cried, I will never forget that moment.
I still have pictures of her framed in my house and I think of her often. I wonder if she is safe, if she found shelter, if she was even alive before this. It brakes my heart thinking about her and all the children who had nothing already, they must have been so scared when the most powerful typhoon in history hit one of the poorest countries in the world.
The work UNICEF do is fantastic, please donate.