Irene

This girl. She’s an interesting one.

She has been to Uncle Francis office twice for “misbehavior.” The misbehavior has been for not taking care of the expensive milk they buy for her because she has HIV. (she throws it out, wastes it, doesn’t drink it, etc) and for hurting the little 2 year old. (she is very physical and sometimes goes overboard)

So she is labeled as “bad.”

And I just don’t know if I see it that way.

I just don’t think she is rebellious. I do not sense a rebellious spirit from her. If any of the kids in my house has one, its maybe Anita, but I don’t think any of them really do. (now in the preschool, that’s a different story. . .)

Irene is obviously developmentally behind emotionally, mentally, and socially.

She is 12 but functions more like a 7-8 year old.

And she definitely has one of those personalities that likes to play more than work, according to African standards-- not American.

She likes to laugh, have fun, be silly, sing, dance. She is out-going. She likes attention. But not TOO much attention.

I don’t know if she would be at the top of her class even if she was developmentally up-to-speed mentally. She’s not a “book worm.” She seems to try hard in school—they all do. But I don’t think academics is really her gifting.

And that’s okay.

BUT academics is really prized here.

Francis told me that when Irene first got here, Mama Jane was giving her lots of attention because of the hard situation she was coming from. She kind of treated her extra special. Mama thought maybe that’s all Irene needed in order to correct her behavior.

But is seems that Irene took advantage of that special attention and did not use it well, so Mama Jane backed off, and she behaved a little better.

So I’ve been asking these kinds of questions:

Is she just absent-minded? Just a forgetful child? Or is it really rebellion? Is she just seeking attention?

One day in the office, I was categorizing all the kids according to who has a parent/relative that could take them back one day and those that have no relative to ever take them back.

Irene is the only one in my house that has absolutely no one.

The moment I heard Francis say this, my complete natural instinct was, “oh, well I’ll take her back with me, then.”

Hah. Of course I did not say this out loud, but that is seriously what went through my mind the rest of the time.

And I am completely serious about this.

But then I had to ask myself the question that I’ve been wondering. . . forget all the legal and logistical things that would make that improbable—would she be better off taken out of this culture that she has been raised in for 12 years to America with me or would she be better off in this village, with this house mom, with Uncle Francis as her father, in the culture she has been in for 12 years, in a home that is raising her to be a wonderful, hard working woman of God, that IS providing the ARV medication she needs, and all of the other of her very basic needs?

And I honestly do not know the answer to this.

Just for curiosity’s sake, I asked Uncle Francis, “What if someone like me—single, 22 yrs old, etc—wanted to adopt one of the kids who has no relatives to take care of them? Would that even be considered or what?”

He said that the last he had heard about Uganda law, you have to be at least 25 yrs older than the kid, you have to be married, and some other qualifications that excluded me. The law could be different now, but either way, I should probably stop thinking about it, eh? =)

___________________________________________________________________

I wrote all of that about a month ago, and then last week, I got more to add to the story of "Irene."

Sam works at the Baby Home. He asked me about my time at Bethany and then Irene got brought him. He told me that he was the one that "found" her and then proceeded to tell me her story. . .

Sam used to work for the Child Sponsorship office where they go into villages and find the kids that need sponsors to go to school and eat and all of those things we take for granted. He was visiting a house one day, while the kids were at school, just talking to the grand mother. He noticed one girl was still at home so he began talking to her. He said "her face was so bright and happy. . .but when i looked in her eyes, they were so sad."

He asked her why she wasn't at school.

She said because she did not have money for books.
He said, 'ok well i'll get you money for books.'
She continued to have excuses about why she couldn't go.

So then he asked her grandmother.
She dismissively said, "Oh that one is HIV+"
End of story.
No more information needed.

HIV + children are done for, useless, no hope for future.

Unless a man like Sam, who works for an incredible organization walks into your home and starts talking to you. Sam immediately started sponsoring Irene--getting her to school and getting her proper medical treatment.
But when he came to check up on her over time, he found out she still was not being take cared of properly. And her family really did not want her.

So he brought her to Bethany Village. And got her medication that is probably going to save her life. And he takes her home with him during the holidays. And he comes to visit her at Bethany from time to time. He said he would have pretty much adopted her, but he is a single man, so that is unacceptable.

Coryn asked him that when he gets married, would he take her home with him. He said,

"yes, she is my child."

Tears welled up in me as I heard this story.
As i heard the pain and injustice that my precious Irene has experienced.
As I heard the beautiful redemption that the Lord has brought her.
As I heard the love expressed in this wonderful man's voice as he talked about my precious Irene.
As I heard that she does have the hope I long for her--for her to have parents. Here in her culture.

I was overjoyed.