A Ride Through Town

I got on an old, worn out bus like so often before. It is a part of life when you teach in a variety of locations. It was dark outside and past 8 pm. Thinking nothing of it, I had begun my last trip through town for the day. Yet, this trip should come to stand out and make it ever so clear why I have left my country, left a great teaching position that I really enjoyed, left friends behind and ventured out into a rather insecure existence in terms of finances and health. This trip would tell why our daughters are left on their own to battle their way through studies, missing their parents and not having the comfort of coming home to mom and dad, throw themselves on the couch and be spoiled for a few hours. Yeah, you got that right, I miss my daughters a whole lot, too.

It was about fifteen minutes into the ride when two little girls got on the bus. They were on their own which was strange, especially at this hour. They were obviously wearing used clothes and shoes. Colors were faint as if bleached or worn away and the clothes was dirty. The older sister was seven or eight at the most and her younger sister about three years old. They caught my attention because of the abnormality of the situation.

Hardly had the older sister put the younger one on a seat before she pulled her instruments out of a plastic bag. A red plastic comb and a guiro, (which is a Latin American percussion instrument) and started singing her song while striking the guiro with her comb to create a rythm. When reaching certain lines of the song, the younger sister joined in, actually having a clearer voice, but shouting rather than singing.

After finishng their song, the little girl was pulled off her seat and sent to the back of the bus to collect money, while the older sister asked for money from the passengers in the front half of the bus. Two little beggars trying to make a few coins to help the household economy. Out there, all alone in a nine million people city and far away from home.

What irresponsible parents would ever let two little girls roam around town at night all by themselves? Let alone begging for money! That thought so easily comes to mind. Right? From our lack of understanding of the situation we pass our self righteous and arrogant judgement. Self righteous because we definitely are better parents than that and arrogant because we would never be that stupid. But hold your horses a moment.

What if? What if these two little girls happen to be the daughters of an uneducated and un or underemployed mother who has been abandoned by her husband. The condition of their clothes certainly indicated that. What if the alternative to begging is starvation? Malnutrition and starvation does exist in Peru.

You see, we are so well off in comparison. Our financial difficulties lie in paying rent or mortgages, limiting the amount we eat out, waiting a month to buy our next electronic gadget, etc. We are nowhere close to the situation of these two little girls and we have no right whatsoever to pass judgement on their situation without first doing something serious to get them off the streets. By that I mean digging into your pockets, even if it takes that you don't get your next version Ipad or whatever it is that you want.

These two little girls are why we left everything behind. These girls are why we established Por una vida digna para los niños del Perú. We have come here to make a change. (Sounds so ideological, I know.) We have come to at least help minimise poverty and give the children a dignified life, help give them a worthy future. We have come here to be a voice speaking up on their behalf, to let you know about their situation. We have also come on your behalf to give you the opportunity to help create dignity and worthiness through supporting either our organization or other organizations that work for children like these two.

What looked like a bus ride like any other became a bus ride with a story to tell. Yours and mine. The true story is not about the girls, but about what you and I do to help change their situation. It is the story about our capability and our willingness or unwillingness to make a change in the lives of others. We are capable of making a change, the girls are not. But are we willing?

Torben Kristensen

Por una vida digna para los niños del Perú still needs:

Sponsors for children

Sponsors to establish a workshop (practical handcrafts) for the two orphanages in La Victoria, Lima

A Christian couple to permanently lead the home in Chosica - 15 girls 

Intercessors who will pray for God's continued guidance for the future