Today we visited three of the homes of families from the center. It was an emotional day to say the least. We went with the boys from Fordham Prep and were happy they were there to interpret for us.
The first house belonged to Mira, a single mother of three children. Her home was 15x15 with a small three foot wide kitchen off to the side. There was a hole in the roof and it was raining that day. She rented this dilapidated box for $80 a month and she is currently unemployed.
We all felt like she was uncomfortable with us being there and maybe embarrassed by the hole in the roof (she apologized for it) She appreciates the opportunities the center gives her and volunteers to stay in the program because she is unemployed. We wanted to wrap our arms around her and try to fill her with hope but there was little we could do.  The one smile we got from her was when one of the Fordham boys mentioned that he had played with her son at the school.

At the second house we met Marisol, mother of three, 13, 5, and 3 years old. She was exuberant and very happy to meet us. At first glance she seemed to be doing much better. She had a four room building with water and electricity. Her 13 year old son had come home from school and said to her that all the boys looked like movie stars. (There had been three all boys schools visiting that week, Fordham, Markett, and Boston College prep) He wanted to see what the girls looked like. Her mom owns house and her three grown children (Marisol being one of them) live there with their children. 15 people in total. Marisol sells TVs door to door. They have some of the amenities that we take for granted, TV, fridge, blender, and furniture. They had three couches that they had covered with sheets and it was with great pride that Marisol asked us to come and sit down with them. The group picture attached was taken in her house and she has asked me to send her a copy.

The third house belonged to a father (Daniel Baccus) of four children, ages 15,11, 9 and 7.  Daniel has been separated for six years but still has a good relationship with his ex-wife and they try to raise the kids together. Both parents are currently out of work. There home is made up of two rooms, one with two beds and one for a kitchen. They had running water and electricity with a microwave, refrigerator, and TV in the bedroom. The outside yard also looked like it had a wash area/ sink. His oldest daughter (Katerina, will finish up this school year and then leave the center for a job. As of two years ago, the government has said that children are not legally allowed to work until they are fifteen. Katarina is an artist and one of her drawings was posted on the bedroom wall . She is also known for some of the tags/graffiti on the walls in the neighborhood. 
One of the students noticed something written over the door in the bedroom and wondered what it said. (attached) Daniel said that when his kids first moved in with him, they were acting out and he was trying to discipline them. (A normal reaction when parents get divorced). So he wrote this contract over the door as a promise to his children that he will take care of them, not yell or hit them, but they in turn need to res pect him when he disciplines them. This was especially moving for the dads in the group that related to Daniel and his desire to do the best job he could with his children and is in line with the values of love and family that that the center teaches.

Upon returning back to the center, we spent time playing with the children in the yard. Some played soccer. (Elizabeth and some of the Fordham boys played a game against the Quito boys and got beat 6 to 4). Terence, Matt and I brought some toy airplanes that fly with a rubber band mechanism and put them together for the kids to play with. Every time one would crash they would come running back to Terence to fix it.I also spent some time with one little boy who was enthralled with my iPhone and how I could take pictures with it. The time spent playing with the children was just the medicine we needed after seeing the living conditions of their homes. It was great to see the smiles on their faces.

After dinner and saying goodbye to our new friends from Fordham, we got together for some prayer time and reflection of our day. A common theme was that we are thankful for what God has given us and especially for the love of our families.

May God bless you all,
Christine Throm