She did what she knew best; came running after us, asking us to help her. In hysterics, she explained that she had left her brother in the house, to come play with us, but now she didn’t know where he was.
I picked her up, smoothed her hair, wiped her tears, told her that this wasn’t her fault, and that we’d find her brother. Moments later a man from the community came to tell us that a neighbor had heard the baby crying, and took the baby into her home to take care of him. Kelsia let out a sob, of relief, I’m sure.
As I watched this little girl cry of relief in my arms, I felt overwhelmed by the burden she must carry around. I told her over and over that she is a GOOD older sister, that this shouldn’t be her responsibility, and that it was all okay.
But IS this okay? Is it okay that kids her age carry this kind of responsibility daily? In this country, it is normal to see older brothers and sisters caring for their younger siblings. They share their food with them, carry them around on their hips, and make sure that their little sibling has
what they need. It’d be easy to want to blame the parents, and wonder how they could possibly leave their kids to fend for themselves. But this very day, after leaving Kelsia, we started our walk home, and ran into Kelsia’s mom. I told Mirella what Kelsia has just been through. But Mirella herself had just had a grueling day. She said she had to leave her kids that morning at 7am, so that she could go out to apply for every kind of job she could think of, within walking distance. She had gone out looking for a job, so she could get SOME money, so she could provide FOR her kids.
It’s a constant cycle. The husbands leave their wives to go find work, maybe hours away. The wives leave the children to go find work, when they realize they haven’t heard from their husbands in months. Then the kids leave their younger siblings, because they just want to go play; they want to be a kid.
Oh Lord, all I can do is just bring these families to you! YOU can be for each member of this family all that they need. You can provide above and beyond just the basic needs that I am trusting you for. Lift their burdens, Lord. Speak your truth to these children, who are carrying burdens that aren’t theirs to carry. Carry the burdens of these moms who are raising their families on their own. Provide for the fathers who just want to provide for their families. Be present here, Lord. Meet their needs, Lord.
Amen.