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Updates

There’s always a lot going on so I’ll update you on everything (well not everything because this would be 5 pages long)….

Ahki (who was taken by her mother a little while ago) we had plans to rescue her but her mom refused to give us the village name and being that she lives in a village makes it almost impossible to find even with a general area. Homes in villages don’t have address’s. So…we went to see her mother at the Banishanta brothel where she lives. We talked with her and Ahki’s father (which most likely isn’t her father) and got to talk to Ahki on the phone. She sounded good and told us about the school she’s in. When we asked her if she wanted to come back to Alingon, she said no! That surprised me.

The 2 reasons her parents say they won’t bring her back is because the home doesn’t have Muslim teaching and they want Ahki to have a few day vacation with them every few months. Teaching her Arabic is not possible and letting the girls leave with their moms is never safe. At this point, there isn’t much the home can do since it is her mother and Ahki isn’t living at a brothel. I got the feeling that her mom doesn’t want her life for her daughter or I think she would have Ahki with her in the brothel now. Ahki gave us the village name over the phone so I’m going to try to go see her situation before I go home. I don’t know if she will ever come back to Alingon but I’m praying her mom will change her mind. I really miss her.

Strikes! Strikes! Strikes! The political situation is bad now with the rioting and strike’s several days a week! Last week, we didn’t have official school 4 days in a row. Unfortunately for the girls, I still teach them English. Very little businesses are open and all schools are closed on strike days. Always one day at a time here with planning.

Alingon Home-the girls are doing really good! So many have really turned a corner with their ability and confidence in speaking English. It’s so funny to hear the younger girls say things just the way that I do. They surprise me everyday. Sometimes they say a full blown amazing sentence in English and shock me. They’ve been able to understand a lot for a while now but their speaking has really improved. And despite the usual teenage girl drama, everyone seems really happy!

I’ve gotten to do some counseling with some girls and have gotten to know a lot more of their childhoods from it. Thankfully Rosie is a translater I can have with me that they’ll open up to also.

Here’s a video of the funny Halima I wanted to show you. I can never capture her amazing laugh on video but this shows who she is a little. I played with her 8 year old brother at Banishanta the other day who lives there with their mom. They are so alike.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/FESVMiTWnVY[/youtube]

3 Responses to “Updates”

  1. Jordi says:

    Her smile is amazing!

  2. Lori says:

    I love this! Thank you for sharing such a sweet movie. 🙂

  3. Simon & Chrystine says:

    She is darling!!!

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