Hello,

I have to tell you about three young girls that I met at CCH. All the children at CCH are wonderful and none are more important than the others. Over my time at CCH, I had the chance to spend time with three teenage girls.

We became close as they told me there life stories. These three girls always wanted to study. They would hunt me down at CCH and say “Teacher. Teacher. We study?”. The girls would then pick a random book from the library and ask me to teach them. They would often choose books way above their level and just want me to start at page one. I had to relearn about elements and basic chemistry as I acted like I knew what I was talking about.

The girls started to call me their brother. They always asked about my family and often wanted to see their pictures. One of the girls pulled me aside one day. She was very shy and said that she wanted to ask me a question. She asked me if she could keep one picture of my family that I had brought with me on my trip. Of course I let her keep a picture of her choice and she proudly has it near her bed side.

I’ve received many beautiful e-mails from my little sisters. They are very nice and affectionate and not ruined by any form of self want. The thing that I’ve learned from these girls is that often people just need to know someone cares about them. It’s as though these young girls are reaching out to have some sort of family that they can trust and believe. They constantly tell me that they want to visit. Their biggest dream is to see and feel snow. I think of the many days that I get upset, because it is snowing. For this girls, it’s their dream.

These girls have few clothes and that’s about it. And yet, they are full of affection and aspirations to do better in life. And the most incredible part is that they want to do well in life, so they can help others. The girls tell me that they are “lucky”, because they can study and don’t have to be working at the dump. They are “lucky”. I have never heard them once talk about wanting money or a television or a gameboy or a CD player or a bike. I’m learning lots from my three “little sisters” and all the kids at CCH.

As a friend wrote to me:

“Some people come into our lives and move our souls to dance. They awaken us to understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom… They make our world more beautiful, … Leave footprints in our hearts, and we are never, ever the same”
Love Gerry