Blanca and Ana.....

Yesterday was a very difficult day.
Blanca who is 11 yrs old and Ana who is 5yrs old and their three year old sister who is a special needs child were removed from their home and taken to the Family court. Their mother has been mistreating the little three year old for some time and has started beating her badly. Someone, thankfully, reported her and the children were removed. We did not know that she was beating the little one but we were aware that she did not care for her correctly and we were in the process, with another organization, of trying to find a safe place for the little one to go to. She does not talk and she does not walk. We really don't know the extent of her disabilities because it has been very difficult to have her mother, Isabel bring her regularly to her appointments. We have been supplying Isabel with milk and food for over two years now and she still remains malnourished. The mother sells the food even though we have done our best to make sure that the food gets home and to the children.

Yesterday , the social worker from Casa Hogar Feliz ( which is now managed jointly by Mayan Families and Tom Heaton from Mission Guatemala ) called to tell us that the family was in the court and that they needed somewhere to send the children. Casa Hogar Feliz does not have any more room until October 1st and so I agreed to have the two older children come to my home. The littlest one was already being sent to an orphanage for special needs children in Guatemala City. ( Casa Hogar Feliz - is not licensed to have special needs children in their care.)

I was willing to take the two girls but I called Gloria from Mayan Families and asked her to quickly go and see the children's grandmother who I knew was very attached to the children and is their main care giver. The grandparents went to the court and were awarded temporary custody until the following week.

The grandparents came to visit us later and they are so devastated. They are very worried about the littlest one going to the city.The grandmother was crying and shaking. The grandfather was very serious and humble. He said that he would work as much as he could for as long as he could. They don't know where she is and if they can even visit her. They probably have never been to the city and it is a huge expense and a very scary trip for them.

Their main concern is to not lose Blanca and Ana. We have arranged for Olga , the social worker to have an interview with them today at 10.am. and she will be working with them to help them retain custody. The girls are scared and sad. They miss their little sister. They want to stay with the grandparents. The grandparents are in their early 60's. The grandfather works collecting trash . He doesn't earn enough money to be able to really support the family. The court will be looking at this. The grandparents were begging us to help them yesterday, they need help to be able to maintain the two girls. Both girls are sponsored , thank goodness!

Ana and Blanca are having a very hard time, they are scared about being removed from their grandparents. They wouldn't come with their grandparents because they were too scared that they would not be allowed to go home.
We are going to do all that we can to try and help the grandparents keep the children at home.