No Exit Strategy
January 26, 2021
How do you help a young woman parent her baby when all she’s known is abandonment and rejection? How do you help her see a new way forward when her past is littered with pain and disappointment?
One day at a time. Meeting one need at a time. It’s not complicated, but it can be difficult. But we’ve found that helping vulnerable families and children heal from their past is not a quick fix or an easy solution. The years they’ve endured being destroyed often need years spent being rebuilt. We see this in one young woman currently being served in our programs.
Her story is all too familiar, beginning in Myanmar in a community that struggles to make ends meet every day. She works hard to provide for her family, but has been caught in cycles of brokenness.
Life had taught her that when things get difficult, and you can’t see a way through, you look for a way out.
When her husband moved to Thailand for work, she didn’t know what to do. She worried he was cheating on her, so decided to follow him there, leaving behind her daughter with her grandmother. Once she arrived, her suspicions were confirmed. Her husband had left her for another woman, and now she was all alone in a new country, pregnant again. Since she had been treated like she was disposable, replaceable and unnecessary, she began to act this way, indicating she was looking to give up her new baby once born.
But her call for help wasn’t answered exactly like she thought it would be.
Instead, our team arrived at her doorstep and we began by listening. We allowed her time to share her story bit by bit. We met her needs bit by bit.
We stood with this young mother and provided the tangible and emotional support she needed to keep her baby. Months later, when she struggled to feed her daughter, we provided food support. When her housing became fragile, we found her a new home and helped with the rent. We’ve connected her to dignified work and our social workers are regularly meeting with her to process the pain from her story. From vaccinations to visits, we have stayed put. While we don’t yet know the end of the story, we are demonstrating to this young mother that some people stay around when it is difficult.
She’s learning a new way to live. It’s almost like she’s becoming a whole new person. In many ways, her baby will be raised by a different, healthier mom, one who has learned how to persevere. She’s learning how to not quit right before our eyes.
Your support enables us to stand with her. It may be years before we see all the restoration we hope for come to fruition. Stick around and watch with us. We are confident every moment, every visit, every vaccination and every bit of food and support provided will be well worth it. This young mother and her children are worth it.
She might not even know yet how immeasurably valuable her life is, but we do!
That’s why we don’t have an exit strategy with this young mother. We are committed to showing her how much she matters to God and to her children, by not quitting in her life. We’re staying put.
Thank you for staying put with us.
