Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13: 33-35

We have been doing this ministry for some time now. We have accompanied a generation of homeless children who arrived in the streets in their prepubescent years and now they are in their early adulthood. We have seen and experienced many facets in the lives of the homeless youth. Therefore, we should be used to the many changes which occur in this unpredictable environment. Nevertheless, there are things which still disturb our souls. The presence of a new immigration of children, their numbers are growing by the day, is quite distressing. For some reason, they appear younger than their previous counterparts. Maybe we are older now and everyone seems young. This new group is from the state orphanages. We casually asked one of the older teens if these places were truly terrible. She replied that some places were quite pleasant. They do not always stay in the same place. They are transferred frequently. Besides this, they are only allowed to stay in the state orphanage until they turn 18. Once this happens, they are asked to leave. The State believes that its responsibility ends when they become officially adults. The fact that they are orphans from impoverished backgrounds never seems to alter this decision. Apparently, there are many who have a family member or so who will take them into their homes. For the others, they come here to the center of the city and call the streets their home.

This is another example of society’s superficial acts of charity. We live in a country where the social disparity is appalling. The rich are extremely rich and the poor are very poor. The children in the orphanages are the most vulnerable ones from poorest of the poor. In many cases, it is the State which removes the children from the parents’ custody and more often than not for good reasons. However, sending them back as soon as they turn 18 without any assistance nor guidance borders on cruelty. These are children whom no one wants. This has been communicated to them from very first years of their lives. When they officially become adults, they are expected to find their place in this world. Most of the children do not wait for this time. They can not handle another rejection in their lives. They run away from these orphanages. They have no where to go and the streets in the center where we minister is where people who have nowhere to go end up.

We sit in our usual place and wait for them. Those who have accompanied us over the years will have noticed how frequently we use the “wait” in our reflection. It is all about waiting. The children are all around us but they do not notice us. Something else has taken hold of their attention. It is really nothing important. It is just that everyone is trying to assert their presence. The only way they know how to do this is through crime. At least, this is the only thing they have been exposed to since young. We offer something different. Unfortunately, everyone is too busy to notice us. It is okay. It gives us a chance to quietly observe them.

A boy took out a stack of hundred dollar bills from his pocket. He is too young to have that kind of money and I doubt he understand its value. It will be gone tomorrow and he won’t remember how he spent it. Unfortunately, even in his circumstance, he knows that wealth is a sure way to be noticed so he flashes his money around. Sadly, he has become a master in the act of stealing gold chains. He was like the Dickensian artful dodger. All the other little guys look at him with admiration. This boy himself looks like he is hardly ten. It is heartbreaking to see him behave this way. Just the other day he smiled at us. It is obvious that he wants to be seen in a different light. He watches us every now and then. He hasn’t made the step to approach us. He has an image to protect for now, I suppose.

A group of unfortunate tourists came around the corner. Immediately, all these kids pounced upon them like a pack of wolves. We have not seen this happening for a long time. A young teenage girl put her arm around a young female tourist to subdue her so that she could steal something from this poor victim. Fortunately, she was able to break free from the hold and escape. Nothing was stolen from them except perhaps their dignity. Maybe they will a frightening story to relate when they go back to Europe. The incident created excitement once again. An outsider watching this incident would think that these children are like little monsters. I won’t blame anyone for thinking this way. The children seemed to be oblivious to the pain and suffering of others. They were not always like that. They have been subjected to much pain and suffering in their young lives and no one was around to show love and compassion to them. They are not asking for our sympathy. They are just living out what life has taught them until now.

A young girl came and asked if she could colour with us. She is part of the group but she is a little older. We found out that she was one of those who was turned out when she turned 18. She knew these children when they were in the orphanages together. We have been observing her. She put forth a tough and intimidating front. However, when she sat with us, she was an entirely different person. She had nice friendly smile and she was very open to us. Her name is Isabelle. We haven’t heard that name in the streets for a long time. Sounds like a name that would be common but we have only met one other girl with that name in the streets, albeit spelled with a slight variation. Her name was Isabela. She was tough like this girl. Hardly spoke to us initially and then approached us because she wanted to do some art. Eventually we become close. She left when she got pregnant and was determined to give her child something different. She has been away from the streets for more than five years. We shared her story with this new girl. She smiled and told us that she is not going to get pregnant ever. She doesn’t want to have children. They are too much responsibility. We told her that we don’t any kids too. She smiled and said, “Then you can adopt me!” It was a joke and at the same time it wasn’t. We heard some of children and teens say this to us several times in our time here. Most of them are the ones who come from the orphanages. All these children at one point hoped to be adopted and grow up in a stable loving environment. When that dream faded away and reality set in, they hardened their hearts. Isabelle stayed with us for a while and coloured. She told us about herself but most of the time, she was just quiet. She did not finish her colouring. She promised that she will finish next time. We told her that we will be here.

The next day, the same scenery and the same waiting for someone to approach. This time it was the girl who grabbed the neck of the poor tourist. It was quite unexpected. She walked up and asked if she could sit and color with us. Her name is Giovanna. She did not say much and we did not want to overwhelm her with questions. However, it was plain to see that this girl has suffered much. The boys in her group exploit her too. Life has not been kind to this girl. Yesterday, she was a monster but today we see that she is a vulnerable girl alone in this world. She did a beautiful job coloring. It was clear that she had some artistic talent. We commended her on her work. She gave a timid smile. It was clear that she appreciated it. She did not want to finish it. She told us that she will complete it the next time we are there. We told her that we will be here waiting for her.