Risen from the Ashes Tears trickled out of my distraught eyes, frightened and saddened as I was.  The wind blew ash all around choking my breath, as our shack went up in flame. My sobs reflected my family’s despair as the treacherous fire destroyed our home, all belongings, clothing and cattle. Wrought with fear of […]

Building Blocks for a Bright Future I don’t remember much about my early childhood until it was completely changed. All that remain in my mind about those forgotten years are unfocused memories of my mother braiding my overgrown hair, walking to my small village school through dense sugarcane fields, climbing trees, escaping from classes to […]

Gaining the Power to Transform As the early morning light would wake her up, she knew it was the beginning of another day of struggle for survival.  She would feed her children whatever little she had, and then leave them with her husband to go to work in the factory. She would return from work each evening more exhausted than the […]

A Thalli of Hope The scene is so clear in my mind that I can almost see it before my eyes. My mother is crouching on the cold floor; my father is hovering over her. His hands are on the chain around her neck that had tied around her neck long ago, the day he […]