Give, but give until it hurts.

-Mother Teresa

I have been volunteering for the last number of months at a home for young mothers.  I got connected through Carl's aunt who works there and they needed someone to come to do some translating for a young gal.  I go every Tuesday morning and I take the girls with me.  Sometimes they can be with their great-auntie in the sewing room, or other times they sit with me while I work with the young gal who is a recent immigrant.  We often work on her English homework, but other times we talk about how baby is doing, how she is doing, and life in general.

My daughters are definitely being impacted by being there.  I have had good conversations with Asha about how it takes many people to help raise a baby.  Kezia asked just last week, "Can you have a baby without a husband?"  I was a bit at a loss at how to answer because we haven't explained that whole topic to her just quite yet.  But Asha responded from the back, "Sure you can, but you just need a lot of other women to help you,".

I also am keenly aware that when I go with my two girls in tow, the young moms watch me as I interact with them.  Oh, how my parenting was on centre stage when Elena was shrieking how she would climb the stairs all by herself.  They were all watching to see what I would do and how I would respond to my child.  One gal asked me if I had bee a client there years ago and that's why I came back to help.  I told her I hadn't, but I really enjoy coming.  It has definitely shaped me and helped remind me that my world is more than just me and my immediate family.

I am blessed by going, but it also breaks my heart.  I often am overwhelmed with sadness because I feel powerless to change all the situations around me.  I remember from my book I read in my class that early intervention and support is what parents need to be able to raise their children in a healthy way.  I think what the home is doing is saving the world, one family at a time but it isn't easy.  Our society does not value women, especially marginalized women nor does the world value children.  These young gals have to struggle against societal stigma as single moms, struggle to make ends meet, struggle to study, struggle to sleep and eat and often they do it alone with only a dysfunctional past to draw on from experience.  But I know from my life that one person can make a lifetime of difference to another human being.  Each teacher and social worker and volunteer in that place make an enormously positive impact on the young lives.  And there are many other wonderful places like this one and this one also working towards healing for babies and their mamas.

So amidst the hardship and the brokenness, there is light, hope, restoration, and love and it's humbling to be a part of that.