today was blessed.

my fever has relatively abated and so i went to work and saw my girls. huzzah!

i must say that my perceptions of the girls and this environment they live in have changed so much in the last weeks. i remember when i first came feeling this anger that why did these girls have to suddenly take on all this hardship of being a 17 year old mom? what about the boys/men? where were they?

but now, having spoken more to these new mothers, having met more ex-lua nova residents, i am renewed again in understanding what a powerful force of good and change motherhood can be. these formerly direction-less girls now have a real purpose in their lives, and they are actively changing their habits and priorities to live for their children. granted some girls can't handle it and leave or run away, and most are still very much in the early stages of this process, but the majority of the girls who come to lua nova do stay and do fight through it all and come out a truly changed person. they fight through it in their tough, abrasive manner, but what other manner would you adopt after living such a life?

i finished translating lua nova's website in my sick-out days. not all of it has been uploaded yet, so i'm going to post one of the testimonials from one of the lua nova residents i had translated here instead. once the rest of them are up you really must read them all - they are true stories of victory and the power of love and motherhood (when it is nurtured, upheld, praised, and cultivated, that is):

"I arrived at Lua Nova less than a year ago, before that having lived through many things in Sao Paulo, the majority of them sad. I have three more children who are not with me, but in short I am here with my son Marcos who is 1 year old. My goal now is to regain the lost time with my other children, and Lua Nova is supporting me in this effort. Before I lived on the street, used and trafficked drugs, and because of this lost my children, my dignity, and my citizenship. With Marcos I have had the opportunity to feel for the first time like a complete mother, whereas before I didn't make space for motherhood - other things were given priority. Lua Nova has shown me that today I can be a mother, I have the capacity to change - before I didn't believe that, I didn't have any hope that I could start again. But here I am with my son at my side, and I am happy. I work at the Arts Workshop and I really like the other girls and learning new skills. Today I want to do things very differently, and Lua Nova is supporting me in doing that."

i know the girl who wrote this and can say that she is a wonderful mother for marcos. so loving and attentive. it's incredible, no? what an amazing transformative power motherhood can be if it is properly valued! it's all such a gorgeous message, and i know i can learn a great deal from this organization that creates such stories. even with all the disorganized frustration. :)

beijos,
joojie.


p.s. i also found a frozen yogurt shop in sorocaba today. a.ma.zing. that also contributed to this being an overall much better day than those that came before :)