Dania still looked like she should be in middle school. She was taller than most girls, but she had a baby's face. It was as if she stopped getting older the day she ran away from the orphanage. She was just 14. Dania felt that she had made the right decision. There had been no hope for her, or at least that was he excuse. She had been a trouble maker, like many teenagers and wanted to be free of rules. Dania's belief was that she would have turned out the same if she had stayed or if she had run away (and she may not have been too far off from the truth).
Dania's story is one that unfortunately is not all that uncommon. Honduras is a country with high poverty, few jobs and a plethora of 12 and 13 year old mothers. Honduran women are often are treated as trophies that can be won or even stolen away. They are something that can be purchased, which unfortunately many women in Honduras have ending up doing every night. Dania ran away and looked for ways to take make a living. There were few jobs available for a 14 year old, so she followed the foot steps of other girls from the orphanage and eventually ended up in a bar selling more than just beer. Many women are forced into prostitution in Honduras, they take out loans with the wrong people and end up paying the loan off with their "services." Others like Dania join because there are few other options for them to be able to put bread on the table.
The problem for girls like Dania is that even if they stay in some orphanages until they turn 18, they will be turned out onto the street with just the clothes on their backs. Some orphanages work support the children in their care so that they get a good education and a good start once they leave the home. The problem is that a program like that costs megabucks. The more children in a home, the more difficult it is to provide the proper care to those children to ready them for a life on their own. Boys often fair better than girls once they leave an orphanage. Their are plenty of job options for Honduran men that require little or no education. They can be construction workers, they can farm, they can become security guards or they can work for any number of businesses lifting, moving or transporting product.
Life for the girls is much bleaker. If the orphanage has not been able to get them into college or get them started with a good job, then it is a very tough start for them to start out on their own. Most are use to someone taking care of most details of their lives and have had minimal experience with getting around in the real world. Many face the prospect of either marrying someone as soon as possible or to find a job that wants young women. Unfortunately prostitution is one of the few available jobs. For Dania she was tired of being told what to do. She felt that there was little reason to stay if she was just going to be in the same position when she turned 18, jobless and with no money. Dania thought she would be able to earn a lot more money starting at age 14. The reality of Dania had little to do with being raised in an orphanage though, it hinged on the lack of opportunities for young women. Poor uneducated women have tough choices to make in life, a select few tough choices. The streets are not pretty, especially if you are having to work them.
Orphanages are great. They help keep kids alive and off the street. The world needs to know and be reminded regularly, that one does not become and adult over night. Orphanages need to be supported so that they can afford the type of programing and investment in the lives of the children so that no child feels that their only option for them is to run away and become a prostitute. It may seem like an orphanage is rolling through large sums of money, and it will be true, but most of the time it is not being wasted. There are so many costs when raising a large number of children. Without money, an orphanage can provide little more than many of the country's impoverished families. Why invest so much money into raising a child just to release them on the street to fill the next generation of orphanages? Help end the cycle. Please find an orphanage and send them a donation or even just send them an email of support or prayers. Life in Honduras is not easy, and it takes a lot of love and energy to prepare children for difficulties they will soon face.
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