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| The following profiles are a selection of life stories of the people that our projects help. For reasons of confidentiality, names have been changed and no photographs appear. | |
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PABLO
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Pablo was two years
old when he came to PAV, the third child of drug addicted
mother herself abandoned at birth and pregnant at 16. Pablo's high risk
birth has left him with a serious heart complaint and sight defect. When
he was 18 months old his mother abandoned all three of her children, running
away with her boyfriend. Their grandmother took over their care and began
bringing them to the project. At first Pablo was very withdrawn, didn't mix with other children and refused to eat. Sometime later he became very aggressive and disobedient. It was discovered that his mother was returning to the grandmother's home whilst under the influence of drugs and mistreating the children. Pablo's health still remains poor. He has been undergoing tests to establish if heart surgery is possible |
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VITORIA
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Vitoria has lived
in Fátima for twelve years in pitiable conditions. She lives with
her partner of 21 years and five of their children in a one roomed house
with no sanitation or running water. The place where they live is next to
an open sewer infested with rats and nasty insects. Her unemployed partner
often beats her and has thrown her, along with their children, out of their
house. Vitoria's eldest daughter is widowed, her husband having been murdered in front of her and their two children. She was then 6 months pregnant and she almost miscarried. With so much disgrace and tragedy surrounding her family, Vitoria has become extremely despondent and too weak to the face the hardships of her life. On the day of the visit, the team discovered that there was no food in the house, "… I had to make my grandchildren sleep because they were crying out of hunger…". Vitoria's cleaning job brings in a monthly family income of R$ 50.00 (£12.50 approx.), "… the money I get from the cleaning isn't enough especially when I need to buy medicine, because after one of the attacks from my partner he struck my head really hard and now I must take some specific medicine…". Vitoria told us "…I'm
really happy with my daughter participating at Aprisco, besides learning
more she is also being fed…I wish I could give my children and my
grandchildren better conditions in life…" |
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CRISTIAN
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Cristian was amongst
the first children to attend PAV. His teacher soon
noticed that he wasn't able to distinguish colours and wasn't developing
sensory motor skills. On speaking to his mother, it was discovered that
at just two years old, Cristian had witnessed a stabbing and shotgun murder.
During this incident, he was shot in his right hand by a stray bullet. On discovering this, the project was able to support Cristian with medical care and other professional help. |
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THREE
BROTHERS
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Three brothers were
placed with the Safe House in November 2007.
Lucas aged 6 is calm and intelligent but disproportionately concerned about his brothers. He resists boundaries and tells lies. He has little notion of hygiene and bed wets. Bruno aged 41/2 isn't toilet trained, has undeveloped speech, has no notion of boundaries & resists discipline. Rodrigo aged 20 months is developmentally delayed like his brother. Social services investigated this family having received reports from concerned neighbours. Evidence of negligence, abuse and poor hygiene was discovered and the children were removed from the home under protective measures. |
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FRANCISCA
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Francisca has been a member of the Safe House family for three years. As a baby, over half of her body was severely burnt when a candle fell into her cot. Her mother no longer wanted her and Francisca has suffered huge psychological trauma as a result of the rejection which manifest in violent outbursts. Despite receiving psychiatric treatment Francisca still finds relationships hard. Consequently, placing her in an adoptive family proved difficult. |
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© The
Good Shepherd Project. UK Registered Charity No. 1076035. Page
last updated
18 April, 2009
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