What makes you keep going

Svenn shares another story from Alalay:

I felt everything had gone wrong. The whole day had just been a lot of shouting and negative response. I was so tired of it all, but still I was there with my kids. In a way pretending that I felt everything was right. First of all I was alone with my kids. Thirteen of them. Being in charge alone with so many kids is a lot of work in itself. What made all very difficult was that the water went. It was more or less gone the entire weekend. This makes cleaning here in Alalay almost impossible. Without water no clean clothes, rooms, plates, cups...basically everything. And worst of all - No water to drink. I guess you can imagine how it is when every single one of the kids is complaining about all this when it is nothing to do about it. This makes you tired, frustrated and sometimes angry. But a part of this work is to keep all this inside and keep going.

I was sitting playing with my kids. Just to get all our problems out of our mines. After a few fights and some competitions one of the kids said something I’ll never forget. Hermano Esteban do you know what? I answered; no, what is it? You know, you are like our second dad...you are...really...you know...our dad. I didn’t no what to say. I had no words. Isn’t that so, he said to the other kids. All the other kids nodded indicating that they agreed. Then one of the kids came over and gave me a big hug and said. You are really nice, daddy...


From Thoughts from Bolivia