SHIP is…Making Friends

This picture warms our hearts every time we see it. These three were some of the littlest of our Salvadoran neighbors back when it was taken. They’d come to SHIP’s property and have the biggest time running around, playing, and just generally being in charge of the whole place. We couldn’t be happier that they found each other.

When we first went to El Salvador, gangs were in charge of the areas we went to. The gangs told people what they could wear, when they needed to be off the streets, and how much they needed to pay to be left alone. The gangs were a trap for young boys in our area, as it was hard to avoid being forced to join, The gangs weren’t any better for the girls, and sometimes they were even more dangerous.

But the threat of gangs didn’t exist within SHIP’s walls. Our place was safe. It was a place where young kids–like these girls–could spend the day drawing on the sidewalks with chalk, learning construction, and playing cards.

The SHIP property was a place where three little girls could play together, go to Bible study together, and eventually graduate from playing with sidewalk chalk to picking out dresses for a quinceañera. It was a place where a young girl could meet the kind of friend who would help straighten her crown so they would both look beautiful on their special day. And, it was a place where three little friends would grow in to three princesses.