By ANA PALACIO (testimony of a child) | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
I was on the street for a long time, I remember rainy days where the cold was the only thing I could think about, and my mother telling me not to come home until I got something. It took me a long time to understand that getting something was stealing, then stealing became part of everyday life. If I wanted to eat, if I wanted to sleep, if I wanted to be accepted or not be mistreated, I had to steal.
I stole from the age of 9 to 14, I started with small things in supermarkets, fruits, rice and food. Then I started stealing cell phones, wallets that were easy to take, I was only caught once, I thought they would beat me like the many young people in my neighborhood.
For a long time I wondered if this was life, I watched other children leaving school talking to their friends about fun things like soccer, but with my friends we only talked about when, where and who to steal from.
One day someone notified the police about what my mother made me do. I arrived at my house, there were police officers and she couldn't stop crying.
That was the last I heard from her, the police took me and my mother never looked for me, I waited for her for a long time, until I understood that this was the best.
I wanted to be a normal child, and since they took me in at Superarse, I started to be.
I went to school for the first time, I learned to read, I learned to add and subtract, I learned about history and geography, and most importantly, I discovered a love for reading and I began to dream about my future, about what I could become. . I became passionate about writing, and now I find myself writing this letter of my life, with the dream of one day being a great writer.
Thank you Superarse, Thank you donors, for helping so many children like me, and because thanks to you, I discovered something that I truly love to do.
By Ana Palacio | Executive Director
By Ana Palacio | Executive Director
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