CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 47

sometimes, because the parents are not listening
to their kids, they tend to go out and find persons
who will listen to them. And because they will
listen to them, persons lead them in the wrong
way, and so they end up doing things [to their
own detriment]. So parents need to listen to
their kids more and they need to show their
kids more love.”
However, Dr. Gibbon said it is best some children
never see their parents at all.
“They usually could be the problem to why
they’re there in the first place … The child
might see their parents three times a year,
and they might be alright with that. But if it’s
unreliable, and they look forward to that time
and then it doesn’t happen, then that’s when the
real damage is done — when they’re promised
something that is not delivered.”
Crawford, Newton, and Moore all report they
came to Strathmore due to their love for children.

They agree it has been rough, especially with
older children who talk back to them, and
children with abusive backgrounds. The staff
at Strathmore hit the children, but they hug
them. They push them away, but sit by them
and share in their sadness. They shout at them,
but tend to their wounds. In many ways, the
staff are the parents — they try to be. And Dr.
Gibbon said, it is this bond that is necessary
for children like those at Strathmore.
“As long as a child has been given the tools and
the support to build their self-esteem, reach
their academic potential, eat right, sleep right,
wherever they are in the world they will thrive.
If you take any of those out of the equation, their
ability to function as normal human beings
decreases with each thing they don’t have. But
I would say belonging, feeling like you belong
somewhere, and people ‘own’ you, you’re part
of a family, is one of the most important things
to emotional health.”

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Photo by Wayne Tippetts