Jazel, a beautiful girl of 12, wrote an amazing poem for our caring pillar about a friend of hers who was terribly beaten up at
school.She was taken to the hospital and had lost so much blood, she needed blood. Her good friend had come with her and was able to donate her blood. Jazel talked about these incidences of violence with ease as they are common and expected. The parents and teachers are powerless against this kind of severe bullying and really do not know what to do. Reckoning can offer some hope and ideas to confront these issues with our methodology of teaching. We believe this is the type of work and intervention is what God is calling us to do to be peacemakers in our city.

During the course of the 8 weeks being at the school, a slow transformation occured with her. At the beginning, I experienced her as tough and distant. She was getting in a lot of trouble in her mentor group. By the time this was taken a softer more open young lady emerged. The poem she wrote here in the photo took her less than an hour and it is powerful. She was also a key person involved in making the citizenship video as well. 

After the art showcase, I complemented her on her writing and encouraged her to write more. She smiled and thanked me and said that she would. She expressed to another volunteer that she really liked these projects and would do it again if whe could.