Sarai is back!

After our regularly-scheduled rainy-season Internet outage, we are back online and have some wonderful news to share!
We previously posted a few stories about Sarai, the precocious 3-year-old who was removed from Casa Shalom by her father. Her leaving was particularly difficult because her father is known to be an alcoholic and unwilling to work.

Well, as of 2 days ago, Sarai is back at Casa Shalom! The story of her return is sad - 2 days ago, her father was arrested for public drunkenness and sentenced to 40 days in jail. When he was arrested, some neighbors, who knew Sarai was not being cared for, took her from her home and took her to the local court, where they left her. When director Jorge Mario found out about her being at the court, he set out that same night and brought her back to the orphanage around mid-night.

According to Jorge, Sarai was not in very good shape - she was barefoot, dirty and appeared malnourished. That is especially heartbreaking because when she left just 2 months ago, she was sent away with several pairs of nice shoes and a lot of nice clothes. Jorge speculates that her father sold the items, because he admitted to using drugs frequently since Sarai returned to him.

When Sarai saw director Jorge, she ran to him, gave him a big hug, and told him she didn't like being dirty and barefoot. He told her she was going to return to Casa Shalom with him and she then said, "When we get there, can I take a bath?"

As saddened as we are by this turn of events in Sarai's life, we are so thankful to have her back in a safe, loving environment. She has been examined by a counselor and a doctor, who diagnosed her with malnutrition and dehydration. We will be working hard to get Sarai back to where she needs to be!

We appreciate the prayers of all those who have been lifting Sarai up! Please continue to pray for this little soul, that she will not be greatly affected by all that she has been through, and that she will grow and thrive at Casa Shalom! Enjoy the photos of Sarai that we have taken since her return.







Top photo: Sarai, showing off her brand-new sunglasses, with her buddy, Tony
Right Photo: Sarai and Tony again.
Photo below: Sarai being the goofy little girl we love!