Joseth: A child street seller

I met Joseth the beginning of this year making her rounds. She, like many other children in Cochabamba, sell gum and cigarettes, candy and mints to bar-dwellers at night. This is a dangerous job, as kids can be attacked, mugged, and even raped. But, tons of kids walk the streets until 4 or 5 in the morning selling to put food on the table and help their families.

Joseth is a very smart, intelligent girl, who has been forced into this business by a series of unfortunate events. Her mom died when she was three, and her family is very poor. So, at the age of four, Joseth, along with her father, began selling in order to survive.

Saturday night, a group of us took her out to dinner and dessert because on Sunday she turned 13! During our meal, I got to know her story, and it absolutely broke my heart! Not only did her mom die very young, which has obviously affected Joesth, her older sister died shortly after being born. When she was very young, Joseth lost sight of her dad in the Cancha--something that can very easily happen due to the small aisles and large amounts of people. Someone found her, and took her to Madre de Dios, a home for abandoned and orphaned girls near the bus terminal. She said the two months she spent in the home were horrible--she cried constantly because she missed her dad and younger sister so much. Eventually, after searching the streets and orphanages in Cochabamba, her dad found her and brought her home.

She told me that because her dad does not make enough money to support both she and her younger sister, she has been spending more time at her uncle's house. She was telling us that her dad had to attend a neighborhood meeting the next morning because there is a gang that roams the neighborhood at night, and they can be violent. They have stolen from many of the residents, and even raped a girl recently.

Although there is so much that has gone wrong in her life, Joseth is happy and caring, very bright, loves school, and has dreams she hopes to accomplish. Her dad does what he can with what little he has, and you can tell, he loves her very much.

Sadly, Joseth is not the only child in Bolivia with a traumatic, heartbreaking past. I see in her hope and a fight to create a better future for herself. However, at the same time, in her eyes there is too much hurt and pain, disappointment and heartache for such a young girl. Stories like this break my heart, and I wish there was something more I could do, other than buy candy and gum from she and her dad.

But, this is why I have come to Bolivia, and I will continue to work for equality, justice, and a better future for kids because of children like Joseth, those I see on the streets sniffing glue to suppress feelings of loneliness, cold, and hunger, and for the wonderful, amazing children of Ninos con Valor who have taught me so much about what is truly important in life!