Marchade is 10 and doesn’t speak. We think she can but chooses not to.
She doesn’t ever get out of her cot even though she could if she wanted to, since her injuries are not serious. She has a lot of bumps and bruises and a head injury, but nothing that will cause permanent damage.
The staff that first assessed her said she was found wandering in the rubble, crying and alone. We presume Marchade is an orphan, but it is possible that her parents are alive and had become separated. If no one claims her soon, she will be sent to a temporary foster facility where she may be adopted. She may never know if her family is still living, but odds are that she will never know them regardless.
One day we got one of the volunteers to bring some coloring books and crayons for the kids, and it was the first time I actually saw her smile. She interacted with another young patient and seemed to get a little bit of life back in her. At first, she was shy when I asked to take her picture, but then I told her that she looked like a supermodel, and all of a sudden she struck a pose right out of Vogue.
She is a little Naomi Campbell in the making, but for now she is just Marchade. |
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Aid workers didn’t know Marchade’s last name because she refused to speak. She was found wandering the streets alone.
Photo by Lisa Lucas |
Photo by Lisa Lucas
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