My friend's story....
I have a friend who grew up very poor. He often speaks of his misfortune and stress as a kid and it's truly heartbreaking. His parents divorced when he was just a toddler and his mom remained in custody of him and his sister. His mother was uneducated and as an immigrant to this Country, didn't speak the language. She worked several jobs, but it was never enough. They had to move several times from city to city or from apartment to apartment. We once made a list of all his addresses (at least the ones he can remember) and he had something like 25! That's insane! He remembers being hungry and crying himself to sleep asking himself "why me"? He also remembers budgeting and figuring out how much money his mom was going to have for groceries after paying all the bills at the young age of eight. I've realized through the years that his upbringing really caused emotional stress. He can tell you a story and cry in a heartbeat and he is now a forty-year-old man. He says the worry used to keep him up at night and give him stomach aches and he was always nervous of what the future would hold. He is thankful to have had very good friends who supported him in his time of need and his coaches and teachers who really made a difference when they donated clothing and food to his mother.
His memories are far from what I knew as a kid, and when he tells me stories like running an extension chord from the basement outlet up three flights of stairs so they could have electricity, I just cannot imagine. I am happy to say that he is a very educated, well rounded successful adult today. While greatly affected, he will be the first to tell you that his childhood stress made him who he is today....a wonderful husband, father and son and he works hard to not only provide a stable and stress-free life for his own children, but he helps his mother and his sister in every way he can and although those stories still bring tears to his eyes, he says he is so blessed and grateful that all his wishes and praying for a better life came true!
Children in Cuba
I was born here, but my parents immigrated here from Cuba. They have always spoken of the poverty they lived with and how there was no opportunity for them there. During my research on Cuba, I found that children there not only live in poverty and deal with hunger, but there is also child labor which causes even more stress for children. If you ask my family, they believed that children should work to "help" the family, which is something that still exists today in Cuba. Although there are child labor laws that don't allow for children to work until the age of 15, they are sent to work way before. My Dad remembers cleaning shoes in the streets, wiping car windows, bagging groceries for change. On a recent trip that we visiting Cuba, you still saw the same thing. Children running into restaurants to eat leftover food, children picking and selling flowers for money and teenage girls offering themselves. Another big stressor is the fact that children must enter the military at the age of 15 which is the number one reason my father decided to come to the U.S.
Here are a couple of pictures I found that really defines "Child Stress"...
CHILD SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR
CHILD MAKING THEIR OWN TOY
CHILDREN'S POOL
If you want to see more information about Cuba and it's children, visit:
