Bringing Brittany Home
Donation protected
In 2011 during a service trip to Belize, I acquired a shadow named Brittany. She would not only follow me home every day, there were mornings that she would be sleeping outside my door when I awoke.
Very early, one Sunday morning, I opened my door, and there she was. I was heading to the beach to be greet the day and read. I always have children’s books with me, so I grabbed “Alice in Wonderland” for her. When I asked her, “How is that reading level for you?” Her response and explanation is what first made me fall in love with her. She said, “Oh, Miss Kim, I am a good reader. I have to be if I want to get the job I want someday.”
Considering I am aware of the lack of professional opportunities for locals on the island, I held my breath and asked, “What do you want to be?”
She enthusiastically explained, “I don’t know if you have this television show in the States, but there is a show on our TV, where an old man goes around the world and saves the babies. I want to do this with him.” What this sweet 12 year old girl was describing was the Christian Children’s Fund infomercial. The brutal irony is that she had no idea that she was one of those children. It was then that I told her that if she never missed school and got good grades, someday I would try to bring her to the States for a year.
Brittany make my promise her reality. Three years later, not only had she excelled in school, she applied for a passport and a FI Student Exchange Visa on her own. That May, when I arrived on the island, she was waiting to show me that she had held up her part and was ready to go. Brittany attended school in Sioux Falls during the 2014-15 school year.
Britt’s return to Belize was brutal. Her local high school made her retake her junior year. She was ostracized by classmates for her year of “good fortune”. At home, things were just, plain hard.
By Christmas of 2015, I sensed something was wrong as Brittany was not answering texts or emails. When I arrived in February, I discovered that she had not been in school for weeks. She was home helping with her mother. Once alone, I asked her, “Brittany, what happened? She did not answer right away. She sat there for a long time as she chose her words.
“I don’t really know how to explain it. I would go to school, and I could hear the teacher talking, but I just got smaller and smaller. Pretty soon, I didn’t even feel myself in the room. I disappeared.” This is when I knew that I had to bring her “home.” It was also one of the most articulate description of depression I have ever heard.
Getting Britt back to Sioux Falls has included more and higher roadblocks than I have ever encountered. Brittany can only enter the States on an I20 status as she is not coming through an agency. The only schools that have this status near us are Sioux Falls Christian and Freeman Academy. Because of cost and geography, Sioux Falls Christian is the best decision. During our initial school tour, everything about it just seemed like the right place for our new family.
Again, since I left my job to follow a life of service, I simply cannot afford the tuition currently due. Because school has already started, no tuition assistance is available; we will be able to apply for that next year. I am also being deliberate in picking up work to afford her daily needs.
This past trip, I focused on getting her out of Belize. It was ‘gut-wrenching.” There is a lot of Visa, guardianship, legal red tape, and Belizean/American politics, that I am skipping over, but rest assured, that it took a global village to get her back where she belongs.
The money raised will be used specifically for her tuition this school year 2016-17. Sioux Falls’ Christian’s tuition is $10,500. Also, there is a $250 application fee. They require the rental of a Chromebook. Furthermore, all students must have $500 in a food plan and $500 in a discretionary fund. Again, to be clear, our GoFundMe campaign is to cover this year’s tuition. We will have a year to budget, save, earn and apply for assistance for next year.
Of course, people have questioned the sensibility of it all, as the finances seem substantial. Truly, I pray for clarity on this issue. Could that money better be spent on numerous children instead of just one child? However, the Holy Spirit keeps whispering to me and pushing me to continue to advocate for Brittany. This one child can – and will – make a difference for her own community someday. She may change the people who take a chance on her. I know she has changed me.
I thank anyone who is taking the time to read our love story. She is my Belizean daughter, and I need to set my pride aside and ask for help. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for any ideas or suggestions you may have. Thank you for considering to be a part of our extended family. I first went to Belize to get “unstuck in the sand.” I never dreamed it would be the children and, especially, Brittany, who would grab my hand and gently guide me to my current life, which is rich with faith and love.
To read the full version of "Our Story," please go to http://dakotakim.blogspot.com/
Very early, one Sunday morning, I opened my door, and there she was. I was heading to the beach to be greet the day and read. I always have children’s books with me, so I grabbed “Alice in Wonderland” for her. When I asked her, “How is that reading level for you?” Her response and explanation is what first made me fall in love with her. She said, “Oh, Miss Kim, I am a good reader. I have to be if I want to get the job I want someday.”
Considering I am aware of the lack of professional opportunities for locals on the island, I held my breath and asked, “What do you want to be?”
She enthusiastically explained, “I don’t know if you have this television show in the States, but there is a show on our TV, where an old man goes around the world and saves the babies. I want to do this with him.” What this sweet 12 year old girl was describing was the Christian Children’s Fund infomercial. The brutal irony is that she had no idea that she was one of those children. It was then that I told her that if she never missed school and got good grades, someday I would try to bring her to the States for a year.
Brittany make my promise her reality. Three years later, not only had she excelled in school, she applied for a passport and a FI Student Exchange Visa on her own. That May, when I arrived on the island, she was waiting to show me that she had held up her part and was ready to go. Brittany attended school in Sioux Falls during the 2014-15 school year.
Britt’s return to Belize was brutal. Her local high school made her retake her junior year. She was ostracized by classmates for her year of “good fortune”. At home, things were just, plain hard.
By Christmas of 2015, I sensed something was wrong as Brittany was not answering texts or emails. When I arrived in February, I discovered that she had not been in school for weeks. She was home helping with her mother. Once alone, I asked her, “Brittany, what happened? She did not answer right away. She sat there for a long time as she chose her words.
“I don’t really know how to explain it. I would go to school, and I could hear the teacher talking, but I just got smaller and smaller. Pretty soon, I didn’t even feel myself in the room. I disappeared.” This is when I knew that I had to bring her “home.” It was also one of the most articulate description of depression I have ever heard.
Getting Britt back to Sioux Falls has included more and higher roadblocks than I have ever encountered. Brittany can only enter the States on an I20 status as she is not coming through an agency. The only schools that have this status near us are Sioux Falls Christian and Freeman Academy. Because of cost and geography, Sioux Falls Christian is the best decision. During our initial school tour, everything about it just seemed like the right place for our new family.
Again, since I left my job to follow a life of service, I simply cannot afford the tuition currently due. Because school has already started, no tuition assistance is available; we will be able to apply for that next year. I am also being deliberate in picking up work to afford her daily needs.
This past trip, I focused on getting her out of Belize. It was ‘gut-wrenching.” There is a lot of Visa, guardianship, legal red tape, and Belizean/American politics, that I am skipping over, but rest assured, that it took a global village to get her back where she belongs.
The money raised will be used specifically for her tuition this school year 2016-17. Sioux Falls’ Christian’s tuition is $10,500. Also, there is a $250 application fee. They require the rental of a Chromebook. Furthermore, all students must have $500 in a food plan and $500 in a discretionary fund. Again, to be clear, our GoFundMe campaign is to cover this year’s tuition. We will have a year to budget, save, earn and apply for assistance for next year.
Of course, people have questioned the sensibility of it all, as the finances seem substantial. Truly, I pray for clarity on this issue. Could that money better be spent on numerous children instead of just one child? However, the Holy Spirit keeps whispering to me and pushing me to continue to advocate for Brittany. This one child can – and will – make a difference for her own community someday. She may change the people who take a chance on her. I know she has changed me.
I thank anyone who is taking the time to read our love story. She is my Belizean daughter, and I need to set my pride aside and ask for help. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for any ideas or suggestions you may have. Thank you for considering to be a part of our extended family. I first went to Belize to get “unstuck in the sand.” I never dreamed it would be the children and, especially, Brittany, who would grab my hand and gently guide me to my current life, which is rich with faith and love.
To read the full version of "Our Story," please go to http://dakotakim.blogspot.com/
Organizer
Kim Bartling
Organizer
Sioux Falls, SD
