When she was eight years old, a disabled little girl named Rosa arrived at Kids Kingdom orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico. She rarely spoke, she never smiled, and she could barely open her eyes.
Before coming to their new home at Kids Kingdom, Rosa, and her brother Alberto, who was ten years old at the time, lived in total poverty in a very abusive home. After they were abandoned by their father, they lived with their mother in a run-down tire shop off the highway. Their mother was dying from leukemia and could not support them. So, young Alberto started working in the tire shop to support his mother and sister.
Rosa and Alberto never attended school or learned how to read or write. In addition, Rosa had a rare neuromuscular disease that caused severe muscle weakness. When their mother passed away, they were taken to a temporary shelter where they lived for the next year, before being transferred to Kids Kingdom.
Rosa had a hard time transitioning to her new life. School was extremely difficult for her. Her physical condition, which had yet to be diagnosed, caused her to miss a lot of school and prevented her from engaging in physical activities with the other children. She was taken to the Children’s Hospital in Mexico City several times before her disease was identified. They were told that there was no cure for her condition but there were treatments that could help her to have a better quality of life and continue attending school.
Rosa graduated from high school in June 2023 and will begin her first semester at the university in January 2024 studying psychology.
Today, Rosa is a happy and bright young lady who loves school and has many friends. She recently shared, “I want to study psychology because I want to help people like Kids Kingdom has helped me. I am very happy and so thankful that I was brought here. Kids Kingdom has been a wonderful place where I could heal emotionally and have incredible parents like Mama Maricela and Papa Tomás (directors of the orphanage), who love me. I am so thankful for them”.
(Names have been changed for privacy).
