A Child's Haven - 23. Chapter 23

Sitting and after placing our orders, “Let me explain a little about Sanctuary. Sanctuary is a place for street kids, kids who had to beg, steal, and sell their bodies to survive. Today we have 130 kids in residency. We have cooks who prepare healthy food for them three times a day. We provide showers, clean clothes, and a safe place to sleep. We’ll open a school for them as soon as the classrooms are finished. To give you an idea of how we work, one of my kids saw a boy lying in the street on one of our trips to pick up some kids. The kid was beaten and, if left alone, would’ve probably died. We took him to a local clinic, and today we moved him into our infirmary. Now we need nurses to man our infirmary.”

“How old are these kids?”

“Our youngest is eight, and our oldest is sixteen. We have one special guest who will be twenty. He’s a college student who was forced to leave his home because of his sexual preference. He’d have been a street kid if there wasn’t Sanctuary. Why don’t you tell us about yourselves?”

“You go first, Aaron.”

“I have a bachelor’s degree in nursing. After graduation, I worked in a hospital emergency room. The work was interesting, but sometimes it was hard, not physically, but emotionally. After three years, I decided to go for a NP specializing in children. I have seen so much hurt and pain that these children have endured; I wanted to be more involved. I understand that you have to have a smile on your face, but many nights I cried. I’d love to visit your place. Maybe you are offering some hope, and if you are, I’d want to be part of it. Emily, your turn.”

“I also have a degree in nursing. My experience is a little different in that I worked for four years in a trauma center. There I came across kids who were in accidents, some merely a bruise, some as young as two years old, and some so damaged that their poor bodies couldn’t handle the trauma. I cried at every child we lost. It was getting too much, and I was afraid I’d have to give up nursing. One of the doctors encouraged me to go back to school and become a NP. But also like Aaron, I’d like to see this place which you call Sanctuary.”

“I’d like for both of you to visit us. Maybe after you spend some time among the kids, you’ll want to be a part of Sanctuary. Here’s my card. When you’d like to come, call me. Tony or I will pick you up.”

Walking back to the University, we said goodbye as we headed to the parking lot. For the first few minutes, Tony and I were quiet. I was thinking about what Aaron and Emily told us. “There are a lot of kids who get hurt in this world for no fault of their own. I want to take all of the hurt from them, but that’s impossible. I can help those that I know, and I’ll do the best I can with the help of good friends, the support of family, and the smiles I see every day. In some ways, I feel that I’m blessed more than any other man. I’m helping those that can’t help themselves. I have the endorsement of my parents, support of good friends, like you, Tony. And without my support group, there’s no way there’d be Sanctuary. I don’t say it enough, Tony, your support, loyalty, and friendship are very important to me, and I appreciate it.”

“The smiles on those kids’ faces are my payment.”

The rest of the ride home was quiet. I guess we both were thinking about what the nurses said. Parking, “Let’s get a cup of coffee.”

“Mario, how’s your father?”

“He’s much better. My brother, Aldo, is running the shop, and dad is taking it easy. He gave us all a big scare. Mom wants him to let Aldo have it and for him to retire.”

“Do you think he’ll do it?”

“Yes, he’s a tough old bird, but he always listens to my mom.”

“Taking our coffee, let’s order our office furniture.”

“After I see what cramped space the offices are.”

We took the stairs to the third floor. “There is a lot of space here. I could put a secretary’s office and mine here and still have a lot of room.”

“Maybe you should think of a file room. It wouldn’t have to be big, but you could keep it locked.”

“That’s a good idea., have the carpenters left?”

“I think they may be working on the third floor. Take a print, mark it, and I’ll ask them to build the partitions.” Walking into the dining hall, a few of the boys were sitting there talking while drinking a soda. They waved, and we waved back; “Let’s put down in writing our discussion about the trust fund and the share program. I also want to talk about the allowances with the boys.”

“Let me get some paper from the office, and I’ll record our thoughts on the trust fund. You never said where the money for the trust fund would come from.”

“Dad said I should sue those individuals that held the kids captive for everything they had. He figured they had millions in offshore banks. I’d use that money for the trust fund.”

“When are you going to file the lawsuit?”

“According to dad, it has already been filed. The lawyer that was going to represent me in the lawsuit they filed is handling the case.”

“That should provide a very nice trust fund.”

“Have you heard anything about those tickets? I need to get the kids ‘piggy’ banks for their allowances. Any ideas?”

“I’ll check on the tickets, and I might have a few ideas about where they can keep their allowances. I’ll get back to you tonight while you buy me dinner.”

“You got yourself a deal.”

Tony jotted down a sketchy outline of the trust fund that we discussed in the car, took a copy of the roster with the kids’ ages, and left.

I walked over to the kids, “How are you guys doing?”

“You missed a great lunch, we had pot pie, and it was really good. We should have that more often.”

“Maybe we should. I’ll go talk to Mario and see if he has an extra.” Tossing a few heads, I left for the cook shack.

“Mario, what’s this I hear about a fantastic pot pie?”

“The kids told you. We did an inventory this morning, and Mrs. Jenkins thought it’d be a good idea to use up the leftovers before they went bad. She made a large pot of mixed vegetables and leftover meat. I made the crusts; we took the soup bowls, lined them with crust, and filled them with the vegetable-meat mixture. Mrs. Jenkins made gravy, poured over the mixture, top everything off with a crust, and baked it until the crusts were nicely brown. The kids loved it, and it was a great way to use up the leftovers.”

“I guess the kids ate them all?”

“Nope, Mrs. Jenkins said I should save one for you and Tony when you came back.”

“Well, we have already had lunch, how about I have it for lunch tomorrow. Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s in the cooler and hasn’t been baked yet.”

Leaving the cook shack, I went to 3A to check on the classrooms. The carpenters were busy erecting the joists for the walls. You could see the layout. It appeared that there would be two halls separating the rooms. Counting the spaces, there were 15, two areas set aside for toilets, sinks, etc., and a lounge area for the teachers at the one end. The lounge’s dimension was 10 ft by 80 ft and would contain tables, lounge chairs, a counter with a microwave, a small electric hot water teapot, a coffee maker, and a refrigerator.

I was anxious to get these rooms done so the school could start. Walking up to 3B, the electricians were roughing in the electric lines, and the plumbers were roughing in the water lines. As soon as the carpenters were finished, these services would be tied into the modular apartments. I noticed the air condition ducts were in place; again, they had to be tied into the modular units. I needed to get more carpenters on the job.

On 3C, nothing had been done except the floor was covered with chalk marks indicating the rooms, the bathrooms, and closets. The marks were for the carpenters.

Overall it was on schedule. I was just anxious to speed it up. Going back to the dining hall, I sat down and sketched out my office. I decided I would put a small office at one end for Beth. In that office, there would be a small desk with a chair for Beth, a chair for the kid she would be enrolling, a small supply cabinet, and maybe a water dispenser.

Looking at my office space, I drew in a desk, a bookshelf, a small table, a sofa, and some chairs. I needed to go to the furniture store and order the equipment.