Origin: Cebu, Philippines
“We all crave to be loved. We all crave to know that we matter. But even though we all share this hunger, we don’t always make an effort to satisfy the hunger of others. There are people who enter our lives and sometimes, it’s enough for us to just let them be shadows...”
Origin: Luanda, Kenya
“Luhya customs dictate that the dead must be buried at their rural home and not in a cemetery. My husband’s body was taken to his rural home where several traditional rituals were performed. Being his legitimate wife, I had to accompany his body in a hearse. I had to sit beside the coffin. Finally, when we arrived, his body was removed from the coffin and it was laid down on a bed. That night, I had to sleep with his body and I was forced to have sex with him by his clan’s men. That was just the first ritual.”
Origin: Ohio, United States
“I remember that I was a good reader in the lower grades at school. I think it was the third grade. The teacher would call on me to read, as an example for the other students to follow. Apparently I was the goal everyone was to reach. But one day, I couldn’t read....”
Origin: Nairobi, Kenya
“He would quote a passage from the Book of Satan and I would counter it with a verse or two from the Bible! What fun it was! And at no time did any religious wars beak out between us. I’m still amazed that my friend, who was very vocal about his alternative beliefs, respected the fact that I was a Bible-believing, Jesus-following Goth...”
Origin: Cologne, Germany
“When I decided to leave school for a year in search of my true path, my family never lost their faith in me. They always let me know that I was special, that I was destined for something great, and that I had such a promising future. The world, however, apparently had its own plans… ”