El Rescate de Maria

Have you ever experienced one moment that changed your life completely? As many of our MNC Community know, our Founder, Dorothy faced just such a moment. Dorothy was volunteering in Baja, California in October, 2003, in a rehab prison called La Esperanza. The conditions were grim. One broken toilet for 40 women. No sanitary supplies. The women were given a rag when they got there. This rag was for all their hygienic needs:

     Wipe their tears

     Blow their nose

     Deal with their menstrual cycle

     Wipe their bum

 

The youngest girl there was 13 years old. Her name was Maria. One day, Dorothy brought supplies for a foot washing, just like the 13th Chapter of John. The women were so moved. There was weeping, embraces, some even prayed. At that moment, the Director of the facility walked in and told little Maria that she was going home today. She jumped up, ran to Dorothy, grabbed her and said, "Help me, help me." Dorothy said to her, "You want to stay here???" All Maria could say was, "Help me, help me," clinging to her for dear life, Dorothy could feel her small body trembling against her. Another woman relayed Maria's story to Dorothy. Maria had been sold when she was 11. The job description: satisfy the man who buys you and the men he brings to you, which could be dozens a day. Clean for him, cook for him; and, when you get pregnant, he will decide: Baby or Abortion. Maria had been caught in an attempted suicide. She had no reason to live. And, at Dorothy's own admission, she could do absolutely nothing that day for little Maria. It broke her heart.   And, changed her life. That is why a decade later, MNC was born.