LEAP - The journal of a street kid

Living In The Past

Prologue

It's been twenty years since our home was taken away from us—the only place where I felt safe and secure. The memories still haunt me, trailing behind me like a shadow.

Sometimes, it feels like I can hear the children running around the orphanage, their laughter echoing in my mind. They called it their home; I called it mine. Indeed, "Miracle House" was home to us all.

Life there was peaceful. We sang, danced, and prayed together. It's hard to recall those moments without shedding a tear.

Perhaps that's why I hesitated to share this story in the first place. Maybe I wasn't ready to face the reality that everything—this 'miracle'—is now a thing of the past. It's time for me to move on.

But how do I move on knowing that my brothers and sisters were taken from me without a chance to say goodbye? The feeling haunts me still.

Every day is a struggle. It feels as though I lost a piece of myself, something irreplaceable. I think back to how happy I was then, and I wonder how such beauty could lead to so much pain. What if the orphanage had never shut down? Where would I be today?

Would I be the same person, with the same achievements?

Even back then, I never saw myself as a normal child, and now, as an adult, I still don't see myself as normal. The orphanage must have changed me. I can't face reality as it is now, not without expecting it to be like it was then. The child in me still cries out for a return to those days, when life was beautiful and full of hope and dreams.

There was nothing more important to me than being surrounded by a family that loved and accepted me for who I was. Judgment was something we were never allowed to hold onto. We were always reminded that we were special, handpicked by God himself to be part of the "Miracle House" family.

I believed it. I knew I was lucky to be part of that family.

Since leaving "Miracle House," my life has changed in countless ways—both subtly and profoundly.

My name is Muna Sisonke. I was born on November 5, 1990. This is my story.