I rushed home, but there was nothing left—not even my house. The water had washed away virtually everything. My family was nowhere in sight. I couldn't believe the scene before my eyes.
In this Instagram generation, everything is so fast and so quick. You want your tree to be 10 feet tall by morning. However, nature moves at its own pace, and growth takes a little longer.
I teach possibilities. Dreaming is possible, and I let children dream in my class. Hundreds of children have passed through this dance program. They’ve learned much more than just steps; they’re dancing their way out of hopelessness.
I silently prayed, waiting in fear for whatever was about to happen. A few minutes later, I felt a sharp pain in my genital area as my flesh was cut off. They gave me no painkillers or anesthesia as they cut; the pain overwhelmed me, and I lost all my strength.
I watched helplessly as my husband was tortured to the point of being beheaded. They placed his head on the table, and then it was time for me to face their wrath.
Wherever we looked, we turned up nothing. The hours stretched on, and my anxiety and fear grew. I just kept wishing over and over they would appear or that we would get through to them by phone. We didn't search for them in a morgue, as I could not imagine or think of their death.
Within a minute, I felt the bus sliding toward the left and almost instantly, it overturned completely into the river. Screams filled the air, with many calling the name of Jesus Christ to save us.
My neighbors heard me screaming and called the police. They found me in a pool of blood with a severed hand on the floor. My other hand was almost detached and could not be saved.
All of these achievements have come because of, not in spite of, my rural upbringing. Those tough lessons allow me to be of service—not just to women and children, but to an entire nation.
Our target was not the poor, who are buried like dead animals covered with soil. We liked the graves of the rich, covered by a raised, cemented slab.
The men took advantage of our desperation and ignorance, using us for their pleasure and paying nearly nothing.
Many of us cried like little children—We had lost everything we worked for our entire lives.