Juliano Da Silva - House 1

Juliano is a twin. He and his twin plus another two younger siblings came to us from out of the bush. The mother has had 8 children. Since the birth of the last one, the father has died from blood clots in his leg going to his head or heart. Since then the mother has shacked up with another younger man. They are both alcoholics, unemployed, violent and extremely negligent. The social workers on the case stated that the mother is psychologically unbalanced. She has threatened all authorities involved in her case and is aggressive. With her children this aggressiveness is both physical and emotional. The children find it normal to be beaten by the both of them.

The shack where all of them slept in the same room is located on the edge of the river that cuts through the outskirts of our town. It is extremely unhygienic and unlivable according to the authorities. It is also a squatter situation. There are rats running around the stove top among the pots that contain old food. If we were to only focus on the poorness of the situation, this could be helped. In this case the mother refuses treatment and help. Any financial aid is wasted on booze and cigarettes.

The adults are in a drunken stupor most of the time. The live in boy friend often knocks food out of the children’s hands. Many times his violence is so forceful that the children run away screaming for help. They have witnessed sexual copulation between the adults many times, as well as aggressive behavior between them as they attack each other with large knives and machetes. The mother has threatened to burn down the shack many times. This did happen a few weeks ago and now they are under a canvas in the bush with no bath facilities of any kind.

When Juliano came we learned that he hardly went to school. He and his brother are slightly slow so the go to a school for the exceptional. They often begged at streetlights and practiced small time theft. Juliano came to us extremely dirty. He takes a strong medicine for his nerves and sleeps often. We suspect that he sleeps because the treatment is too strong for him. We will check this out fairly soon.

Juliano likes being with us. The housefather cried when he saw him for the first time as it reminded him of his own brother when he was small. The immediate challenge we have is to find clothes that will fit him. He has a very thick build and we are having a hard time finding pants that will fit him. He and his twin were used to fighting since aggression was the only thing they knew. They are in different houses. What we have seen up till now are two boys who desperately need and want love and a good parental model. Juliano is drinking it in. His birthday is April 18, 1993. His house parents are Ademar and Marlene.

2008 Update: Juliano is fifteen years old and attends a special school that does not have a grading system. He is trying hard to learn in spite of his learning difficulties and does not have a future goal yet. At home he takes his turn to keep the bathroom and bedroom clean. In his spare time he loves to play sports, especially soccer. He also enjoys spending time with Nelson who is in charge of making shoes and other leather goods. He is loving, friendly and happy and enjoys being with people. He is making good progress in his spiritual development. He accepted Christ as his Saviour at a retreat and came home very happy, hugging his house parents and others. He attends the adolescents’ group at church and is also taking baptismal classes. He is growing in his new walk with the Lord. Please pray that Juliano will develop in his education so that he will be able to find employment.

2009 Update: Juliano took part in a course that focused on writing skills. He worked very hard and showed good improvement. The challenge he faces is finding employment in the future. He also requests prayer for his biological family.

Birthday: April 18, 1993
Photo: Jul 2010

Sister: Adriana
Brothers: Ari, Adriano