VISITING THE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER ON MLK DAY
Sabine Mutandwa Kouassi
Last year, I was able to visit the Juvenile Detention Center in Detroit and begin a relationship with the girls awaiting trial. This year, on Martin Luther King Day, we were given the opportunity to speak with some girls again. (Please refer to the article in the August 2014 E-News entitled: "Juvenile Detention Facility Visit.")
When we arrived, we were greeted by Mr. Spencer and then introduced to Supervisor Blackstone. When I gave Mr. Blackstone a pamphlet about Women's Federation for World Peace, he surprised us by saying he knew of WFWP, as his aunt is working in New York as a U.N. representative.
We met two groups of girls: the first with 11 girls and another with five. The goal of our visit was to inspire the girls to talk freely to God and to assure them that they are loved unconditionally.
With the approval of Mr. Spencer, each girl received a sheet of paper to write down her prayer requests. They seemed to like this, because they started writing immediately.
Inside the Juvenile Detention Facility
It was a most suitable day to remind the girls to have a dream and to hold on to it – a good dream, a dream of love. I wrote on the board two acronyms for love: Love Overcomes Victoriously Everything, and Live On Values Eternally. Also, I encouraged them to discover what they are good at, such as writing, playing music, working in the medical field, etc. It is good for us to be creative and productive.
The groups last year and this year were very different. The girls I met last July 28 responded very emotionally to the poetry I presented from my book, The Voice in You & Me: How Listening to Your Heart Can Take You Beyond All Drama. This year's groups were more reserved. Through expressing their prayer requests on paper, however, they allowed us into their inner hearts. I noticed that one girl in each group did not write anything, because we only received back 14 sheets out of 16. Even though we do not know their first names, we pray for each of them. We pray for them to be courageous and to receive the help and guidance they need for their lives.
Outer view of JDF
A girl from the second group told us that the following day would be her court date, and the day after for someone else in the group. Another girl from the second group said she would leave on Friday. Since I had promised to deliver a copy of my book to each of them, she requested that it be forwarded to her.
After meeting the girls, I mentioned to the staff that Motown Music had helped me as a struggling teenager. Then I suggested that they play a lot of Christian music, gospel music, classical music – generally good positive music. Music carries vibrations of healing and inspiration that they desperately need.
I am very grateful for this precious opportunity to encourage those young women to lead responsible, fulfilling lives based on spirit and the love of God!