We are all the same...We love and we laugh, we hurt and we cry, we live and we die...

Today I listened to a "This American Life" episode that featured a friendship of two 12-year-old girls. Andy suggested we listen to it since Lindsey and I are probably going to end up focusing on one or two friendships between the girls here at Hekima Place for our documentary. The episode is about two transgender children who have the chance to meet and become instant BFFs. (It's a really interesting episode...I recommend it if you have a little spare time... http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1283) Their friendship and their dialogue is simple and jovial, typical of the kind of friendship any of us had when we were that age. But their connection is more unique and in some ways stronger than what they've had with other kids their age because, for each of them, the other is the first other transgender child they've met. There's a commonality there that ties them together, that helps them feel more accepted and less isolated in a world that constantly--sometimes inadvertently and all too often deliberately-- isolates them.

Similarly, we've found that there are friendships here that, while typical of the type of friendship any kid might have, seems to hold a deeper, underlying truth about these girls. There's a sense of belonging that these girls can give to each other. And what makes their friendship unique and their bond strong has several layers. On the one hand, these girls need a best friend and a trusting relationship more than most their age. They've lost the relationships on which they are supposed to most rely—their family—because of untimely deaths, debilitating disease, and crippling poverty. We all need someone to trust, someone to spend one-on-one time with, and someone to love us unconditionally—and these girls find that best in the friendships they build here.

So this is supposed to be a documentary about social justice, right? A documentary about friendship? Where's the issue of justice?

Well maybe the justice of the situation is in the fact that Hekima Place gives them the environment they need to build those relationships. Here is a place filled with trust and stability and people who won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Or maybe it's in the way the mums and uncles teach them to open up their hearts and to love each other even though they've been so hurt in the past. Here is a place where we preach love and give hugs and accept you just the way you are.
We are all the same.
We are not different from one another.
We all belong to one family.
We love and we laugh, we hurt and we cry, we live and we die.
Care for us and accept us. We are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk—and we have needs just like everyone else. Don't be afraid of us.
We are all the same.
--We Are All the Same: A story of a boy's courage and a mother's love, by Jim Wooten

Maybe it's just in the fact that the best way to cope with such unfathomable losses is just by finding someone who can be there for you and for whom you can be there. All you need is love.

Maybe it's in all of these places and more.