i met leakia on christmas eve − 24 December, 1993
each christmas i would go to the main post office in chicago and sift through the tens of thousands of letters written by children and parents addressed to santa claus. i searched for a few letters from under privileged children and their families. many of the children just asked for warm coats for themselves and food for their family. the letters were very heart wrenching and at times my eyes would well-up with tears.
in the past, my secret santa adventures had taken me to the some of the most notorious and gang infested parts of chicago, where drive by shootings, rapes, and murders were an every day occurrence. as i was reading the letters to santa, i came across a letter from a precocious little nine year old girl named leakia. she came from a single parent home and lived with her mother, older brother and older sister. the letter was very eloquent and in it she only asked for gifts for her familiy and nothing for herself. she lived in the robert taylor homes one of the worst and most violent housing projects on the south side of chicago. once there was a little five year old boy whose body was hurled from the balcony as his older brother watched helplessly as he tried to fight off the other boys. the little boy died.
i told my friend val about leakia and her family and asked her if she'd be interested in playing secret santa with me. she thought it was a great idea till i told her where she lived. *are you crazy? do you want to get killed?,* was her response. *well, i've never heard of any secret santas getting shot at or murdered. plus, we'll go early in the morning when all the gang members are sleeping and its less dangerous,* i said reassuringly.
*you know the city offers police escorts.*
*yeah, i know but the last thing i want to do is create unneccessary tension. it's christmas, i promise you we'll be ok.*
with those words i somehow convinced my friend to deliver christmas presents to a little girl in the robert taylor homes. i had called leakia's mother ahead of time. i arranged to meet them at 8 o'clock in the morning on christmas eve. val was still very nervous about this meeting. her mother was concerned for our well-being.
as we drove towards the robert taylor homes, we noticed all the run down buildings. some were abandoned, others were torched, everything was grey. it looked like a war zone. we parked are car and started walking towards the housing project when i noticed all the bullet holes that riddled the door and plexi-glass windows. when we approached the entrance we were let in by a teenage gang member. the lobby was dark. all the light bulbs had been shattered. the only light we saw was from the glow of the crack pipes in the corner. leakia's mother was waiting for us by the lobby door and when i held out my hand to shake her hand she grabbed me and yelled, *girl, you better get your butt in here before you get shot!* then i finally realized i was completley out of my element.
on our way up to their apartment, two teenage gang members escorted us like bodyguards without saying a single word and then disappeared into the darkenss. . as i was walking down the corridor, i looked outside towards the street through the chainlink fencing that covered the entire face of the building, i felt like i was in prison. trapped. hopeless. and i clinched the fence and wondered what i would have done if i were dealt this hand and born into such a harsh realty. mrs ellis came up to me and put her hand on my shoulders and said, *it's really not as bad as you think. it's not so bad living here.* i looked-up at her with tears in my eyes and said, *but you have no idea where i live and how i grew-up.* *come on honey, leakia is waiting inside,* and with those words mrs ellis lead us into their small, cramped apartment.
leakia was very soft spoken yet shy young girl. she was extremely bright and was attending a private school on a full scholarship. the man who fathered her was serving a 20 year sentence in prison. i didn't ask for what crime. mrs ellis explained to us that each child in the family was fathered by a different man all of whom were either dead or in prison. she worked part-time at leakia's school but depended on public assistance to support her family. leakia was the shining star. the ray of light that brought hope and promise to the family. her mothered repeatedly described her as my *blessed child.* leakia finally began to open up to us and told us how she got her pilots license over the summer. i was speechless. apparently, she had gotten a scholarship to go to flight school in virgina. her eyes lit up with excitement when she spoke about flying a cessna. mrs ellis also proudly boasted about the time leakia won an essay competition and won tickets for all her classmates to go see michael jordan and the bulls. i was awestruck at everything this young girl had accomplished in her very short life. she was born into almost a hopeless situation, overcame all the obstacles in her life to find the road to success. i felt so lucky to have met such an extraordinary young girl. leakia is my hero.
in the past, my secret santa adventures had taken me to the some of the most notorious and gang infested parts of chicago, where drive by shootings, rapes, and murders were an every day occurrence. as i was reading the letters to santa, i came across a letter from a precocious little nine year old girl named leakia. she came from a single parent home and lived with her mother, older brother and older sister. the letter was very eloquent and in it she only asked for gifts for her familiy and nothing for herself. she lived in the robert taylor homes one of the worst and most violent housing projects on the south side of chicago. once there was a little five year old boy whose body was hurled from the balcony as his older brother watched helplessly as he tried to fight off the other boys. the little boy died.
i told my friend val about leakia and her family and asked her if she'd be interested in playing secret santa with me. she thought it was a great idea till i told her where she lived. *are you crazy? do you want to get killed?,* was her response. *well, i've never heard of any secret santas getting shot at or murdered. plus, we'll go early in the morning when all the gang members are sleeping and its less dangerous,* i said reassuringly.
*you know the city offers police escorts.*
*yeah, i know but the last thing i want to do is create unneccessary tension. it's christmas, i promise you we'll be ok.*
with those words i somehow convinced my friend to deliver christmas presents to a little girl in the robert taylor homes. i had called leakia's mother ahead of time. i arranged to meet them at 8 o'clock in the morning on christmas eve. val was still very nervous about this meeting. her mother was concerned for our well-being.
as we drove towards the robert taylor homes, we noticed all the run down buildings. some were abandoned, others were torched, everything was grey. it looked like a war zone. we parked are car and started walking towards the housing project when i noticed all the bullet holes that riddled the door and plexi-glass windows. when we approached the entrance we were let in by a teenage gang member. the lobby was dark. all the light bulbs had been shattered. the only light we saw was from the glow of the crack pipes in the corner. leakia's mother was waiting for us by the lobby door and when i held out my hand to shake her hand she grabbed me and yelled, *girl, you better get your butt in here before you get shot!* then i finally realized i was completley out of my element.
on our way up to their apartment, two teenage gang members escorted us like bodyguards without saying a single word and then disappeared into the darkenss. . as i was walking down the corridor, i looked outside towards the street through the chainlink fencing that covered the entire face of the building, i felt like i was in prison. trapped. hopeless. and i clinched the fence and wondered what i would have done if i were dealt this hand and born into such a harsh realty. mrs ellis came up to me and put her hand on my shoulders and said, *it's really not as bad as you think. it's not so bad living here.* i looked-up at her with tears in my eyes and said, *but you have no idea where i live and how i grew-up.* *come on honey, leakia is waiting inside,* and with those words mrs ellis lead us into their small, cramped apartment.
leakia was very soft spoken yet shy young girl. she was extremely bright and was attending a private school on a full scholarship. the man who fathered her was serving a 20 year sentence in prison. i didn't ask for what crime. mrs ellis explained to us that each child in the family was fathered by a different man all of whom were either dead or in prison. she worked part-time at leakia's school but depended on public assistance to support her family. leakia was the shining star. the ray of light that brought hope and promise to the family. her mothered repeatedly described her as my *blessed child.* leakia finally began to open up to us and told us how she got her pilots license over the summer. i was speechless. apparently, she had gotten a scholarship to go to flight school in virgina. her eyes lit up with excitement when she spoke about flying a cessna. mrs ellis also proudly boasted about the time leakia won an essay competition and won tickets for all her classmates to go see michael jordan and the bulls. i was awestruck at everything this young girl had accomplished in her very short life. she was born into almost a hopeless situation, overcame all the obstacles in her life to find the road to success. i felt so lucky to have met such an extraordinary young girl. leakia is my hero.
