La chica bonita - Wilma

Wilma(right hand side) and her friend, Isabel.

I met this little girl in my hostel, El Belen, because she was working there.

At first, my impression towards her was just like other people who responsibled for cleaning the hostel. And I still remembered we lost some crashed bananas and one orange after she cleaned our room. But actually we didn't mind, but it just so funny that we thought she has eaten the fruits.

Then when I talked more with Wilma, I found she was very special. If she didn't tell me she was 15years old, I guessed she was 20years old, she looked and acted more mature than her age. I thought it was related to her growing environment.

She was very talkactive, so I knew she was the oldest child in her family, and she still had 6 more sisters and brothers. Being the oldest child, she had the responsibility to quit her school and started to work in the hostel. But she told me, 'It's necessary, it's good for my future.' Though I felt pity for her, because a 15years old girl in Hong Kong or other developed countries should be in the school and enjoying the teenage life.

She was also an intelligent girl, when I taught her a game, she picked up very fast, the same as language, when we taught her English and Mandarin, she learnt so quick! She once said to me, 'I like studying and I like spanish.'

Being a girl in the age of 15, she told me she had a boyfriend in Otavalo, 'We knew each other in the internet...but we had never seen each others...he said I am beautiful.' So she was going to meet the boy in Otavalo in the weekend when we left Banos.

She was so excited after the first meeting, so before the day she went, she went to buy new clotes, a pair of new jeans and shoes. And I and Yaseen went shopping with her, I helped her to picked the earrings, necklace and small hangbag. I could feel she really treasure the chance of meeting the boy. I hope he was a good boy and mature enough to responsible for Wilma.

What was I doing when I was 15? Wilma already told me her dream was to go to the United States and travel there. I hope she has a good future.