"Before that, there were times we had nothing to eat and there was noting in the house to feed the babies but sugar water," recalls Margaret, now 22.

Nearly two decades later, in a typical week Margaret attends classes full-time at the University of Arizona, where she plans to graduate with a major in accounting in May.  She visits the foster parent she refers to as her grandmother, attends church three times a week, sings in the choir and volunteers at Casa de los Niños, where she feeds, bathes and diapers infants.

Those who know her say she is responsible, articulate and headed toward a very bright future.

But it didn't began that way.

The fifth of nine children born to alcoholic parents, Margaret's first years were filled with neglect.  Her parents battled domestically and the older children were forced to care for the younger ones.  When Margaret was five, she and her siblings were removed from their home for the first time and that's when she went tot he Casa.  After some months, the children were placed with their maternal grandmother, who made it clear she was ill-prepared to handle the large brood.  Eventually, the children were returned to their mother, who thrived for a while but then "went very downhill."

One evening, Margaret's mother planned a party and told the children to find somewhere else to stay.  That's when the police showed up and a series of foster home placements separated them.

Margaret says she survived such chaos and neglect because, "during all of this, I never let them take me out of my school.  It was the only stable thing in my life."

A strong relationship with her foster grandmother and a commitment to continuing her education make Margaret an inspiration to all those who pass through the doors of Casa de los Niños.

Adapted from Tucson Lifestyle
December 1998
Portrait Photos by David Fox