Instagram Repost @enodugums

Another powerful and thoughtful post by our director, Ena, who joined our #travelwithpurpose2019 trip May 23-31, 2019:

"To love fully means to hurt wholly. . . . We said goodbye to the girls quickly and quietly, with many of the girls asleep and unaware of our departed presence. Though it was not the most ideal way to say goodbye, it spared us the ugly tears and pangs of heartbreak that was threatening to overcome us all day. The girls made a lasting impact on us in only a few short days. We could not help but fall in love with them. But the more we love, the more we hurt. We hurt for these girls, knowing their stories, we hurt for these girls, knowing their trauma and we hurt to leave these girls because we selfishly want to keep their light in our presence. But we leave knowing that as we keep supporting @onebodyvillagecanada, we help shoulder their pain and their trauma, we help support them as they recover and grow and most importantly, we never really leave them, as we will always be their cheerleaders and biggest fans despite being on the other side of the world. . . . We also said goodbye to the two wonderful women pictured here. Thao, the regional director who has spent 10 years with OBV caring for the girls, and Vy one of our newest staff members who is the person (wo)manning our social media. These two women have the most beautiful hearts and purest souls. This is more than a job for them, it is a calling to do more and do better. They do this work passionately and selflessly. Before we departed, we learned the story of one of these brave women and it broke our hearts and it made us appreciate her and love her even more, but it also made leaving her even more difficult. We embraced each other and cried together, for farewells are difficult but especially difficult with those whom we love dearly and who deserves to be loved dearly. And that was what this leg of our journey gave us: more love than my tiny heart can take. . . . See you all again soon my loves."