Maltreatment and Trauma
My husband has had a rather tumultuous childhood, full of high points and low points. He has emerged from what one may call a traumatic upbringing to become a courageous, loving, inspirational adult through all of the adversity.
Howard McClearin Lee was born November 26, 1959 to a young unmarried woman. The great thing is that her family background was loving, supportive and very large. Howard had a loving Grandfather, a praying Grandmother, 5 aunts and an uncle on his mother’s side of the family. Which means there was loads of love and support for the new baby boy. His Father was lost to the streets but wanted to marry his mother. With family pressure, she refused. Howard had relationships with his paternal grandparents and uncles.
His mother eventually married three years after he was born to another man. This man turned out to be physically abusive to both Howard and his mother. She remained in the marriage for years 8 years. She was shot and fatally wounded by her husband while they were separated. Howard and his brothers were split up between the aunts to be raised. His mother recovered but her health was fragile.
My husband tells me that he felt during that time like a vagabond , going from house to house to live until his mom recovered and was well enough to get her children back. Even then when she would have health episodes, Howard and his brothers had to be moved again. His activities while in school were football (where he could release the hostility he felt) and music. He was a drummer in a band.
He went on to play football in college and studied to become a very effective, minister. His Ministry is far reaching and very influential to young men, inspiring them to be all that God would have them to be, in spite of the hard times and circumstances in life. He encourages them that they could make a decision to fall victim to what life offers or rise above it, advising that there is divine help if you are willing to make a change.
My husband realized that there were things (as we all do) he had to work on like temperance. But he overcame the violent circumstances from his childhood and used that experience to give hope to others that there is life and that your life could be lived abundantly.
The Children of Somalia
I had come across an article that really blessed my heart to see and read. It was in reference to the children of Somalia. We have all heard that the region is in a state of civil unrest, torn with war, famine, and receiving not much help from a corrupt government. Nancy Lindborg, an official with the U.S. government aid arm, told a congressional committee in Washington on Wednesday that the U.S. estimates that more than 29,000 children under age 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia. In Somalia, the children are forced to participate in Al-Queida and pirate activity.
The picture shows the children playing
Somali children play in floodwater on Wednesday just outside their refugee camp in Dadaab, north-east Kenya. The UN says the floods could be the worst in the region for 50 years.
Where there is nurturing, there is hope
Somali women are the basis on which Somali society continues to thrive and exist. They take care of the household chores, they work, they raise children, they keep the family together, and they regularly send money to the extended families back home in Somalia. Click below to read more.
thrivehttp://aduunyo.com/2010/06/somali-women-the-better-half-of-the-society/
The thing I believe that helped my husband most to be a productive adult and not go the path of his father ( who eventually gave his life over to God and became a powerful preacher) was faith and positive nurturing relationships with in his family circle. To help the children of Somali overcome the violence they face daily it would most likely take the same ingredients; faith, family, and perseverance.
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