tried to match one to Felipe’s description, but I quickly began to doubt we’d ever find it. There was so little to distinguish one home from another. Luckily, Felipe appeared in a doorway three houses down a narrow alleyway and waved.
“Hayden! Down here.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I took Penny’s hand and we made our way down the cramped alley, trying not to stare inside each of the makeshift homes we passed. Felipe stood in his doorway, beaming. When he showed us inside, I wondered briefly what I should say. My father was an old-fashioned kind of guy and I had been raised to be scrupulously polite. It was only natural to tell your host what a beautiful home they had, but I was sure in this situation such a remark could only sound condescending given the disparities between our living standards. Luckily, Maria saved the moment when she rushed up to us. A rag that I guessed she used for an apron was tied around her waist. She kissed Penny warmly on both cheeks, and Penny, as always, knew exactly the right thing to say.
“I love what you’ve done with that red fabric,” she said, indicating a swathe of red cotton that was making do as a curtain over a gap between breeze blocks.
Maria smiled. “We make do, we have to. But it is pretty, no? It’s coming to the new house with us...I maybe make a cushion with it.”
“Oh, I’m hopeless at sewing,” Penny said, smiling. The two women went off to the back of the large room where a pot of something that smelled delicious was cooking over a small gas stove.
Felipe shrugged and I couldn’t help but laugh. Things weren’t so different here, after all.
We sat out the front together on a makeshift bench while Penny helped Maria dish up. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. The alley was so narrow that if you stood in the middle and held out your arms, you could touch the houses on both sides. There was very little privacy, but the houses, made of salvage and scrap, were a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. The people had built a town and a community from literally nothing. It was a shame that the gangs were threatening to tear it apart.
“What are you thinking?” Felipe asked, studying me curiously.
“That there’s something worth fighting for here.” A heavy sigh escaped my lips. Perhaps I shouldn’t have aired my thoughts, but sitting next to me, Felipe nodded as though he understood perfectly.
“There is. If only we could build everyone here a new home, or at least improve these. It’s funny, but in a way, I will miss this home. Our neighbours—we are all very close. In more ways than one.”
I could understand that. Penny and I also lived in a neighbourhood where everyone knew everyone. It would be heart-wrenching to leave. “It could be done,” I said. “If Safe Hands secured enough funding, if you and Eduardo trained enough builders... it would be a huge project, though.”
“Too huge.” Felipe laughed wryly. “There are thousands of people here. It would be impossible.”
Perhaps, but God could make seemingly impossible things happen. A shiver flowed through me.
Felipe stopped laughing and eyed me earnestly. “Will you come back, Hayden? Or if not here, somewhere like it? You could do so much, you and your wife, together.”
Captured by his dark gaze, I opened my mouth to answer without knowing what it was I intended to say, but when Penny appeared in the doorway, I closed it. There was a flicker in her eyes and a coolness in her smile as she folded her arms and leaned against the tin frame. I knew she’d heard Felipe’s question and she was challenging me with her gaze, waiting for my answer.
Once again, Maria provided the welcome reprieve I needed when she called us inside. Penny’s brows were raised and she held my gaze as Felipe motioned for us to go ahead of him. Swallowing hard, I stood and placed my hand lightly on her waist and followed her inside.
We sat at a small table, which in spite of its simplicity, was beautifully crafted. Penny sat beside me while Felipe sat opposite.
“My cousin lives a few houses down. He makes tables and chairs and all kinds of things from spare wood. He’s very good. David is paying him to make some things for the houses,” Felipe announced proudly.
“He is very good,” I agreed, impressed by his cousin’s