Inner Strength

By Melissa Carter

Piece description from the artist

This painting reflects two Ugandan orphan girls who have nothing left, not even a strand of hope. They represent the girls who are child heads of households with no parents alive to care for them. The ones who fear being raped and violated by those who don't care and see them only as a means of being healed of AIDS in their ghastly belief that virgins will heal their AIDS. The ones who watch their families die off because of malaria, starvation and AIDS. The ones who feel the pain of hunger in their stomachs and see their siblings wasting away. But somewhere deep inside, there is an inner strength, an inner beauty. There is the Dignity of a Lion, the Strength of an Elephant and the Steadfastness of a Rhinoceros that perseveres and plunges through it all to Live. TO HOLD ON until help comes. Somewhere deep inside they DO HOPE that life will change and that help will come. That the Lion of Judah will roar and awake his people to come to their aid. Do you hear the roar?