Child Profiles
Mikaylah
Poetry is the window to her soul. She writes of God, salvation and love; love is what she seeks.
Eleven-year old Mikaylah’s dark eyes show the sadness she carries deep inside. She is one of the many children in Arizona’s Foster Care System hoping to find a home. She has spent years in the system and is looking for a family to give her the hugs and attention that go missing in her life. She yearns for security and trust.
Mikaylah spent a recent sunny afternoon enjoying the grassy knolls and ponds at the Steele Indian School Park. She carefully cradled a book of poetry in one arm and the stuffed toy lamb she calls Cozy in the other. The poems, written the past two years, speak of loneliness, searching for love, trust and forgiveness. They carry titles like “Believe,” “Hope,” “Friendship” and “Lover.”
She was shy and a bit reluctant to talk about her life, but she eventually shared her thoughts through her penetrating poetry with 12 News Today anchor Scott Light.
The words poured from Mikayla, “I started to be a believer when I was nine-years old…I started trusting people instead of assuming people were always lying to me…I started to believe and trust people more than I usually did.” Then another poem, “Hope is something you want to have. People scream and fight for that… Hope is a chance in this world, another way to get it is to pray to the lord. Hope, hope, hope, hope. Don’t ever take hope as a joke.”
“Give me one more,” said Light.
“I always try to say I love people so they will like me and I will always have someone to be there for me. But the truth is that if you really don’t feel love for them, even if you want people to be your friend, you can’t buy love and if you really love someone you should actually show it. That’s my story of love”
“Who do you love?” Light asked.
“My case manager Tillie.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s there for me and helps me.”
“Any friends or family?”
“No, except for my brothers and sisters,” was Mikaylah’s reply.
Mikaylah’s case manager, Tillie, says Mikaylah is a very sensitive and smart young woman. She excels in school, which is where her poetry is written. She is in the 6 th - grade but is doing 8 th-grade level school work in some subjects. She proudly displayed her “Most Improved” certificate she was awarded at school this past year.
Mikaylah likes to play basketball, soccer and run track. She finds crocheting and listening to music to be very therapeutic. Tillie says Mikaylah can be strong willed and defiant at times but is quite intelligent and honest.
Because of the troubles Mikaylah has endured she would like to become a pediatrician. “I would like to save people’s lives and it helps little kids,” she said.
Mikaylah will do best with a family that can devote and lavish her with attention. One older sibling would be okay, but being an only child is preferable. She has an intense affinity for church and would want a family that would share that faith. Her faith helps her cope. As the poem “Survivor” so aptly says, “I have stumbled but I grew higher. The reason is because I am a survivor. I’ve been lonely, I’ve been abused. I have been laughed at and used. I’ve felt like I was on fire but I’m alive because I’m a survivor. Because the lord above has lifted me higher.”
For more information on Mikaylah or general information on adoption and foster care, please call AASK at (602)254-2275!
