A Mother's Ordeal

While walking thru Yingze Park today, we saw a very young mother kneeling over her beautiful, sleeping, toddler girl. My first thought was that the baby was ill, so I asked my guide to talk with the mother. Simply, honestly, and with the sweetest face I've seen in a long time, the young woman answered No, she is healthy; I am begging so we can eat. She went on to explain that she is a farmer from the countryside, but it's been very dry and crops are bad. She came to the city for money. We gave money, the contact info of the church I visited Sunday and explained that they could help her in some way.

Her words and picture are enough for now.