In 1995, Lavinia Dusa was one of many young girls living in a broken family where drinking and violence was a way of life. Most of her childhood was spent outside of the house with other kids like herself, getting into all kinds of mischief and skipping school. Her family of seven was poor as neither of her parents had a job. Lavinia's mother was having an affair and the situation in her house was tense and dangerous. All of her brothers and sisters were suffering because of the family's situation. Eventually, Lavinia's father started getting very sick and in a matter of weeks he died, leaving the family even worse off.

One day, Lavinia and her brothers witnessed a terrible event--her mother sold the youngest of her siblings, a 2-

year-old girl, in front of their eyes--for $50! That was the beginning of the end of her family, as she knew it. Not long after this, Lavinia, together with her friends from the neighborhood, were playing outside around a big fire they had built out of tires and boxes. Suddenly, she was pushed into the fire by one of the girls and instantly became a torch! The other kids were laughing and did not help until a neighbor who saw everything from his balcony came down, covered Lavinia with his clothes and called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. She was critical, her heart stopped on the way to the hospital and she had to be resuscitated. The doctors who checked her in to the hospital said she'd never walk again. Half of her body was burned.

Lavinia spent seven months at the Burn Unit and was never visited by any member of her family! At this time, 12-years-old and alone in the Burn Unit, Angie Thomson noticed her when Angie was visiting Romi and Vali, the two little brothers who were burned. When Angie met Lavinia, Lavi was sitting in her hospital bed, looking very sad, hardly communicating and just about to be placed in one of the state-run orphanages. Angie could not leave Lavinia there at the hospital and in a matter of days, Lavinia was taken into our House of Hope for Girls where she has flourished!

Today, at age 19, Lavinia is a beautiful young lady! She is living in one of our family homes as the "oldest daughter". She is doing great in school and is studying to be a nurse at the same burn unit she was at as a patient! Her legs, which were so badly burned, are much more healthy today and she says that her life these past seven years has been a "miracle from God."