THROUGH THE EYES OF A STREET CHILD
By Angela Murray
Monarch Books. 160 pages. £7.99 . (All royalties go towards the work of Toybox)
ISBN 978-1-85424-779-7
The reader really does see ‘through the eyes of a street child’ in this book: stories are told by children in Latin America whose lives have been transformed by the work of Toybox, a charity which gives these young people a better life.
Though the book does have very uplifting tales of children breaking the cycle of poverty and abuse, it is a realistic picture of the work that goes on: not all these stories have a happy ending. It’s a very personal and engaging book, which highlights the plight and adversity in which these children live and how easy it is to end up on the streets. Significantly, Toybox seeks to satisfy the children’s physical and spiritual needs, giving them Christian ‘house parents’ and Bible teaching; many of the street children in this book have put their trust in Jesus. Murray talks about God having a hand in these young people lives — she uses Psalm 40 to describe many of these street children’s lives. Although the book is not eloquently written, it opened my eyes and took me out of my comfort zone, encouraging action and involvement. Ultimately, it reminded me that God does have his hand in all things.
