Four years ago, Pauline came to Odum Home.
As a child, Pauline was very active, always on the go. In school, that translated into behavior issues. To improve her focus, doctors prescribed medication. Pauline says, “I never felt like I needed that.”
“I was staying with my aunt, and things were good. Then middle school happened.” Pauline recounts acting out, getting in trouble at school, and letting grades drop. Before long, her aunt found it difficult to keep up with her.
“She wanted the best for me. So she contacted Odum Home.” Most churches in the Pembroke area know about the Baptist Children’s Homes campus and see it as a good resource for help. There is no stigma for a family or church to turn to the ministry for the good of a child. People remember that the Lumbee community built Odum Home, and they trust its reputation.
“At first, I was scared,” Pauline remembers. “I cried on the trip to Odum Home. Kids said it was a bad place for bad kids –– it was nothing like that.”
At Odum Home, Pauline learned to open up and talk with people about what was going on in her life and in her head. “I needed that. Odum Home is a place where that can happen. They are good people who care about all of us...they actually care.”
Today, the high school senior is an A-B student. “I have made a C before, but I do well, even in English.” Last year, she passed that class with a 94. She devotes time to JROTC and confides, “I’m very good at it.” From all accounts, she is very good at most things.
“I’m a senior,” says Pauline. “Next year, I will be in college. I know BCH will be there for me then, too.”
She thinks she may continue living at Odum Home during the college years. Her church, Bear Swamp Baptist in Pembroke, is very involved with BCH, Odum Home, and Pauline, too. She knows she is supported and loved.
She says that all things have worked out for her good. While there were so many negatives in her life before, she sees only positives now: “I’m glad I was sent to Odum Home. It’s been a very good thing.”
Pauline feels safe here. She values the good houseparents she has. “I call Odum Home my home,” she affirms. “I am not embarrassed for people to know I live here.”
Since coming to Odum Home, Pauline has been taken off medication, her grades are exemplary, and her peers see her as a role model. “I love helping the other girls. Even when they leave, I stay in touch with them.”
She has recently discovered the satisfaction of a part-time job. “I have found that I like having money, and I’m glad to work for it.”
And the future? “I like to help people,” she says, “and I want to choose a career that will help others –– maybe physical therapy.”
You can support Pauline and other children by making an online gift to Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina today at www.bchfamily.org/givenow
