She is Ilenia

The social services took control of Ilenia’s family when she was 14. The next year Ilenia was sent to a half-way house not far from home in the hope of ensuring her a more protective environment in which she could grow up healthier and safer. Ilenia was happy with the new situation and remained in the half-way house untill the age of 19. On reaching the age of consent and school-leaving diploma, hosts are generally asked to leave the half-way house to begin their own independent lives. This is decidedly not a simple task, especially for girls who experienced extreme neglect and parental loss in childhood. My wife is a high school teacher. Ilenia was one of her students and she knew her on-going situation due to her role and responsibilities. As far as I am concerned, I had never actually met Ilenia. When the occasion arouse, and in accordance with the social services, we agree to welcome Ilenia into our home. Strange as it may seem, we became father and mother of a teenager at the age of 47! I can clearly recall our feelings, our trepidation, our bewilderment on her first night at home. Although my wife and I were really over the Moon, a strange, diffuse sense of inadequacy flooded our minds. Would we be good parents? Would we be able to give Ilenia the affection and warmth she had lacked at home? Could we possibly lead her along the path to the best possible future, towards her personal, moral and financial independence? I think these are the questions that rummage in every parent’s mind and my wife and I are no different. That same night I decided to take pictures of her, just like any father does during the early stages of his infant’s life. The pictures you see are a selection of fragments of that magical time.