"Saving the Children" by Kira P

The sound of children screaming and playing outside, the smell of a chicken in the oven
and vegetables on the stove, and the sea green of paint that is overwhelming me is all too
familiar. I’m sitting in my old house, in a thick white chair across from my mother. She sits there
quietly while I take out my No.2 pencil and a bright yellow legal pad. I look at her ask, “Are you
ready to begin?”

Tricia Pegues, is not your average working citizen. Her job requires inner stability and
strength. She is a social worker for a private agency and she also trains other social workers on
how to interview children and adults and how to deal with daily events that come with the job. In
this interview she was asked many broad and difficult questions on what she does and how she
does it. When asked how she came across this job she answered, ‘.....It’s always been a dream
of mine to teach children, however while taking a few sociology classes in college I realized that
it was my dream to protect them not just teach them.” As we furthered into the interview Mrs.
Pegues spoke very lovingly of her job and the children she sees on a daily basis, (although she
could not go into detail about the children’s lives because of certain rules and laws). As we were
talking Tricia became very passionate about the fact that so many people in the U.S. adopt
children from other countries instead of helping the children that live right here in the states. “So
many children could benefit from being adopted right here in the U.S.”, as she puts it, “I just
don’t understand why people are so bent to adopt children outside if the U.S.”. She believes that
if we started “fixing problems right under our noses, then maybe we could help others.”
Towards the closing of my interview with Mrs. Pegues we talked about how valuable her
job is. She believes that she really does have one of the best jobs because she has the chance
to save and protect children everyday. She even gets to know them and follows some all the
way through college.

Even as she gets older and the cases she deals with become more abundant and
time-consuming, Tricia never quits. “If I quit on them, then they will truly never have anybody to
look out for them or understand them. It may be draining but it’s my passion and I wouldn’t
change it for the world.” she said. Her dream to protect children is being well served as a social
worker, activist against child abuse, and chairwoman of a non-profit organization centered on
abused runaway kids.