Just two years apart in age, Paula and Vicki Ashmore were as close as two little sisters could be.
Growing up in a tiny brick bungalow near Agnes Scott College in the late 1950s, they shared a makeshift bedroom in the attic where they loved to play school. They would push their twin beds to one side of the room and turn the center of the space into a classroom, complete with chalkboard, square wooden table and two chairs.
Whether she was playing school or orchestrating a talent show with kids in her Decatur neighborhood, Vicki always took charge, and Paula was her faithful follower.
By the time she was in the eighth grade, Vicki began to show signs of an activist-in-the-making. She also developed a curiosity about the world and was eager to experience other cultures. When she heard about International Fellowship Inc., a cultural exchange organization offering high school students the opportunity to live and learn in Peru for three months, she attended a meeting at the Decatur library to learn more.
A little more than a year later, Vicki left for Peru. She never returned, and Paula's life would never be the same.
» Click here to read the story of the Ashmore sisters and their enduring bond.
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