Finding Febby

Febby, the little girl with the huge smile, is Barb Slywka’s sponsored student. She is in grade two at Green Acres school. Febby lives in Mwaya compound which is a part of Kalomo. Mwaya is the same place that Obert lived and where Calistos and his brother live. It is a very poor neighbourhood, mostly mud houses, mud floors, most people are unemployed. Such is the case with Febby’s family. Febby’s mom, Virginia, had two children Gift and Febby. After Febby and Gift’s dad died, their mother married George. George and Virginia now have a two month old son. George has had work on and off, but because he has no formal training, he is mostly out of work.

The family has been surviving recently by selling ground nuts for K500 a packet (approximately eight cents). They sell a few packets a day and then shop for small fish or something affordable for their meal. I had a look inside their little mud shack and they had about three cups of mealie meal and nothing else to eat. They had some interesting sacks of old maize roots that Virginia said she will grind when they are down to nothing. I delivered mealie meal, beans, kapenta, oil, and salt on this day and also bought a bunch of ground nuts for K1000 each!

So… does it pay to sponsor a child for education? I’d say so. At least a few, like Febby, will have a chance for a future!

Photo to the right—Richard, Febby (of Febby & Robson) and I, spontaneously, join in playing a game with the kids at Mutala school.