The Writing Activity

A few sponsored students have agreed to do some journaling—about who they are, their dreams, their disappointments and daily life in Zambia. They have given me permission to share this with you.

Mohammed is twenty years old and is an excellent grade 11 pupil at Mwaata Day High School sponsored by Darwin and Nelda Benton. Mohammed scored ten points on his most recent report and has very good behaviour. Both his parents died in 2005 of the pandemic.

This is an excerpt from his book this week.

I wish to tell you about my last born sister. Her name is Written Chondonda. She is ten years old and she is doing grade 2 at Smakakasikili Basic School. Now what worries me is that she stays with my grandmother who cannot do anything for her, absolutely nothing, not even buying clothes. It is me who buys for her when I get piece work. I provide books and pencils for her.

In the village you find that the school is very far away from home, some kilometres from home. Now she has to move some distance barefooted without eating breakfast up to 12:00 hours when she will have lunch. As I am speaking they rely on wheat. There is a certain kind of wheat that cannot be processed into flour that they are given as relief from World Vision. Every two months they are given forty kg.

She carries twenty litres of water from a distance of some kilometres, not that she is forced, but because there is no one to do that work. Now this worries me a lot because I don’t know if she understands the situation because she is still young and I don’t know how she feels when she mixes with her other friends whose parents are still alive and give total support to their children.

She feels very happy whenever she sees me because I am like her father. It is me who provides for her. I want her to be educated so that we can both support ourselves and other family members, even other victims if possible.

So that is what worries me about her.
Mohammed Chondonda