MY FATHER'S DEATH, MY FUTURE'S DEATH

I was in the staff room when one girl came knocking.  "Rabecca is Crying", she said. I delegated a fellow female teacher to go check on that one as I had just finished dealing with another crying girl. Eventually, I was called out, and as I asked Rabecca what the problem was, she said,

 "My mum did some piece work, and she got K500 ($1). She brought the money home but could not find it later on. She got angry thinking my sister and I stole it, we looked for it and cleared out our house but we could not find it. We have no food at home, we have not paid our house rent, nothing is working at home. I was thinking about all this in class, and started feeling sorry for myself and that's why I started crying."

Rabecca tell me your story, was all I said

"It was a morning like any other, I went to school, my mum went to the garden and my father went to work. My father's boss called my younger sister who was passing nearby late that afternoon and told her to follow my mother at the garden and tell her that my father had died. My mother was very confused, nobody in my house knew that my father was sick. My father had kept his illness from all of us. This day he had gone to work as usual and while there he started coughing and vomiting blood. A colleague saw him and went to report to the office. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. That was on 21st December 2010, He was laid to rest on the 22nd. This was the day we laid to rest our comfort and wealth also. 

Since then it has been hard for my mother to find food, pay house rent or pay for our school fees. We are Four in my family. The first two dropped out of school due to lack of School fees. I am 17 and in form 3, and my younger sister is 15 and in Form 1. We have gone through school at the mercy of sponsors. My sister and I are sad, we will never experience the love of our father again. "

Rabecca's community name is Mau Msamatha, meaning keep your words few. She lives with her illiterate mother, who depends on small jobs to feed her house hold which barely suffice. She decided not to leave for her village for fear of getting her girls married off. She stays around Madisi so that she does some piece work and seek help for her girls education.

Rabecca is a bubble of joy.  She greets you when you reach the place and she leaves your mind last. She lacks a lot, she needs inspiration, modelling and love. She also needs school fees for if she doesn't get educated her only visible option is marriage. 

To sponsor Rabecca or her sister Sarah, send an email to mwangalav@gmail.com and I will walk with you through the simple process. 

You can also visit Voices Awake or help the work of Voices Awake.

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