This is Dumase, a grade 4 student at African Vision of Hope School in Kabulonga, Zambia. When you look at her the first thing you see is her beautiful grin, but behind her smile lurks incredible pain and suffering.
The famine in Zambia has hit hard. Through you and the Emergency Feeding Program, African Vision of Hope students, their families, and street children from surrounding compounds and villages have received – and will continue to receive – emergency nutrition in the months ahead. Many hungry children, like Dumase, were fed over the month-long Christmas break. You are the reason for the grin on Dumase’s face!
The famine in Zambia has hit Dumase’s large family particularly hard. She lives in a two-room cinder-block home with 17 family members. Her mother is the only one in the family who works. Her father is not part of the family because he was a drunkard and spent all of their money on beer. Many days Dumase and her family go all day on empty stomachs as they wait for her mother to bring home the little wage she earns so they can buy a bit of food. Too often, the food does not stretch to feed everyone in their household.
When school is in session, African Vision of Hope students receive at least one meal a day through the school lunch program. During school breaks, many of our students do not eat every day because the cost of food has doubled, shifting families into survival mode.
Over Christmas break, African Vision of Hope staff went to her home to see how she was doing. Her favorite part of break was going to church. At church, she thanked God for the food you have given her and prayed that she and her family would be able to survive the year ahead.
Dumase’s story is just a glimpse into the reality of life in Zambia right now. You are lifting their burden! The famine is far from over, but with your continued support the Emergency Feeding Program will carry on providing critical nutrition to hundreds of children, like Dumase, each month.
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