Meet Zipora’s Family

Zipora Alidise (class 7), Teresa Lusiana (class 2), and Melon Atieno (early childhood development) live with their mother Grace Ayot in a mud home a fifteen-minute walk from their school, Chulaimbo Primary. They have received support from Umoja in the form of school lunch, uniforms, a blanket, and a solar lamp. On the day that we visited, both Zipora and Teresa were at home sick with malaria. Unfortunately, their mother lacks the funds to get them to a dispensary to get the necessary medication to treat their malaria. Their father died three years ago from AIDS and their mother is HIV positive. Her health is failing, which prevents her from working to support her family. To make things worse, a wall of their home partially collapsed in the recent heavy rains, leaving the children exposed to the elements at night when they should be sleeping.