Brian Ponde

Name:  Brian Ponde
Gender:  Boy
Reported birthdate:  February 22, 2017 (currently 6 years old)
Favorite food:  Vegetables with peanut, chicken, and nshima (a staple food in Zambia)
Favorite activity:  Playing football
Child is happy when...  He is driving homemade toy cars
Child wants to be a...  Soldier
Home information:  Brian is growing up in the rural town of Luanshya in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. The Haven of Hope school reports: “Brian lives with both his father and mother. He has 2 sisters, and he is the youngest. The father supports the family through doing different kinds of menial jobs. However, it has been a struggle for him to support his children into school, as he at times even fails to meet the basic needs at home. Brian helps with sweeping their house.”
School information:  Brian has not previously attended school. Through sponsorship, he will be able to join the grade 1 class at the Haven of Hope Luanshya Primary School in May 2023. There, he will learn and play, be taught about God, and receive meals, medical care, and clothing. In Zambia, primary school lasts for seven years and is followed by five years of secondary school.
Community information:  Haven of Hope's students in Luanshya live in a number of compounds (densely populated communities). Brian’s family resides in Mikomfwa, area B. In the compounds, unemployment and poverty rates are high, and people primarily depend on menial jobs for survival—working, for example, as garden hands, maids, and small-scale farmers. Families tend to be large and live in small houses. The compounds have been greatly afflicted by HIV and AIDS, leaving many children without one or both of their biological parents. Orphaned children are often cared for by their grandparents, aunts, or uncles; other children live in child-headed homes. Living in poverty, most families struggle to meet their basic needs and afford school fees for their children.
Prayer requests:  Please pray that Brian will grow up loving God and will be educated.

Brian will start school in May 2023. Any financial contributions made toward his sponsorship before then will help his school open a new grade 1 class and ensure that he has everything he needs for school.