Nelly Sikanyika

Name:  Nelly Sikanyika
Gender:  Girl
Reported birthdate:  November 14, 2013 (currently 9 years old)
Favorite food:  Nshima and beans
Favorite activity:  Skipping and handball games
Child is happy when...  She is watching people sing
Child wants to be a...  Nurse
Home information:  Nelly is growing up in the rural town of Luanshya in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. The Haven of Hope school reports: “Nelly stays with her mother and her stepdad. Her biological father is dead. She has 2 siblings—an elder sister and a younger sister. The family survives through gardening vegetables for sale to support themselves.  However, it has been a challenge for the family to meet all the basic needs at home and support the children into school. Nelly helps with cleaning the dishes and sweeping at home.”
School information:  Nelly has not previously attended school. Through sponsorship, she will be able to start grade 1 at the Haven of Hope Luanshya Primary School in May 2023. There, she 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). Nelly’s family resides in D Compound. 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 God will help Nelly’s family through their life struggles and that Nelly will thrive in her education if given the opportunity.

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