Sheila Mashinkila

Name:  Sheila Mashinkila
Gender:  Girl
Reported birthdate:  August 21, 2015 (currently 7 years old)
Favorite food:  Sausage and nshima (a staple food in Zambia)
Favorite activity:  Playing handball games and skipping
Child is happy when...  She is watching cartoons
Child wants to be a...  Medical doctor
Home information:  Sheila is growing up in the rural town of Luanshya in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. The Haven of Hope school reports: “Sheila stays with her mother. Her father is not with the mother anymore and resides at the farms with another wife. Sheila is the last child in a family of 4—she has 3 elder sisters. The mother supports their family by selling a local beverage called munkoyo in the compound and works part-time as a cleaner at the Haven of Hope school. However, she fails to meet all the necessary needs of the family and support the children in school. Sheila helps at home by washing plates.”
School information:  Sheila began attending a community school (for underprivileged children) but could not continue due to distance. 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). Sheila’s family resides in Mwanshani. 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 Sheila will get a good education and pay attention to godly things.

Sheila 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.