Brenda

Name:  Brenda
Gender:  Girl
Reported birthdate:  Around August 2012 (currently age 13)
Favorite color:  Orange
Favorite food:  Potatoes and beans
Favorite activity:  Playing netball
Favorite subject:  Science
Child is happy when…  She is watching movies
Child wants to be a…  Doctor
Home information:  Brenda is growing up in a small community near the village of Bugoi in rural northeastern Uganda. She lives with her mother and father, one brother, and five sisters—they are a household of nine. She is the fourth born. Brenda’s family supports themselves by “digging”—they grow crops to eat and to sell when they can. Her father also works as a farmhand on other people’s land, and her mother bakes bread to sell in the local market. However, they struggle to meet all of their family’s needs and pay the children’s school fees. Brenda helps her family at home by fetching water, collecting firewood, cooking, and washing plates.
School information:  Brenda is a student at the Bugoi Haven of Hope Nursery and Primary School. She is currently in P7 (primary grade 7). In Uganda, nursery school lasts for three years and is followed by seven years of primary school and up to six years of secondary school. During school terms, Brenda boards at school, returning home for holidays. At school, she will continue to learn and play, be taught about God, and receive meals, medical care, and clothing.
Village information:  In Bugoi, most people live in small groupings of mud huts with thatched roofs and depend on small-scale farming or gardening to feed themselves. This is often made difficult by drought, which can lead to poor harvests and famine. The Haven of Hope school is located beside a lake, where some villagers also engage in fishing. Families tend to be large, and many adults care for orphans in addition to their biological children. Disease, including HIV and AIDS, is common and has left many children without one or both of their parents. Poverty also keeps many children from attending school, as families struggle to meet their basic needs and afford school fees.
Child's prayer requests:  Please pray that Brenda will do well in her studies and be promoted to secondary school next year. Also pray for God’s protection and guidance in her education.