Our Monalisa has few smiles. Just four years old, we got her out of the house and into school as fast as possible.  Her father is a drug addict and a terrible drunkard, has no job, is HIV positive and has abandoned her.  Her mother is also an alcoholic, a drug addict, is HIV Positive and has also abandoned her. She no longer sees her father and very rarely her mother.  She is an only child. She is also, thankfully, HIV negative.

Now Monalisa lives with her maternal grandmother, who has a very small income – and skin cancer and who is also HIV positive. There is no vegetable garden, something most local families live on.  The grandmother does rent a room as a means of survival.  Her monthly income is about 60,000 shillings, the equivalent of $17.  In case you’re wondering, that’s an annual income of $204.

Without intervention, Monalisa might eventually end up like her parents.

Help Monalisa learn to smile.  Help her stay in school. Sponsor her.