Shanita’s situation may seem less vulnerable than some of the other students on the website, but that perception is incorrect,

Her father had been a mason, but less than a year ago, he fell off a building where he was working. His legs and ribs were fractured. He spent six months in the local hospital before being discharged.  Currently he is still not walking; if and when he is able, the hospital doctors say he will always need crutches.  It is unlikely he would ever be able to find any other job.

There are too many “able-bodied” men in this community who cannot find work.

Shanitah’s  mother is unskilled and illiterate, and like so many women living in poverty, she works in other people’s gardens to get some vegetables to take home.

When Shanitah first came to school, she was very shy.  Not anymore! Right now, her best friends are all boys, and she plays with them all.  She is seven years old.  That would usually put her in P.2 – second grade, but there was no money to pay for school.  Only recently were we able to bring her to school for sponsorship, if possible. 

Her teachers say that Shanita learns rapidly, grasping new ideas easily.  At the end of the academic year in Uganda (November 2022), she was ranked third in her class. With help, we think she will have a bright future!