A childhood restarted

Sam’s childhood was short lived. After his mother died of AIDS, he became the head of the house at the age of just 13, responsible for looking after his 11-year old sister, Isabel, and 6-year old brother, Jimmy.

Overnight the three of them became among the most vulnerable children in the world. Not only were they now responsible for looking after their younger brother, they also had to do adult things like walk long distances to fetch water, cook food for the family, wash everyone’s clothes and look after the house.

By the time Pastor Josiah from the nearby church heard of their plight, all four children were sleeping in a cramped room in the village on an insect-ridden floor, which left them covered in bites and sores.

The intervention of the church, supported by Samaritan’s Purse, was the turning point for these children. First, Pastor Josiah took them to the local clinic to clean up their wounds. Then he brought in volunteers from the church to build an extra room onto the house and lay down a concrete floor to eliminate the insect problem.