Doreen Phiri is 7 years old, her exact birthday is unknown. Doreen’s father died when she was 6 months old; her mother does not live with her. Doreen is taken care of by her grandmother, Tikambe Zulu. Tikambe does not have a job. Doreen needs food, clothes, shoes and toys.
Doreen at School
While we were in California, Mary was able to take Doreen and another sponsored boy, Elemiar, to the Lusaka Fairgrounds. It was ‘Farmers Week’, a week full of festivities. The kids got to have cotton candy and lunch. They loved playing in the Jumpy House with other kids. It is so nice to see them happy and carefree.
Shopping!!!
We took Doreen shopping last Wednesday. She was so excited to be in a store buying NEW clothes; very likely the only brand new clothes she has ever had. She bought a skirt, shirt shoes and new underwear. We also went to the grocery store and bought a 10 kg bag of Mealie Meal, which is what Zambians make porridge and nshima with, a bag of apples and potatoes.
In September, we will have a teacher assigned to track Doreen’s academic progress. She is working on learning some English, how to hold a pencil and write, as well as how to write her name, numbers and the alphabet. Since she hasn’t been in school for very long and English is not her native language, it sometime seems that learning comes slowly. We are work on nourishing both her mind, body and soul. We know that with your help we she will make strides!
We have told Doreen about her sponsor, she knows that she is a young lady like herself. She would love to see a picture of you, Lucia. If you would like to write to her, you can send an email to us and we can share it with her and we can help her to respond. She is so excited to have you as her sponsor!