Summer is in full swing, filled with longer days, warm sunshine and the contagious, happy energy of kids free from homework, teachers and school obligations. But for so many of our young neighbors around the world, a carefree summer day is something they've never known — and may have never even imagined possible.
Children like Posseh … the saddest girl.
When she was just 5 years old, Posseh's father and mother both died, making her an orphan. "My grandmother and my father and my mother, they die the same day," Posseh recalls. "My friends, they are going to school, but me, I'm not coming to school."
Her aunt, Mamata, took Posseh in, hoping to get her out of the village where opportunities are so limited.
"In the village, you cannot go to schools," says Posseh. "Always work on the farm, on the farm, always on the farm."
Posseh works to help contribute to her family’s income.
But more heartache struck when Aunt Mamata lost her job. With no income, the family couldn't eat. The situation got so desperate that young Posseh had to sell water on the street to help support her aunt and cousins.
Mamata weeps at the thought of her sweet niece working on the street, but there were no other options.
"Just for us to survive, and for her to have some lunch when going to school," she said. "It was not intentional … but it just for our survival."
One of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty and forge a new path is through education.
Mamata wanted this opportunity for Posseh.
Posseh loves to learn, but her hunger and lack of supplies make it challenging to stay in school.
But when Posseh could attend class, her teacher observed that she was the saddest girl in school. Posseh was painfully hungry, and her hunger eventually forced her to stop attending altogether.
Patricia Bangura, a head teacher in Sierra Leone, sees this every day.
"The children cannot get what you are teaching them," she shares. "They'll be thinking of food, they'll be thinking of the problems at home, they will not comprehend."
When children, especially young girls, drop out of school because of starvation and lack of income, their options become very limited. Most girls like Posseh are forced into child labor or early childhood marriage.
Your love can be the answer to a prayer for neighbors like Posseh.
In Sierra Leone, the biggest barrier to women getting an education is a lack of income. When the young women in poor families attend school instead of working, the financial burden is felt in two ways — first, in the cost of school tuition, uniforms and supplies, and second, in the loss of income.
But your love changes everything. When children like Posseh get consistent access to education, your gift provides more than learning:
Your gift today will help children like Posseh get the education they need to break the cycle of poverty, hunger and hard labor — and experience a future of their own.
Share your blessings TODAY and change the entire trajectory of a child's life.
Feeling inspired? Here’s another way to help girls like Posseh:
CONSIDER BECOMING A FAITHFUL NEIGHBOR! The sustaining love of Faithful Neighbors breaks down the barriers keeping girls from education. Their monthly gifts provide cash transfers that help girls stay in school and break the vicious cycle of poverty. They meet immediate needs AND empower lasting change. Learn more here.