No child should have to fight for a drink of water at school.
But that’s exactly what five-year-old Yonatal and his classmates had to do in Ethiopia.
Their school did not have any running water and students would fight to get what little water was available at the only water container on the grounds.
Yonatal often had to walk home during schools hours if he was thirsty. At other times, the water available at school was so dirty it made him Yonatal ill, which meant he missed class as a result.
“Yonatal was affected by diarrheal diseases frequently from the unsafe water he used to drink at his school,” his mother, Simegne, says.
When Yonatal’s ChildFund sponsor heard about the situation he agreed to support the construction of a water line that would bring safe water to the school.
As part of the project, the school was connected to the closest water point. A washing station with several faucets was built, so that children could wash their hands and avoid sicknesses.
Francis Mwanu says his former sponsor’s compassion and dedicated support has inspired him to give back to the community in which he grew up.
A few times throughout the year, Francis, who lives and works in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, returns to his home region of Nakuru, about 160 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, bringing clothes and food to children in need.
“Visiting the children – even it’s just for a day – makes them feel good,” Francis says.
“Sometimes we help the communities there raise money to fix things like their water tank.”
When he was three years old Francis was sponsored by Australian Dave Meney through ChildFund’s sponsorship program in Nakuru.
Today, Francis, now 29, works remotely as a virtual assistant with Dave’s West Australian engineering services company, Yenem.
Francis’ job importing goods had come to a sudden halt in 2017 when Dave jumped in and offered him job.
“Seeing and knowing all that Dave and his family have done for me, it has inspired me to visit children’s homes in Nakuru,” Francis says.
