A Note From Jolima...
I am feeling good to be here because you are keeping me well, we eat together and you are buying me school requirements. We are staying well and am always on good terms with everyone in the house, I am not fighting with my friends.
General Information
Birthdate: 12/03/2011
Current Age: 13
Move In Date: 11/21/2022
Hobbies: Music & Singing
School/ Education
Current Grade: 5
School: Twashuka Primary School
Jolima has been accepted into Wellspring based on her vulnerability. Her father passed with HIV some years ago and the mother survives by doing odd jobs such as fetching firewood and selling to people who brew beer. It is a long and hard job to go to the woods – collect the wood – carry it back – and then move around selling it.
She makes less than k15 ($.80) per day which only gives them one meal a day. Taking Jolima to school has been a challenge. Additionally we are helping her mother with a food budget to help relieve financial challenges. Her mother is also HIV positive and needs to be able to eat in order to take her medication and survive.
From Jolima’s Mother – Agness
My name is Agness, I am a 51 years old. I am a grandmother staying in Kawama West. I stay with two children. My youngest last born daughter Jolima age 11 and granddaughter Jane age 9.
Janes’s parents all died a long time ago, her parents died of HIV/AIDs in 2019. When her children died she was left with five grandchildren of which 3 died and then I remained with two Jane and Peter. Peter is in the Congo living with his grandfather on the other side of his family.
Jolima goes to school she is in grade 3 schooling at Twashuka Primary school. While Jane has never been to school because of a lack of financial resources.
The Mufulira social welfare helped Jolima to be enrolled while Jane was not picked because they were selecting 1 per household due to the needy.
I am not married am a single grandmother and mother, my main source of income is fetching firewood from the bush. I always wake up around 4 am to go pick or chop fire wood, and later around 4pm that’s when I do come back home.
I do sell the bundles of firewood k10 or k15 per bunch and that’s what we use to buy mealie meal, and vegetables for us to make a meal. We try to have one meal per day, but sometimes that is not possible.
I would love you as WellSpring to help me by providing any form of empowerment program or sending my grandchild or daughter to your rescue house so that they can be educated. I am sick with Asthma and also am HIV positive, if these children are not picked and cared for by you, then their future will be poor.
Education will help them take care of themselves, I can’t manage to send them to school or buy school supplies for the children, you helping me is building their future.
When I look at my sufferings I do wish I would just stop drinking ARV’s and die but when I look at who can take care of the kids I give myself the strength to go on but it’s not easy as a single uneducated grandmother to look after the kids.