Elizabeth's Story...

My name is Elizabeth Nahamya. I have one brother called Obed Nokwe. In my family, my father has died and my brother and mother are also disabled. Before the death of my father, he worked in people’s gardens to secure us some food. When he died, we became a problem to people around us. They called us names and we were referred to as a cursed family. Being disabled is a big problem.  You are never considered a human being. 

My mother had to start looking for jobs but found heavy work difficult because of her disability.  Instead, I used to work on her behalf. However, the more I grow, the more my disability worsened and in time I could not perform heavy work either. We were chased out of our home and had nowhere to live. My mother started baking and selling pancakes but continually we had to move from house to house, trying to find somewhere to sleep. 

One day a man called me to his house asking for assistance and then tried to rape me. I was 11 years old. This happened twice but each time someone rescued me. My mother was very concerned about my safety and asked Noeline to care for me in her orphanage. 

Noeline loves all the children in her care. I now have a sponsor who pays for my food and clothing, all the operations I need to help me walk like other children and all school fees. I know she loves me too. Now I am happy and safe. I have experienced the joy of being loved and now I know what to be loved means. I pray that God makes it possible for me to get normal legs after the doctors’ surgery. Now I have peace but still worry about the lives of my Mum and kid brother. They continue to move from place to place in search of shelter and food. I want to study hard and become a nurse. I thank my sponsor for choosing to help me among the many children who need help. I thank Mum Noeline for giving me a home to live in and accepting me. I thank Wellspring for caring about us, the needy children, especially me who the world had neglected. I have even got a loving ‘father’ in Dr William. God bless you all. 

Yours faithfully, Elizabeth Nahamya (Age 13 years)