Benson is a 19 year old boy in the 7th grade and has two siblings, Enoch Chisanga (17 years, also in 7th grade) and Kulekani (11 years old doing his 2nd grade). Both parents of the children died in December 2001. One of their brothers also passed away in the same year. For the five years that followed after their parents’ death, their grandmother lived with them, but later on left them to fend for themselves.

When their grandmother lived with them, SOS provided her with groceries to sell, but the small business did not do well. Life became tough and eventually they had to receive nutritional support from SOS and Bwafwano. The nutrition assistance was not sustainable and the family had to engage in piece work such as gardening and foundation digging in order to earn extra income. The family was at least able to have two meals in a day, with the extra income they generated from extra work.

Their house at the time had cracked walls and the cement plaster was falling off because the bricks were made from mud. Ever since HFHZ built the family a new house, the family says they have one less thing to worry about. They are very thankful for the shelter, especially because it is hard to acquire decent shelter for people with no source of income.

“We thank Habitat for their wonderful work. Our house is now made of cement and bricks and has a floor.”