Bess is thirty years old, mother to Marvin - a four
year old bouncy baby boy, and a single mother. Marvin's father rarely helps
with the baby and lives somewhere else. Bess (and Marvin) hardly ever see
him.
Bess works as a volunteer with an NGO called MUMYO (Mukuno Multipurpose
Youth Organisation). She receives a stipend of ush50,000 ($US27.03)
a month.
It costs Bess ush45,000 ($US24.32) per year to send Marvin to nursery school.
Marvin gets malaria about once or twice every month. Sometimes he is so weak
from the malaria and the medication, that he cannot go to school for an entire week.
He also runs around faster than he should and is forever falling down and grazing
his knees and elbows. He also managed to twirl a piece of fishing wire into
his eyes once. No permanent damage was done.
Bess can afford three meals a day and she and Marvin usually eat cassava, beans,
posho and cabbage. She grows all the food herself.
She uses three jerry cans of water per day. Since Marvin is plainly too small
to help, she usually has to make the 30 minute round trip three times a day.
She shares the well with fifteen other families.
She would like it if people purchased necklaces from GrassRootsUganda.com as it
would give the craft group in Naggalama hope.
She would love to complete her university education. She is part of the way
through a business studies course, but had to stop because there was no way she
could afford the ush1,200,000 ($US649) per year university fees.
Her greatest wish though is to give Marvin a good education in the hope that he
will become a doctor one day.
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