About Seibo Kids

Thanks to your support and the support of nursery partners in Malawi we are able to offer sponsored nursery places for the most needy children in our community. For urban families the small fee required to attend local nurseries can be too much and small children are often left at home while their parents are working. To help the most vulnerable families Seibo negotiate free spaces in partner nurseries in return for the provision of a school meal for all. This allows us to offer an all important early experience of education (and a daily hot meal) for those that will most benefit. In an earlier article we outlined the meeting which took place last month and in this article we will introduce some of the many children whose lives have been improved by your kindness & support!

Meet The New Seibo Kids

Meet Sean!
Born June 2017, Sean’s is the youngest of 4 siblings whose family are supported by the father’s income as a minibus conductor. They earn less than MK2000 a day and sometimes make no money and go without food for the entire day. They receive some help from Sean’s grandmother and live in a small rented house for which they have fallen behind in the rent. In addition the house is too small and the 4 children must sleep in the kitchen.

Meet Favour!
Born July 2018, Favour lives with his parents. Both his mother and father do ‘piece-works’ locally such as assisting builders and selling river sand and live in a rented house. The family are supported by two relatives that help out with the rent and maize from time to time but they are essentially living day to day and fell into rent arrears in January. Favour is looking forward to attending school for the first time!

Meet Rachel!
Born July 2017, Rachel comes from a family of 8 and lives with her parents in Sigerege. Rachel’s father is a professional welder but has no equipment and as a result does piece works in the area. The family live in their own house with their aunt and siblings ranging from 11 months to 15 years of age.

Meet Mphatso!
Born in January 2019 this little man now lives with his mother as his parents separated when the child was born and the father does not provide support. They live with Mphatso’s grandparents. Mphatso’s grandfather works as a guardman and does some farming while his grandmother sells charcoal. Mphatso’s mom sells sands, washes clothes and fetches water for a living. Mphatso’s mother stopped attending school when she became pregnant but would like to go back when school resumes.

Meet Triphonia & Enelesi!
Triphonia was born in October 2017 but sadly lost her mom when she was 2 months old and now lives with her Aunt Doreen who is mother to Enelesi (aged 2). They live in a family of 8 and their mom makes her living brewing ‘Kachasu’ alcohol from her house, which is not an ideal environment for young children and the family were referred to us based on ‘child protection’ concerns. It is our hope that with the children attending nursery and being able to receive a hot meal at school things can improve at home also.

Meet Priscila!
Born in November 2017, Priscila lives with her parents and her older sister. Priscila’s mom Taonga dropped out of school due to her parents inability to pay her school fees. Her father also dropped out of school when he reached Form 3. Today the parents make a living by carrying out ‘piece works’. Her dad usually helps sell cooking oil and her mom washes clothes. They eat one meal a day or two on some days. The family live in a rented house and both children and parents share the same room.

Meet Samuel!
Samuel is 3 but has yet to attend nursery school. He lives with his mom and 3 siblings. The father abandoned the family when Samuel’s mom was 3 months pregnant with him, and does not provide any support. Samuel’s siblings are old enough to attend government school where they are lucky enough to be provided with uniforms. Finding food and clothes are the family’s biggest challenges. When we visited the family to get information Samuel’s mother had gone to neighbours to ask for food to cook porridge for her children. They live in a rented house and rely on their mother finding ‘piece work’ to survive.

Meet Esther!
Born in October 2017, Esther lives with her mother and her 2 sisters. There is no father in the picture and Esther’s own mom Neria dropped out of school when she was in Standard 7. Neria sells charcoal for which she makes an approximate profit of MK2,000 per sack. They rent a small house but are several months in arrears. Esther does not attend any school as Neria cannot afford school fees, a uniform or food.

Meet Regina!
Regina (3) is from a family of 7- her mom, dad and 4 x siblings. Regina’s dad is involved with educating his children and has involved his neighbours in helping his children with lessons. The family who mostly eat twice a day depend on ‘piece works’ such as selling sand and assisting people in their fields.

Meet Ashraf!
Born in March 2017 and lives with his parents in their own house. Ashraf’s mom has a JCE qualification and once worked for the European Union clearing roads. Ashraf’s dad depends on ‘piece work’ and is an assistant builder.

Meet Annie!
Born in October 2017, Annie lives with her mom who is divorced and her 3 x siblings. They rent a house which is in arrears and and have to buy water every day as there is no running water in the house. Annie’s mom has a small business that makes around MK 2,000 per day and has a loan which she is repaying to the local village bank.

Meet Hawa!
Born in September 2017, Hawa’s mom is a single mother who divorced while pregnant with Hawa. She now lives alone with her 3 x children. For income the family depends on ‘piece works’ like washing clothes and collecting sand for building. They rent their house for which they pay MK8,000 per month and sometimes have to pay in instalments. Hawa’s mom said her biggest challenge is food. Sometimes the family go to bed without eating all day and she hopes she can get help with school fees for Hawa’s two brothers aged 8 & 11.

Meet Zaithwa!
Born in February 2017, Zaithwa lives with her brother Oscar (6) and her parents. They rent a house for MK10,000/month and Zaithwa’s dad works as a builder and her mom does ‘piece works’ selling water for the water association. Zaithwa was attending nursery previously but the family could not afford to pay the school fees. On inspection the family did not have any possessions in the house and it was clear they did require assistance.

Meet Letticia!
Born in December 2018, Letticia lives in Chilomoni Zambia with both her parents. Her mom and dad both finished school at primary school level and both parents do ‘piece works’. Letticia’s dad does plumbing work on request and her mom washes clothes and look after people’s gardens. The family live in a rented house in poor condition and looks at risk of collapsing. The family find it hard to pay the rent and afford food and are in rent arrears.

Meet Emmanuel & Divine!
Divine was born in September 2018, the last born of 5 children and lives with both his parents. Divine’s dad finished school in Form 2 and her mom finished school in Standard 8- both for no other reason than a lack of money. The parents do their best to support their children’s education including reading books to them in English. The family earn their living through ‘piece works’. Divine’s dad repairs electricity sockets but there is no work currently. The family have 2 x relatives who help out from time to time with maize for the children also.

Meet Prisca!
Prisca (3) lives with her parents in a rented house. Both parents do ‘piece work’ such as washing, fetching water and farming. Prisca’s mom applied for help for Prisca as she often leaves the child alone to go out and work which is not safe. In the past the family have availed of the Mother Teresa Children’s Centre ‘Play & Stay’ programme which convinced them of the importance of a nursery education. Prisca’s mom’s biggest challenge is putting food on the table and on the day we visited the family had not eaten breakfast.

Meet Favor!
Born in July 2018, Favor lives with her parents and 4 x siblings in Sigerege. They earn a living selling 2nd hand clothes though the business barely sustains their needs. They mostly eat twice a day but sometimes go to bed on an empty stomach.

Meet Favour!
Born in February 2019, Favour’s family is made of her mother and 3 x uncles. Favour’s mom Alice is the head of the family and is single-handedly raising 3 younger brothers who lost their parents. She dropped out of school when in Form 2 due to the inability to pay school fees. The family survives on ‘piece works’ and mostly eat twice a day and sometimes have nothing at all. Their house belongs to a relative and they are blessed they don’t have to pay rent.

Meet Poshani!
Born in May 2018, Poshani lives with his parents in Nthukwa and has a younger brother who was born in January 2020. His parents are guarding a house but have not been paid for month. As such they also carry out ‘piece works’. The family’s biggest challenge is food and Poshani’s mom is worried as she sometimes visits the clinic for growth monitoring and is aware her children are not developing as they should.

Meet Mzati!
Born in February 2019, Mzati is being raised by his mother and has a 3-month old younger brother. Mzati is asthmatic and the family receive food assistance from Mzati’s grandmother. To earn a living Mzati’s mom does ‘piece works’ such as washing and selling sand.

Meet Louis!
Born in August 2018, Louis lives with his parents and older brother Robert (7). The family survive doing ‘piece works’ and selling charcoal. They live in a rented house and once sent Louis to nursery school but could not continue paying school fees.

Meet Emmanuel!
Emmanuel was born in September 2018 and lives with his parents and 2 x siblings in Sigerege. Both parents left school at primary school level and both to ‘piece works’. The family live in a rented house for which they pay MK 8,000/month abut one room has collapsed and the house is in bad shape. They have been in rent arrears for a long time and from time to time the landlord throws them and their belongings out. Emmanuel’s mom has started a garden where she has planted tomatoes, vegetables and maize for sale.

Meet Gift!
Gift was born in October 2018 and lives with his mom in a house built by Gift’s grandfather. Gift’s mom has been collecting sand from the river to sell for which she earns MK500 per day. She tries hard to provide 3 x meals per day but cannot afford school fees in addition to food.

Meet Gaffar!
Gaffar was born in April 2018 and lives with his mother, uncles and aunt. His mother is 20 years old and her brothers and sisters range from 18, 17 & 11 years old. One of Gaffar’s uncles has dropped out of school because of school fees but another uncle does ‘piece works’ to pay his way through secondary school. Gaffar’s mom also does ‘piece works’ such as washing clothes and selling sand. His mom finds working difficult as she has to carry Gaffar with her wherever she goes. The house they live in belongs to their parents who returned to the village but left the children in the hope they could continue attending school. The family find it hard to feed themselves with the money they earn and Gaffar’s mom was not in a position to afford nursery fees.

Meet Gift!
Born in March of 2018, Gift lives with his parents. His mom (29) is deaf and struggles to walk. Gift attends the Mother Teresa Children’s Centre ‘Play & Stay’ on Tuesdays each week but has never attended nursery. Gift’s dad is a part-time watchman and also sells fried groundnuts. At the time we visited they had an outstanding loan of MK1,800 and were struggling with basic necessities. They sometimes also receive help from the church where they pray.

Meet Yotamu!
Yotamu (2) is being raised by his mother and lives with his 2 x siblings. Their father has abandoned the family and does not provide any support. Yotamu’s mom suffers from fistula making it difficult to work so she largely depends on friends & neighbours for support, and is waiting for a hospital referral. The family house belongs to a relative but is not in good condition. Yotamu’s mom studied electronics but never completed the course due to financial difficulties- her father died during her studies leaving her unable to pay. She also previously worked as a nursery teacher before her illness but unfortunately that school closed its doors.

In Conclusion
All the above children and many more have been given a chance to get an education, an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. That opportunity is made possible by our donors making a conscious decision to make a difference in this world. The children of Malawi and their families face an uncertain future. Your donation can make a difference, no matter how small.