--Esther Ngina is a 6 year-old orphan girl who has had many challenges in her life.
As you can see from the photo, she's just a little one, but she has a lot of heart for such a small person.
Her story unfolds as a series of heartbreaking events, much like a Charles Dickens novel.
Her mother and father had separated when she was an infant and she remained with her mother.
Sadly, Esther's mother passed away when she was a toddler, and she was taken to live with her father.
Esther's father was not a responsible parent and ended up abandoning Esther and she was taken by relatives to live with her grandmother.
In 2007, when Esther was only 4 years old, her grandmother passed away. At that point, she went to stay with a single Aunt who already had two children of her own.
The Aunt was very harsh and unkind with Esther and gave her many unreasonable chores and responsibilities. When I visited last year, I spent some time at Esther's one-room shack and saw as she bravely handled a lot of the household duties that could have been more fairly shared amongst other members of the family.
She had no toys or dolls, but when she played, she would play with a piece of broken mirror or empty matchbox.
Mama Margaret reported that during this time, Esther often came to school hungry and in tears because of missed meals. We were soon fortunate to find a sponsor for Esther, which helped a lot with the physical struggles she was having -- now she could get the meals she needed.
Unfortunately, the emotional and spiritual challenges remained, because of the harsh environment she endured as long as Esther continued living with her Aunt. After trying to improve the situation for some time, Margaret convinced the family to allow Esther to live with another set of relatives, an Aunt and Uncle nearby.
Although it was a slight improvement, the Uncle was an alcoholic and eventually the Aunt left him, taking her two young children as well as running off with Esther's school uniform and few belongings. This left Esther living alone with an alcoholic who was out late every night, by herself without any security. During this time, she fell victim to chiggers, ringworms, and lice.
Margaret had tried all along to work with Esther's family for her wellbeing, but it became clear she had to intervene. Working with the community child protection office, Margaret was able to find a new home for Esther, living with Margaret's brother Bernard and his family. All her problems with ringworms and other issues have been treated and fixed.
Though he struggles financially -- through no fault of his own -- Bernard is a hard-working and responsible person, with a wonderful wife and young son that is Esther's age and they have become like brother and sister. Esther now has the family she has always deserved.
Thanks to the child sponsorship program, Tenderfeet has been able to assist with Esther's living expenses and transportation to school. Below is Esther in the black shirt, with her new family.
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