I'll never forget the day I first met Owen, my sponsor child. It was 2005. He was 15 years old. I walked into his village in the copperbelt of Zambia while on a mission trip. I was wet with perspiration after an uphill walk under the relentless sun typical of Africa We were both a bit shy at this first meeting. He was wearing a very torn and dirty shirt. I handed him the Bible I'd brought as a gift and wondered if he could read English. The common language here is Kaonde. He mumbled a shy 'thank you', his only words.Owen was living in a tiny mud hut along with his grandmother. He is an orphan, tall and skinny, a bit too skinny I thought. His family struggle to buy the simple things in life such as toilet paper and washing soap. They struggle to buy salt or sugar to flavour their staple food, nshima, or maize porridge. They eat from communal bowls sitting outside.
Owen walks 6 kms to school each day wthout breakfast, the people believe it will dull their minds to eat in the morning. It becomes a long hungry day for them. When not at school Owen loves to play soccer or helps in the family garden where grow their own food.
Today five years later Owen is a man with a delightful smile and loads of confidence. Footprints in Africa have sponsored him to a baording school for boys in Ndola where he gets 3 meals a day and wears a spruce uniform. He speaks fluent English and loves to chat. He loves learning and his favourite subject is Commerce. This year he announced, "Grandmum I'm going to be a business man." To see the difference in him is truly miraculous.
