Memory's Story

Memory was orphaned before she was 2 years old and went to live with an aunt who was married but had no children. She was so little when her parents died that to this day, she has no memory of them.

Life was very hard, but while they didn’t have much, as was the situation of everyone else in that very poor community, Memory was at least cared for and had some semblance of a family.

Then one day when Memory was just shy of 10 years of age, her aunt told her that she and her new husband were moving away to Zimbabwe and that Memory would be left behind.  This was devastating and incomprehensible news for this little girl, who loved her aunt very much as she was the only mother she had ever known. 

Before her aunt left for Zimbabwe, she dropped Memory off with a cousin who reluctantly agreed to take the child. However, since he already had a wife and 5 children of his own, he did not appreciate having another child to care for and another mouth to feed. He and the whole family resented this new girl and the extra burden that she put on their already severely strained circumstances.  The resentment showed.

The time that Memory lived with these relatives was a very dark period for her:

· The conditions were horrible, both physically and emotionally. 

· She had no place to sleep, very little food to eat, and was clearly unwelcome. 

·  Verbal and physical abuse was commonplace. 

· Memory was given chore upon chore to earn her keep and was basically treated as the family’s servant.

· For instance, each night long after dark, Memory would have to go out to the community well to fetch water for the family.  This was back breaking work, and it was also quite dangerous for a young girl to be out by herself after dark.

But God had a different plan for Memory!  One day the social worker from Breath of Heaven visited that compound and Memory was soon accepted into our program.  Here is a picture of Memory that our social worker took that day.

When Memo arrived at Breath of Heaven in the Fall of 2010 at the age of 10 1/2, she was welcomed with open arms and with great joy!  She was not afraid to come, but was longing for a place to call home.  During the last 7 years, she has grown, and matured, and thrived in every way.  She is surrounded by a true family:  the kids and loving adults at the Breath of Heaven Children’s Village!

When Memory arrived, she could not speak or understand a word of English and was not able to recognize letters of the alphabet.  She was completely illiterate, testing below the kindergarten level.

Now 7 years later, Memo is graduating from the 9th grade and is one of our top English students.  She is such an avid reader that we have made her the librarian for our little village library.  It is so precious to see her sitting with the little ones, reading to them and teaching them.  And most special of all, she is a young lady who loves the Lord, is an anointed worship leader, and is a wonderful role model for the younger kids.

Here is her picture now!