DOB – October 10, 2002

Came under Tumaini’s care August, 2009

He says grace for us at our gatherings and each prayer is heartfelt and unique.  Francis is big brother to Zawadi and Pendo who are also Tumaini children.  The day I met Francis and his family and saw how they live was the first time I cried after arriving in Usa River.

Francis and his siblings, abandoned by their parents, were being raised by their Bibi (grandmother) who, in her seventies, is completely blind in one eye and has very limited use of her left arm (the result of a corrective surgery after an accident) which limits her ability to work and feed herself and the children.  Francis SHOULD have been attending school when we met him, but poverty and the need for him to help care for his younger siblings prohibited the opportunity.

The living conditions for this family were deplorable.  The house had two rooms where the four of them lived/ate/slept and a communal kitchen which was collapsing.  In spite of poor nutrition and hygiene, Francis was found to be one of our healthier children at Dr. Lyimo’s office.  His brother and sister were not so fortunate.

Since coming to Tumaini Francis has consistently been number one in his class at school.  He has been (and continues to be) a shining example of a big brother to all his Tumaini “siblings”.  He lives his life by example, with integrity, respect and kindness towards others, and he is committed to earning a scholarship to Harvard University to study biology after graduating primary school #1 in our entire Meru District where he outperformed thousands of his peers.  We were not THAT surprised!