African Child.

I don't go to school. I don't know how to read or write. I don't have time to play. I work all day, and walk fifteen miles to gather water for my family and I. I have no voice. I am an average African child.

I've been put through hard labour everyday of my life since the age of six, and since I'm a girl, it's very hard for me to get an education. I have three younger brothers and four younger sisters making me the oldest at thirteen. My mother is very sick and weak and she can hardly get out of bed, so as the oldest child in the family, I'm responsible for all of my younger sibling. My father passed away eight years ago from aids, and now our family needs him more then ever.

Our family feeds on rice I get from the market everyday for dinner and breakfast. I have to pay for our food by selling our chicken eggs from the few chickens we raise at home. My youngest sister, who is only three years old and still doesnt know how to walk yet, is strapped to my back all day to make sure she is always protected.

The water process I have to go through every two or three days is very long and tireing. My brother and I walk the fifteen miles just to get the water, and then we have to collect the fire wood to purify the water and make it safe for my family to drink. Atleast three times a month, someone in my family suffors from a water disease.