We met Levinson this morning, he is about 15 and an orphan with a 13 year old sister named Janet.
They live alone since their parents died a few years ago. Levinson is the head of the household. He is also HIV+. He told us life is hard. Often they go to sleep hungry having not eaten all day. To earn money he climbs the mountain to chop trees into 1m sections and then burns them for charcoal. The burning takes four days of attendance to maintain a slow burn.
After the charcoal is ready he loads a big bag full and sets out at 2am for the city, so he can be there for the early market. It’s about a six hour, 10km walk over a mountain, with a heavy load. For his trouble he gets 650 kwacha – about $1.25
He does that twice a week.
He also tries to go to school most mornings (he is still in P5) and cultivate in the afternoon.
When he sells charcoal he buys maize to make sima, which is the ugalli of Malawi.
Last week our Feed The Hungry team found him and gave him a box of rice meals. A bag a day for him to share with his sister! They were delighted.
As we talked I discovered though he knew of Jesus he was not in relationship with Him.
Our FTH partners are working with Levison to develop a relationship with Jesus.
Please click here to learn more about helping feed children in Malawi.