Gems

so these are the women i have been working with - my gems!

Lacerda- 27 yrs old. Her family runs a little store in the local market. She has a 5 yr old daughter Angela who is the cutest little thing ever! Lacerda is my main friend here in MZ. We are becoming such good friends! She is my woman of peace- she knows everyone and everyone loves her. She is the kindest MZ I have ever met. Since she works at the market I love to go and spend the after noon with her sitting down talking with all of the women that come and do their buying for their meals. A lot of women trust her.  

Cardita- 26 yrs old. Lacerdas sister. She is 6 months pregnant. Her boyfriend left her when she wouldn't get an abortion. She also works at the family market place. She is currently in school studying at what would be the equivelent of High School in the States. I go with her to the hospital for her maternity check ups. She has the gift of serving and hospitality. When Im over at her house, she prepares my favorite dishes and makes sure im well taken care of.

Mataneta- 22 yrs old. Lacerda's sister-in-law. Has a 3 yr old daughter Gabrielle who is always sick with something. Mataneta has lots of secrets. Her husband is cheating on her and she knows it. She is a very broken girl who tries to hide it. But when we are together we laugh real hard!

Dulce- 23 yrs old. Runs our 2nd baby house. She is HIV+ and has a 7 yr old daughter Jessica. Dulce goes to school and is in the 7^th grade. She has a very tender heart and we laugh a lot when we hang out. Her family is very wealthy however when they found out that she was HIV+ they kicked her out of the house. She then lived on the streets of Maputo with Jessica when she was little. Dulce has been through lots of crap living on the streets. But now you would never be able to tell. She is full of life and purpose. 

Felismina- 20 yrs old and HIV+. She has 3 children. The oldest is 5. The middle is 3 and HIV+ her name is Hawa and she is very very sick. Stick and bones. She is now living with us. We can already tell a difference- she is smiling since arriving here! Felisminas' boyfriend just died of AIDS. She is a very sad girl. She has started the bead making project with us. Since she has been making jewelry, she has changed so much for the better!! She is very grateful for her job now. She has mentioned many times that shes very happy to have friends and a job because now she doesn’t just sit at home and think about “life”. Im in the process of getting her registered at a hospital that can properly start her on Anti-Retrivirals (AIDS medicine).