Irene
Irene is 12 years old and her birthday is March 15. Irene has never known her father. Her mother gave birth to Irene when she was just 15 years old. She was living a life of prostitution and would leave Irene with her grandmother for sometimes up to 3 years before she would come back to see her. Then she would take Irene to live with her for a few months to a year, then bring her back to the grandmother. This created a very inconsistent living situation for Irene. Irene’s mother died due to the AIDS virus. She’s was only about 27 years old at the time of her death in 2006. Irene was again left to live with the grandmother. However, the living situation was not good. Not only did the grandmother live in extreme poverty, but her grandmother has also contracted AIDS and has recently become ill. When we went to visit Irene she was very eager to leave the home there and move out. She didn’t appear to be very happy and the living conditions were very poor. Her grandmother expressed relief that Irene would be going to live at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. Since she has been living at TOA, Irene has really blossomed. She is becoming a beautiful young lady. Irene is trying very hard at her school work as her goal is to become a doctor so she can help others.