to be chosen

He walks down the muddy path away from the river. Dragging two heavy jugs, overflowing with murky brown water. His little brother struggles to keep up, moving as quickly as he can. Water is what his mom asked for this morning, barely a whisper of a request. Even talking has become difficult for her. Now it's taken Yusufu over two hours to fetch the water and make his way home. Hoping water will make his mom happy, maybe make her feel better. The doctors said she has the disease; HIV, the disease everyone around him seems to have. His father and aunt passed away last Spring because of this disease. Yusufu stopped playing with his friends a long time ago, he has to help find food. He sees his friends playing outside their huts, laughing and kicking a soccer ball around. He wishes his mom was better, well enough to come out and watch him play soccer as well. Walking into the hut he sees his mom asleep in the corner. Looking at their little food supply he knows that he must go find more today or they won't have enough tomorrow. He pours the murky water in to a wooden cup and wakes his mother. She struggles to take small sips of the water. Yusufu sees tears stream down her cheeks as she lays back onto the dirt beneath. He exits the hut in search of food. He must 'be a man', his dad said before he died, take care of his mom, brother and little sister. A man he tries to be but at ten-years-old a man may be too much for him to handle.

"Someone picked me, someone picked me!" Yusufu came running into his hut. "Food, water and clothes, they told me mom, we get food, water and clothes!" he pauses and then begins to dance around again "I get to go to school!" he dances around his mom as she sits up slowly and a smile on her face. "We get food and clean water, mom, clean water!" Laughing he holds up his first letter. He can't read the words written to him, but they told him he would go to school and learn English. He gets clean water, food and a uniform. New clothes! He looks down at his shirt without one sleeve, pants ripped off just below the knees held up with a string he'd found on the roadside one day. "I knew someone would choose you, Yususfu. Everything is going to be better now." his mother struggles to say. He smiles knowing deep down anything can happen now.

www.healafrica.org
www.hopewalks.org
www.compassion.com