Today, we’re here in the village of Kataytay
at the home of Fortune.
Every morning, Fortune wakes up before the
sun rises and walks down to the village well
to get fresh water.
When he gets back, everyone is awake and waiting.
He helps his mom by washing the dishes, collecting
wood and starting the fire for breakfast.
Hey!
What’s that goat doing?
Goats can’t do dishes.
Before he can eat, Fortune takes some of the
fresh water and showers up.
After breakfast, he puts on his school uniform
and combs his hair.
Looking sharp Fortune!
He says goodbye to his mother and he’s off.
Fortune’s school is in a neighboring village,
about an hour and a half away from his home.
Luckily for Fortune, it never snows in Zambia.
Every morning, Fortune and his friend Gary
string up the Zambian flag and hoist it into
the air.
Fortune loves learning and plans to be a doctor
someday.
At lunch time, Fortune rings the recess bell
and all the kids gather around the school’s
well.
After school, Fortune walks home and plays
with the children from his village.
One of their favorite games is soccer.
But because most of them don’t have the
money to buy a real soccer ball, Fortune shows
us how they use plastic bags and string to
make their own.
Not bad!
Let’s see how he does with a real soccer
ball.
Wow, Fortune!
When Fortune was just a little boy, his mother
was in an accident that paralyzed her from
the waist down.
She couldn’t move her legs at all.
Since their family didn’t have the money,
some members of the community put together
a makeshift wheel chair.
Fortune’s mother enjoys sitting under the
hut and weaves together string to make fishing
nets.
The money that she makes from the nets helps
pay for Fortune’s school and other necessities.
Not long after the accident, Fortune decided
he was going to help his mom put food on the
table by catching fish.
Every evening he starts by digging up some
worms.
Yummy!
Then he goes down to the river, picks a spot,
and casts his line.
Doesn’t look like the fish are biting here!
Maybe he’ll have luck in another spot.
This looks better.
You caught one!
Good job, Fortune!
Back at home, Fortune boils a pot of nshima, stirs up some vegetables, and fries up his
fish.
Delicious!
Fortune’s mother always prays to thank God
for what they do have.
One day, their neighbor surprised Fortune
and his mother by scrapping up enough money
together to by her a brand-new wheelchair.
In the Bible, book of Psalms, chapter 34 verse
18, it says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”
Even though what happened to Fortune’s mother
is really sad, Fortune knows, when life is
sad…God is good!
