Series: PaR Portraits (No Text)

Deborah is an energetic and aspiring 12-years old girl who believes education is necessary to become a successful adult. In the past, she would be hungry at school (her only meal consisted of a cup of tea), and because she couldn’t focus, didn’t think she was smart and would not amount to anything.

Now she gets breakfast and lunch, her grades improved, and she resumed her goal of becoming an actress. This way she could make people laugh and smile and show young girls what a strong woman looks like. If acting doesn’t work out, she would like to become a journalist so that people would know about her.

She finds wisdom in reading traditional poems in Kiswahili and learned leadership by observing her teachers. She knows she would make for a good president.

“What is your favorite time of the day?” We asked.

“To see people do good things to each other, to be kind and responsible” she told us.

Aidah is compassionate and very curious about people and the world (she wanted to know about the political parties of the United-States.) She would like to become an accountant and learn to work with numbers, or become a journalist so that she can expand and share her knowledge about others.

PaR was a God sent to her. She wakes up happy knowing that she’ll get breakfast and lunch. Getting regular and healthier meals means she became a better student, and she’s thrilled when all her schoolmates perform well during exams.

If she could change two things at hers school that would be to have electricity in all classrooms — so that she doesn’t have to change classrooms throughout the day — and more playground space to stretch her legs.