Luisa Luis moved from their village with her husband and her 6 children to the city of Chimoio and to the Grace Center community to escape what appeared to them, a wave of sickness sweeping their village.  Her husband found employment and the family found a home to rent and to settle in.  Life was better for her even though they were in a completely new community without extended family around them.

After a couple of years Luisa’s husband died leaving her and the children completely alone and destitute. Luisa’s sons in their early teens abandoned their schooling and went out each day to try and earn a few meticais by selling plastic bags to shoppers at the market to put one meager meal on the table.  Soon the family unable to pay their rent found themselves homeless.   Luisa found a piece of vacant land to maintain and in exchange the landowner allowed her to build a temporary shelter to house her family.

Luisa began to attend the literacy program at the center and Chosen Children began helping her with provisions to feed her children.  Luisa was left homeless once again when her house collapsed around her during the rainy season and she sought temporary shelter for herself and the children at the center.  A decision was made by Chosen Children to buy Luisa her own piece of land so that she can invest in building a solid cement block house that will withstand the elements.  For now, Luisa is so grateful that she has the security of being on her own land.