Katie's story

My name is Katie Mwamadi, I was born in 2002. My grandmother told me that my father died before I was born, also my mother died when I was three years old.

I stayed with my grandmother for 2 years. Then the sister of my mother came to pick me to go to her house. I started primary school, first she was good to me but after one year she started beating me. Also she did not give me food especially lunch but she always gave her daughter food three times a day, shopping nice clothes but for me nothing.
One day I came from school and I asked about food, she said forget about food. Then I made the decision to go back to my grandmother so I started walking for 6 hours. I found my grandmother coming from the garden, then she asked me why I was there so I explained to her what was happening. My grandfather said; Thank you God to protect this child.
After four years my aunt came to pick me because my grandmother is poor. So I continue going to school. After one term my aunt was transferred from Dedza to Nkhoma for work. She left me at Dedza without food or money. The landlord shouted at me because my aunt did not pay rent, he wanted to take all my clothes. After one week my aunt came to pick me but she was beating me a lot.
I wrote examination for primary school and I passed. After I started secondary school, the first term I was learning only for one week than I stopped because my aunt did not pay school fees. Than I asked my aunt about school fees and she said she has no money for fees for me. But she gave money to her own child for school fees. After a while she went to the village and left me in Nkhoma for two weeks without food or money. She only took her own children. When she came back she told me she was transferred again for her job from Nkhoma to Blantyre now. She left me again and took her children to Blantrye. She left me without anything.
But now my life is good because Nicole pick me to her house, everything is ok also for school.