Blessing, age 13, Nigeria – Education, Health, Nurtition, Economic Empowerment

Calabar, Nigeria: Blessing, 13, is a daughter of a sex worker. Her mother died from complications of HIV, leaving Blessing alone in the brothel where her mother worked. When our partners found her, Blessing was very ill and weak due to contracting tuberculosis while also being HIV-positive, having contracted the infection from her mother after birth. We provided funding for Blessing to receive immediate medical care and nutrition support so that she could continue taking ARVs to suppress her HIV symptoms. We were able to locate her grandmother, who wanted to be her caregiver but needed financial support to be able to provide Blessing with enough food to meet her nutritional needs. Once Blessing’s health had improved, we provided funding for her to return to school. She was very happy to be able to continue her education and have a safe place to live. Without this funding, Blessing would be at a high risk of sexual exploitation, unwanted pregnancy, and poor health outcomes due to her HIV status.