Phoebe Nasiwa

Phoebe was born in a humble two room mud hut in Kitwekyango, Uganda. The second of two daughters, she was raised by her older sister while her mother cared for her father while he died of AIDS. Phoebe doesn't remember her father as she was only a toddler when he died. When Phoebe's sister turned 16, she left the family and enrolled in the police academy, leaving Phoebe to care for her mother who was then growing weaker and weaker from AIDS and TB. In December 2005, the village Pastor saw the severity of Phoebe's situation and she was chosen to become part of the GCCI (Glory Children's City International) project. In January 2006, Phoebe was enrolled in school for the first time in her life. Ironically, Phoebe's home sits on land adjacent to the school. Phoebe says it was the happiest day of her life.

Barefoot and in a second-hand uniform, Phoebe started school and has worked hard at her academic achievements. She continued to care for mother, do the cooking, wood gathering, laundry and water fetching everyday after school. The food rations provided by GCCI were enough to feed both Phoebe and her mother.

In April 2007, Phoebe was chosen to be part of the GCCI Children's choir, Sifa Africa. She traveled with the choir to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, for four weeks to participate in the recording of their first CD, Avi Katonda. When Phoebe returned home she found her mother very near death and in the care of a village lady. Phoebe cared for her mother over the next four months while her mother died a slow, painful, and humiliating death.

Phoebe is now cared for by other villagers while she waits for the GCCI project to open where she will become part of a home with a mother and 9 other siblings.

When you ask Phoebe what she wants to do with her life, she replies that she wants to be a doctor so she can "stop people from dying." She has seen a lot of death because in the village where Phoebe lives, 80% of the population has died of AIDS.