Mikerdo: A Community Stepping Up to Better a LIFE

In May 2021, Nikol, one of the members of Bèl Ewo, myLIFEspeaks' parent support group, got sick and ended up passing away from HIV. She left behind six children, one of them being Mikerdo, who attends LIFE Academy in one of our special education classes. Since Nikol's death, her children have been split up and are living with different family members. The three oldest children were independent and old enough to live by themselves. We continued to keep Mikerdo in the feeding program to ensure he was receiving proper nutrition.

Mikerdo and Adam (Director of Community Development).

Mikerdo went to live with his uncle in Konkrab, a village about 3 miles away from Neply.

MyLIFEspeaks' staff members, Adam and Bethany, checked on Mikerdo monthly when distributing beans, rice, and oil as part of our in-home feeding program.

But when school started back, Mikerdo wasn't showing up. Come to find out it was because he didn't have what he needed; specifically new school uniforms and shoes. It also came to our attention that Mikerdo was refusing to sleep inside the house and would sneak out at night and sleep somewhere else.