While working at the Mount Zion school, I met a three-year-old girl named Princess. Aside from being a beautiful child, there was something else about her serenity that had me captivated from the moment I saw her. Princess was not in my class, yet I developed a strong relationship with her despite the language barrier. During my second week at the school, Princess developed a case of malaria. I came to school in the morning and found her lying on a mat in one of the classrooms. When I went to ask her sister, Christiana what was wrong, I learned that she was very sick but that her mother had forced her to go to school. I immediately told Christiana that we needed to take her home. We walked the twenty minutes to their home and were greeted warmly by their mother. However, it quickly became clear that something was not right: Christiana and Princess both had sores all over their legs which their mother claimed was from bugs and I got three different stories about where their father was. After saying she would not be able to pay for or take Princess to the hospital. My program director and I took it into our own hands and took Princess to a nearby clinic. Princess had a fever of 102.4 degrees. We bought her the appropriate medications, but could only hope that her mother would give them to her properly. Additionally, when we took her back home, we learned that for the past two years of her life, Princess has been sick at least twice a month. Princess has clearly not had an easy life yet, despite her hardships, has managed to mature far beyond her three years of age. She lights up any room that she walks into and has a contagious smile. Princess was the only child who never once asked me for anything and showed genuine appreciation for everything that she does has. She deserves so much and I only hope that I can one day return to Ghana to help her. She reminded me to never take anything for granted.
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