Meet Miss Ayanda Dube, age 17.
Ayanda is fantastic. She is ambitious, loud, intelligent, and a strong leader. She arrived at Peniel Centre when we only had about a week left of being in Zim, so we didn't get to know her too well, but loved the chance we got! This girl can change things. I believe she is a future leader of Zimbabwe.
Ayanda has never met her father and doesn't even know his name. Her mother hasn't been in contact for many years and is believed to be working as a prostitute in South Africa. She was raised by her maternal grandmother until she passed away before Ayanda started high school. She now had no way to support herself to go to school, and had to drop out. However, because she loves school so much, she asked her former school teachers to help her find a place to live and a way to continue with school. They approached Gideon and Jennifer, and after assessing her situation, she was brought to Peniel Centre and enrolled in high school again. It was especially important to them that Ayanda have a safe place to live and a way to attend school because of the high likelihood that she could have gotten trapped in the prostitution lifestyle.
A large obstacle that Ayanda is currently facing is her lack of a birth certificate. Without one, kids in Zimbabwe cannot play sports on their school teams or take exams. She is an excellent athlete, but the school recently had to force her to quit because of her inability to show them proof of her age and citizenship. This will also present difficulties when the time comes for her to take her exams to pass high school. Peniel Centre is working on the situation - generally, if a blood relative is involved in the process, it is much easier, but Ayanda has no family left. They will soon be traveling to the hospital where it is believed that Ayanda was born to see if they still have those records. Please pray that they are able to obtain her birth certificate! It is very demoralizing and discouraging for her to not have it.
Pray for Ayanda. Pray, once again, that the staff at Peniel can figure out a way to obtain a birth certificate for her. Pray that her joyful spirit is never crushed. Pray that she would find ways to cultivate her leadership abilities. Pray that she would always feel the peace that passes all understanding.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21.
