Nineteen-year-old Pedro, from Mozambique, has five brothers, three sisters and no parents. As the eldest, he became head of the household at the tender age of 16.
Life has been hard for everyone in the isolated province of Tete, where a recurring cycle of drought and flood has exhausted local food supplies.
But with no adults to rely on for support, it has been especially hard for Pedro and his siblings. The burden of worrying about his family’s wellbeing weighs heavily on Pedro’s young shoulders.
What happens if one of his sisters or brothers falls sick? Pedro said he’d have to go and find whatever work he could get to gather some money so he could take them to the hospital, which is 14 kilometres away. Or to the village’s traditional healer, who is within easier reach.
If he is the one who falls sick, then he would have to send his siblings out to beg for some work, any work in other people’s fields, and hope for their mercy.
And then there is the daily struggle to have enough food to eat. “Sometimes,” says Pedro, “we had no food at all”.
In 2010, Pedro and his siblings were among those who received food aid at a World Vision distribution centre in Tete Province. On ration day he would rise at 3am and walk for five hours to reach the distribution centre. “I was tired when I got back home, but my sisters and brothers were so happy,” Pedro explained. “They were laughing and singing again, and we had a good meal.”
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