Blessing is like a lot of five year old girls you may know. She loves the colour pink, playing with her friends, and eating candy. But unlike most five year old little girls you may know, Blessing hasn’t had any of her childhood immunizations, doesn’t go to kindergarten or school, and sometimes goes to bed hungry.

Not that you’d know any of that from her bright little smile.

When Blessing lost both of her parents to AIDS, she went to live with her Gogo (grandmother) and her older brother Mandla, aged seven, in the township of Bwari, Abuja in Nigeria. Gogo, while the kindest soul you will ever meet, is sickly and unable to work anymore – leaving them to rely on the kindness of neighbours, and the occasional cheque sent home by her other daughter, to help them make ends meet. But that barely touches the sides, and Gogo worries every day about how she will support these children and keep them healthy.

So when the Rotary Family Health Day event came to Blessing’s village, it was like a dream come true. Blessing and Mandla were able to get all of the vaccinations they needed, including Polio drops. Gogo was able to finally get a new pair of glasses, plus a confirmed diagnosis for Diabetes – something she’d long suspected, but never had the opportunity to be tested for. Medical services had come to them and they had been free. What a blessing, for Blessing.

We know there are children like Blessing in towns and villages we’ve not yet had the opportunity to serve, which is why we’re working to expand our Family Health Day program; nobody should live without access to healthcare, and it’s our goal to ensure nobody does.

This #GivingTuesday please choose to donate to RFHA (Rotary Action Group for Family Health and AIDS Prevention) so that we can take preventive health services to those who need it most – and give children like Blessing an even greater reason to smile.