Each month we will be featuring one of the life stories of the King’s Garden Graduates. This month we highlight Emmanuella's story. My name is Emmanuella. My birth date is September 2, 1990. I have five sisters. I had one sister pass away so now I only have four. She died from the earthquake, January 12, 2010. I was very sad because she left my mom with a pain in her heart. I have one older brother. In 2005, my dad passed away my mom did not have enough to take care of us. After my dad’s funeral, all of his family left us. He used to do retail to take care of us. It wasn’t really good because there used to be gun shots in Matisan. Even though there were gun shots, my mom still went out to do business because she can’t stay in the house because she needs to take care of us and feed us even if she can only bring home 5 gouds a day. A few months later I went down to Besantne to see my mom at the dentist where she was working. I used to go see a guy named Phillip each time when I go see my mom and I would always say hi to him and he used to call me daughter and that is how my mom met him. I told him my dad passed away and he said “what would you like me to do for you, my child?” I said to him, “I don’t know.” He thought a little bit and asked “what will you choose? I will pay for your school or find a place for you.” I told him, “let me talk to my mom and I will get back to you.” And I told my mom and she thought about it and she said yes to have him put us somewhere because she didn’t want the young boys in the neighborhood to take advantage of us because she was the only guide for us. A few months later, Mrs. Pricille from King’s Garden called my mom to bring us in. And my mom took me to the King’s hospital. At that time, we went to Basantne to see Mrs. Pricille and my mom signed for us, me, Sindy, Manouchka and Erika. After that my mom left and Mrs. Pricille took us to the orphanage. In 2009, I turned 18. I went back to live with my mom. At that time, my mom was living with my older sister, Minouche and her husband. A few months later, Ms. Jeanty asked for me to come live with her because my sister’s house was too small for all of us and that’s how I went to Ms. Jeanty’s house. She paid for school for me and she put me to work really hard but I wasn’t really worried because I kind of got what I was looking for. After some months I wanted to go back to live with my mom because I was doing a lot of work and that is not was Ms. Jeanty told my mom. I called my mom to come get me because I wasn’t in a good condition like when I was at King’s Garden. Some years later on January 12, 2010 was the earthquake and my sister’s house collapsed and my little sister was inside. The neighbors took her to the hospital but she passed away the same day. After that my mom went to live at the tent city called Chmp de Mars because there were still aftershocks. My mom was crying the whole time because my little sister passed away and I was really sad for my mom. Some months later, my mom built a tent with wood and tarps for us to stay in. At that time, Sindy my little sister turned 18 and it was time for her to leave King’s Garden. Too bad she had to come live in the tent with us. I was thinking about how God sent Sindy back to my mom to help her feel better because it was so many years since she saw her. In 2011 we told Tia (Manouchka and Erika’s adopted mom) we live in a tent in Chmp de Mars and after a month Tia sent us a tent. My mom put it on a piece of property that my grandpa gave us when my dad passed. One time Tia came to visit us and saw the place and she thought she could help to build a house. Sadly it wasn’t big enough. One month later she called my mom and told her that she and Lynn (Sindy’s sponsor) will pay rent for us where we are living now. I am always thinking when I am done with school I would like to go to University to be an electrician or to be a nurse so I can help my family. I trust God one day my dream will come true. When I have a job I will mostly help people who are in need, like those kids without parents. That is all I want to do in my heart. Thank you, love you.