She bends over her notebook, working on her Tonga language writing skills. She’ll work on her homework more after dinner – after she has cleaned up and helped her grandmothers into bed.

In the morning she’ll wake up at 5am and work on washing her grandmothers’ clothes, a process that again involves fetching water and then scrubbing each article by hand. She’ll do this and sweep the home before she walks the seven kilometres to school for a day of trying to focus on her studies while thinking about all that must be done when she returns home.

There are times when Chipo’s days begin without school. When her grandmother goes to Livingstone to sell the family’s vegetables, Chipo is the only one available to help her elders get through their days. So for three or four days in a row, Chipo will miss school as she stays home cooking and cleaning for her disabled elders, helping them get to the toilet and to bathe.

It’s easy to fall behind on schoolwork during these times of absence. The last time her grandmother was away, Chipo failed an exam. But what choice does she have? The family must sell vegetables to make money, and her grandmothers need almost constant assistance to survive.

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