Thank you for sharing this powerful story with us. Could you tell us about what inspired you to write it? My story is called “Suffering.” My father’s name is Shika Demzungu and my mother’s name is Jeanne Kiza. I chose to tell this story so that I can teach people, through my life history, that in this world many fathers and even mothers leave their families in different situations.

Georgia Marshall is a sophomore in high school. She lives in Massachusetts and has always loved reading and writing. From a young age, she used the written word as an outlet for her emotions, and the most vital way to express herself. She has had multiple poetry, essay, and short story publications in literary journals including Half and One and Stone Soup.

In 2009, I lived with my family in a village called Baraka in Congo. We were a family of five: my father, my mother, and my two younger brothers, Omari and Eddy. My father did not take care of the family. Instead, we depended on my mother to do odd jobs or farm so that we could eat and have clothes. My father loved a life of leisure and was a drunkard. He never left any money for our needs.