ABSTRACT

Unoma is nine years old. She lives in Asaba, Nigeria. Her home, next to the River Niger, is one small room in a low-income settlement shared with her unmarried aunt and five other girls. Four other families share the house. Unoma and her neighbors have no access to clean water and no toilets. She does not go to school. Unoma begins her 15-hour day at 6:00 a.m. cleaning the house. She then spends the day selling food she has prepared-carrying up to five kilos of fufu on her head all day. After selling for nine hours, she returns to collect water for the house and cook. She collects 300 liters of water from a borehole and finally goes to sleep at 9:00 p.m. She is always very tired and often gets ill. But Unoma still hopes to go to school one day.1