Rosenda "Perseverance"

Photography by Randy Bacon

“I will never give up.” 

Rosenda, a widowed mother of nine children, grandmother of 12 and refugee camp resident spoke the words “I will never give up” four years ago, and she continues to persevere. As the stench of the standing water from the torrential rain that occurred hours earlier permeates the refugee camp air, flies and mosquitoes swarm around Rosenda and her family. They huddle under their tiny hut built of sticks, tin and plastic.

Rosenda and her family scrape by each day in a rural refugee camp where scrawny chickens seem to outnumber children and thieves have their way.Barking dogs with barely enough meat on their bones to survive scamper around the family begging for food that nobody has enough of. Along with the emotional toll of the recent murder of her husband, Rosenda and her family plunged even deeper into poverty.  But she did not give up. She refuses to give up.

“I was very sick and God lifted me up, and now I am well. I want to be the light to others."