Beauty from the slum.

The arrival of Gwen into the world brought joy to the heart of many people, why wouldn't it bring happiness?

Her parents were in their fifties, they gave up on having a child but Mrs. Arnold got pregnant miraculously. The pregnancy raised lots of unanswered questions, even doctors couldn't defend science because she already reached menopause.

She was placed under high care because her organs weren't strong enough for the pregnancy stress but the joy of getting pregnant made her strong all through the period. Mr. Arnold was happy when she put her to bed, he stood by all through and even in the labor room.

Gwen began to grow and was loved by everyone, she got names like wonder, miracle, and others, lots of people were fond of her. When she was 3, her mother passed away and it was a heartbreak for her father, he couldn't carry on without her. He fell ill and nursed the illness for three years before he join his wife.

Young Gwen didn't understand what their absence meant until she was 10, the relative in the village who took her in wasn't willing to send her to school anymore even though the father had investment already for her. At 12, she became a full-time hawker.

Gwen would hawk twice a day, the guardian was just mean to her because she was intelligent and beautiful. She wasn't happy doing it but they told her that the profit she made will be saved for her education so it made her put so much energy into it.

On her thirteenth birthday, she asked her guardian when she was returning to school and she was warned never to ask for such again, this made her very bitter. That night, her guardian son harassed her sexually in the kitchen and she stabbed him in the palm. She ran out of the kitchen to report him but she was silenced, they even threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it. They called the whole family and told them that Gwen wanted to kill their son, she is a witch. No one wanted to listen to her story, they only sent threats through the phone.

She was denied food the next morning and given goods to hawk again, she took the tray and left as usual. On her way back, there was pandemonium on the road and she lost her purse while running for safety, few people lost their lives in the clash. Gwen knew going home was suicide so she roamed around begging people for money but she couldn't raise half of what she needed.

She made up her mind not to go home, Gwen wandered around till it was dark. She met an older girl who offered her accommodation for the night after begging for help just for the night, She was scared at a point because they were on the road for over an hour but she would rather die at the hands of a stranger than return home and they finally reached the place. It was a wooden house on the river but she didn't have a choice, Gwen didn't know when she slept off.

Her Guardian didn't look for her and when they heard the news that some people died during the afternoon clash, they wished she was part of them because the majority of the family only wanted to take all the things her parent left for her.

In the morning, she woke up to find herself in a new world. There were hundreds of bamboo houses on the huge body of water, she didn't believe that people were living in such an environment.

It was time for Alice to leave for work and Gwen begged if she could join her at work, the lady refused but after hearing Gwen story, she couldn't deny her help. It was factory work, she gave her a pair of trousers and a top so they set out for work.

Gwen learned quickly and started working, she was paid $2 daily. She was happy and planned to save at least half so she can go to school again and the older lady planned to help her out as well.

Every afternoon Gwen usually hangs around a basketball court close to the factory during her one hour break and she started finding the game interesting. She approached the girls playing and asked if they could teach her every day for 45 minutes, she was referred to the coach who took her in because of her height. It would be hard to believe she was a teenager, she had the face though but her height and strength were that of an 18-year-old girl.

She needed a training kit and broke her piggy bank for it, her new guardian wasn't happy about it because it wasn't part of their plan but she supported her because she looked like someone with a bright future.

A year passed and her family had already forgotten her, they moved on after breaking the false news that she died and the government did a mass burial for the victim of the ethnic clash.

Gwen was working and training, she became an adult even before the right time. She was good with basketball, the coach blessed the day he took her in because he knew she was going places. A competition came and they were to fill a form, she wrote "Slum" in her address and no one understood it, she said she would explain when the time was right.

She got famous at the competition after scoring three-point goals 8 times in one match, it was the first time such would happen. They lost in the knockout stage but she got the highest scorer award that came with a cheque, she slashed it into three, gave two folds to the team, and she gave the rest to her new guardian. Her guardian insisted that she enrolled back in school immediately which she did, it was a kind of private school for adults.

A few months later she was called to the basketball national team, she only trained with the team till she was 17 years old. Gwen helped the country win the continent title with her three points goals, it was just too easy for her to do. The world cup came and they ended as the runner but Gwen got three awards at the World Cup and soon International clubs were chasing to have her signature.

She already moved out of the slum with Alice after the continental cup because she got lots of cash rewards but she still visits the place with food and cash for the people. Gwen eventually signed for the International club and earned six figures in dollars every month, it was a life-changing opportunity. She furthered her education and Alice became the only family the world knew.

A year after, she became the face of UNICEF after buying acres of land where she built houses, schools, and sports training facilities for the children in the slum. At the opening of the million-dollar project she was given free to the people living in the slum, and she gave a speech.

She said, "I wasn't born in the slum but my journey in life must pass through here and that's why I am here today".

"My extended family left me for dead and sister Alice took me in that night, I didn't know where I was until morning. It was a new world to me, I saw a reason why I needed to be great, and successful because I saw myself as a beauty in the slum. The need to help the people in the slum was part of my motivation, I am glad God crowned my hard work and this project is my humble way of appreciating God's grace and blessing over my life".

Lead image.

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