Florinda, 14, comes from Angola, a country in West Africa. When war reached her home town, her family fled to neighbouring country Zambia. Tragically her father was shot dead by soldiers as they were all trying to escape. The rest of the family ended up living in tents in a refugee camp in Zambia for two years.

Florinda (in the white top), with a friend

When the war was over they wanted to return to Angola. ‘The journey was terrible because we had to wake up early in the morning and walk until midday. When the sun became too strong we had to stop under the shadow of a tree,' explains Florinda. ’Around 2pm we would continue walking until night. The hardest thing was that we had no food, so we had to keep walking without eating anything.’

Two months later they still hadn't reached their old home. So they've settled in a village with lots of other families who couldn't get home either.  

Henoque, 10, is Florinda's little brother

'I’ve decided we’ll stay here because my sister is in this village,' says Florinda’s mother Anita, 'although when we arrived there had been a lot of rain so all the crops were damaged.’ 

The family are putting the finishing touches to their new house. 'We need to put some mud in the walls,' Anita says.

When the family arrived at the village they had nothing, not even a blanket. IECA, a charity supported by Christian Aid, has just given the family a homestarter kit. This includes a bucket, seeds, blankets and knives.

At the moment Florinda and her brother Henoque aren’t able to go to school because their mum can’t afford to buy any school materials. ‘I’m hoping that I will be able to go to school next year because I have never been before,' smiles Florinda.