A Silent Struggle: Carlinho’s Story – Left Behind by Health and Hope
Carlinho’s Story In the bustling streets of Angola, where the new academic year has just begun, the sounds of children’s laughter and footsteps echo through the corridors of freshly reopened schools. For many, it’s a time of excitement, of promise, of learning. But for Carlinho , a 15-year-old boy, the beginning of the school year brings only silence and shadows. Since the age of five, Carlinho has lived with a large, painful inflammation on his cheek— a swelling the size of a small tennis ball . It’s not just a visible wound—it’s a symbol of a health system that failed him, a life put on pause by poverty, and a dream slowly slipping away. While other children—his friends, his siblings—walk to school in clean uniforms, holding books and carrying hope in their eyes, Carlinho remains at home , watching from afar. His world grows smaller each year. He lives with his elderly grandmother, who does her best with what little they have. Some days, Carlinho looks pale, d...
