Making it On Her Own

Zakiya was abandoned by her mother and placed in foster care when she was 6. Despite being separated from her siblings and moving to 15 different homes and six high schools, she remained a straight-A student. But she was always ashamed of living in foster care and never wanted anyone to know.

At 21, Zakiya aged out of the foster care system and no longer received financial help. She appeared the Dr. Phil episode "The Dr. Phil Foundation: Helping Kids," and Dr. Phil, along with the help from WalMart.com gave her a new HP Notebook computer and a WalMart gift card for $500. As a child, Zakiya and her siblings used to attend Camp To Belong, an organization that reunites siblings who've been placed in separate foster homes. The founder, Lynn Price, tells Zakiya she wants her to work for the camp. Lynn will mentor Zakiya and help her find a college nearby to attend. And, The Dr. Phil Foundation made a donation to Camp To Belong to go toward covering Zakiya's salary for an entire year as well as her cost of housing.