Nhamo is the protagonist of A Girl Named Disaster. She is 11 years old at the start of the novel. She lives in a remote village in Mozambique with her mother’s family. When Nhamo was three years old, her mother, Runako, was killed by a leopard. Her father abandoned the family and village before Nhamo knew him, thus shaming the family and alienating Nhamo. Nhamo is a lonely outsider because of her familial dynamics. Her grandmother “insisted on keeping her” (56) although her family disapproved of her birth. Grandmother has also “treated her kindly” (56) ever since, despite Nhamo’s aunts’ constant attempts to get rid of her. Grandmother is therefore Nhamo’s only ally. However, Grandmother cannot ultimately satisfy all of Nhamo’s longings and needs.

Nhamo is an imaginative and spirited child. She spends her time venturing through the woods that surround her village, devoting herself to endless lists of chores, and communing with her late mother’s spirit in her secret spot on a distant hill. These pastimes occupy Nhamo’s days and soothe her often-restless spirit. However, when Nhamo repeatedly encounters a leopard in the forest and the village is overcome by cholera, Nhamo starts to fear for her life.