Imagine a child, seven years old, living in a garbage dump and watching both her mother and father die slowly of AIDS-related illnesses.
This was reality for Erminia before she joined Forward Edge’s program for at-risk girls in Nicaragua called Village of Hope.
If Erminia had continued to grow up living in the dump, she likely would have had a teenage pregnancy (one in four girls do in Nicaragua). That could have happened through rape, a drug-induced mistake, or even forced prostitution—all things not uncommon among girls living in the dump.
One thing is almost certain: if Erminia had stayed in the dump, she would have dropped out of school, married a much older man to relieve the economic burden for her parents, and borne her first child before the age of 15. Depressed, uneducated, and undervalued, she would have been another link in the endless chain of heartbreaking poverty.
She came to under the care of our Nicaragua Directors at the Village of Hope, Wilbert Alvarado and Gloria Sequeira. One of the first things Wilbert and Gloria did was tend to Erminia’s medical needs and test her blood to see if she had contracted HIV from either of her parents; thank God she hadn’t.
Erminia’s new life at the Village of Hope came with regular nutritious meals, safe drinking water, clean clothes, professional counseling, and the chance to go to a first-rate Christian school.
Today, nine years later, Erminia’s life is completely transformed. She is physically and emotionally healthy; flourishing in her school work; and growing in her relationship with Christ. She now dreams of being a doctor someday so she can, in her words, “help others with more problems than mine.”
There is a specific moment in Erminia’s story that profoundly illustrates why we do what we do together through Forward Edge. It was when Erminia went to the hospital to visit her mother for the last time.
As Erminia held her mother’s hand and said goodbye, her mother told her in a weak, defeated voice, “You’re going to be an orphan now.”
“No I’m not,” Erminia replied. “I have Papa Wilbert and Mama Gloria.”
The amount of suffering among children in this world is great—sometimes overwhelming to think about—but as Mother Teresa once said, “If you can’t feed 100 people, then feed just one.” For that one, our help means the world.
In Zaachila, on the outskirts of Oaxaca City, Mexico, live many impoverished families who’ve traveled from distant areas in search of more opportunities and a better life…only to find themselves confronted with the same devastating and debilitating effects of poverty: hunger, joblessness, water-borne illness, lack of education, gang violence, drug
2021 has been an incredible year. At Forward Edge, our hearts swell with gratitude for all God has done. His awesome faithfulness through another difficult year has been such a blessing to witness. Children around the world are discovering their true worth and purpose and growing in intimacy with Jesus,
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Many of us have seen profile photos of children in sponsorship programs; they are often solemn, sad and sometimes down-right angry looking. I know I have thought at times, “Wow, that poor child must be so unhappy!” But then I come across a video from the same organization in which
5 yrs. old
Entered the program: May 2025
Matinah lives with her grandmother, two aunts, her brother and several cousins in a four-room bungalow-style house with cement floors and semi-plastered walls. The family has its own outdoor bathroom facility with an attached toilet which is well-constructed. Water is collected from a nearby communal well and boiled for drinking. The family owns a 3-bulb solar panel for lighting. The kitchen is outside and firewood is used for cooking.
Matinah’s mother died in childbirth and her father developed deep depression which led to a mental breakdown. His whereabouts are unknown. Matinah’s grandmother is raising her and her brother, with help from their aunts.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
