In the extremely poor village of Kijabe, Kenya, there lives a crippled widow named Mary. After her husband died of AIDS a few years ago, she struggled to find food.
While she suffers from HIV, too, Mary’s greatest challenge is a nerve problem in her legs. She has to use crutches to walk and can’t move very far. Most of the day, the pain keeps her seated, so she spends hours reading her Bible while her children are at school.
Mary’s two young children, Robert and Elizabeth, were getting a meal every day through Forward Edge’s feeding program at the local primary school. Every once in a while, there were enough leftovers to bring some home for Mary.
Most days, though, Mary went hungry. She had become stick thin and constantly worried where she’d find her next meal.
Then came the pandemic. Quarantine measures forced our program to pivot from its normal food service at schools to delivering food packages to homes. That’s how we discovered Mary. God used the pandemic to bring us to her.
Immediately, our staff made sure Mary had consistent, nutritious meals. In time, they were even able to build the family a new home and buy Mary a new stove.
Today, months later, Mary’s anxiety is gone. She’s much healthier, has regained lost weight, and is happy again. She even has the strength to go sit outside her home and bask in the sun.
God reached out to Mary with His tangible love not just in spite of this horrible pandemic, but through it. A sweet reminder that no matter what hardships you face, God will work through them.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
-Romans 8:28
Your 100% tax-deductible year-end gift will ensure more people trapped in poverty receive the life-changing support they need to thrive during the pandemic and beyond.
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Habari (hello), my name is John
Kenya
5 yrs. old
01-01-2017
Entered the program: August 2021
John is the third born in a family of four children. He lives with two of his siblings at the home of his late grandmother's sister. John's mother and father abandoned the children to the care of their great aunt because they could not take care of them. John and his siblings have had a very difficult life due to extreme poverty and many problems at home.
John's brother, Laban, is also in the Mama Beth Children's Program.
