meet Andrise...
Andrise
lives in Leogane, Haiti – the epicenter of the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people, and affected millions more. Andrise was one of the millions affected. She was just an infant when the earthquake took her father and left her mother, Willienne, scrambling to provide for her and her two brothers. Without any means of support, Willienne and her children moved in with her mother and father in a neighboring community.
THE PROBLEM Andrise, now 4, has never known when she would eat, or even if she would eat a meal on any given day. Her family depends on harvesting their tiny garden for survival. Rain is the only resource they have to water their crops, so if there is no rain, or if it rains too much, the family goes hungry. Andrise has suffered for as long as a whole week without food. When there is no food to eat, her mother makes Andrise a tea from leaves to try to ease her hunger pains. Frequently, there is nothing to eat and Andrise’s mom isn’t sure how she will feed her hungry children. “We don’t know… We are relying on God’s providence,” she said.
“We only eat once a day, whenever we find the money to buy food,” said Andrise's mom, Willienne.
Andrise is innocently unaware that the longer she goes hungry, the more malnutrition is ravaging her body and robbing her of essential nutrients she needs to grow and thrive. Andrise, instead, is focused on playing. She likes to cook “pretend food” and share her make-believe meals with her two brothers.
“I like to cook. I share with my brothers and they cook for me, too. I would like to be a cook when I grow up,” she said.
But Andrise isn’t always in the mood to play. “When I’m hungry I try to sit down and I just stay like that,” she said softly. If she has eaten even a little bit of food however, everything changes. “I feel good!” she exclaimed excitedly about how she feels when she has had something to eat. “When I finish eating, I put my plate to wash and then I go and play. I feel like playing, I am in a happy mood,” she said.
Andrise is already starting to experience serious health problems. Her stomach is full of parasites, her mom said, and Andrise frequently complains about her stomach hurting. Her mother also pointed out that Andrise always has a cold and regularly has breathing problems.
“I feel as if my heart is pouring out...” Willienne said. “I ask God for strength and courage so I can provide for my children and take care of them.”
What You Can Do to Help you can give a child like Andrise a healthy childhood and a promising future. And now, since a generous donor has given us a matching food grant, you have an opportunity to provide even more food to hungry children and their families. For every dollar you give, this generous donor will match it with a dollar’s worth of food. This means your gift will go even further to feed children like Andrise, who are so desperate for food. Please be a blessing for poor children today!
HUNGER
is not Child's Play
HUNGER
is not Child's Play • Poor nutrition makes a child vulnerable to sickness and diarrhea. If left untreated, these illnesses will reduce a child’s body weight and resistance to disease. • Without adequate nutrition, a child’s growth and intellectual development can be stunted, and they are susceptible to life-threatening diseases. • Extreme hunger prevents children from getting an education, and the chance to break the cycle of poverty. * (TeachUNICEF, 2014)
6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073 954-427-2222 • www.FoodForThePoor.org/andrise