November 2016
The spirit of Thanksgiving amid poverty
Pg.2
poor materially, but rich in faith
Pg. 6
what will tomorrow bring Pg.4
Page 2
A poor community held together by prayer Fervent prayer and faith in God hold together this nomadic community made up of a labyrinth of tiny houses off a main road in Ca Ira, Haiti. In this newsletter you will read about three families who, like many of the families living here, were left homeless after the 2010 earthquake, and found refuge together on a once empty parcel of land.
Nothing but faith in God
Like the children of Israel, they moved constantly, wandering through Haiti while searching for a permanent home. Ninety-eight families eventually settled in Ca Ira and are now barely surviving by sharing their meager blessings with each other and sharing a faith that is much more solid than the flimsy hovels sheltering them.
*H aiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere *M ore than 50% of Haitians live in abject poverty *2 out of 3 Haitians live on less than $2 a day * 1 00,000 children under the age of 5 suffer from severe malnutrition Sources: United Nations and CIA World Factbook
Y
ousline, 10, sits outside the shack she shares with her family and dreams of a better life.
She dreams of having enough food to eat to ease her hunger pains and a sturdy house to keep out the rats that scurry across the dirt floor. She dreams of going to school.
“I want to go to school. My friends all have homework to do when they come home from school,� Yousline said. But for now, an education is just another dream, much like a real house where this little girl can sleep peacefully through the night. Her grandmother, Marie, struggles to raise Yousline and her siblings in the tin-and-cardboard shack in Ca Ira, Haiti. With only one bed for her and her siblings to share, Yousline is tormented at night when she tries to sleep.
“When I go inside, the mosquitoes bite me. I sleep on the floor,” she said. Living in their leaky house fills Marie with fear that the children might get seriously ill. When it rains and the bedding is damp and the floor turns to mud, Yousline and her siblings are at risk of getting a respiratory infection.
“I’m afraid they might get sick and die,” Marie said. One of Marie’s biggest worries is that they will get evicted from their home because the property owner is eager to reclaim the land. Marie and her family survive from one day to the next in their stiflingly hot shack, not knowing when they will be forced to move again. But the spirit of caring is strong in this little community because they have all survived hardships by having faith and sharing what little blessings they have with one another. Although Yousline and her siblings often have just scraps or nothing at all to eat, her family celebrates the spirit of Thanksgiving year-round. They constantly pray and thank God for what little they have while pleading to Him for help. Marie prays at night while she lies upon her rag mat to sleep, worrying about the future of her grandchildren.
“I ask God, ‘What can You do for us to take us out of here and give us a better life?’” Marie said. Marie teaches Yousline and the other children to have faith and patience. She instills in Yousline and her siblings that God will hear their cries for a safe home and food on their empty plates. But it is in His timing and so for now, all they have is faith and prayers.
“Lord, my God, I call out by day; at night I cry aloud in Your presence.” (Psalm 88:2)
You can make Yousline’s dreams of a safe home, food on the table and an education a reality. Through your generosity, Food For The Poor can provide a better life for children like Yousline and their families. You can be the means through which God answers the prayers of children like Youseline who need safe shelter from poverty’s vicious storms.✦
Page 3
Page 4
“God only knows what tomorrow will bring.” T
ears roll down 1-year-old Jasmine’s face as her grandmother holds her tight. She is too young to understand why she must endure living in the scorching heat inside this miserable hovel with a dirt floor, leaky roof and insects that bite her. But her grandmother, Lorrette, understands all too well. Lorrette, her daughter and five grandchildren squeeze inside their tiny tin shack because they became nomads after they lost their home and nearly everything they owned in the devastating 2010 earthquake. Lorrette and her family packed their meager belongings and joined their neighbors in an exodus to find new homes. Finding empty land in Ca Ira, Haiti, Lorrette and her neighbors constructed fragile homes from whatever materials they could find. The shack Jasmine is growing up in is made of rusted tin and pieces of shredded fabric. It is so small, there is barely any room for all to sit inside. The roof leaks and one wall is barely standing. Jasmine and her siblings sleep on the dirt floor where the children are vulnerable to rats and insects that wander freely into the hovel. Yet in this community is a strong sense of faith and sharing. When one family has a little food, they share it with one another, even though it’s not enough.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; praise shall be always in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:2)
“When I have food, I share it. God says to share something when you have it, not wait for the next day. The next day will take care of itself,” said Marie, one of Lorrette’s neighbors.
“There is no beginning that doesn’t have an end, so I hope my misery will soon be over and God will bless me,” Lorrette said. The children sit in the stifling hot shack, as Lorrette carefully pours a small amount of water to wash their hands. As they eat the small amount of food, Lorrette’s worried expression tells the story of the anguish she feels inside, but her faith endures.
“God only knows what tomorrow will bring,” she said. You can help answer Lorrette’s prayers for a brighter tomorrow. Food For The Poor works to provide safe housing and food for children like Jasmine and her siblings. We rely on the generosity of donors like you to answer a grandmother’s call to God for a safe home and a better future for her family. You can transform the lives of poor families by sharing your blessings with those in desperate need. ✦
Page 5
Page 6
Materially poor, but rich in spirit A
t the young age of 12, Ellen already is a hard worker.
Her fingers nimbly strip apart used rice bags from the trash so her grandmother, Charitable, can weave the strands into rope that they can sell. It’s the family business, and though they make less than $1 a day, it’s all they have to put food on the table. It’s too hot and dark to stay inside, so Ellen works under the blazing sun outside her family’s tin shack in Ca Ira, Haiti. There is no shade in the packed rows of tin shacks, and the temperatures soar even in the winter. Even worse, her tiny hovel doesn’t have a door that locks, which means anyone could easily break inside and harm this young girl. Ellen’s neighbors help them when they are able, just as Charitable and her family share what blessings they receive form the Lord.
“We get on our knees and pray that someone will help us. We wait for God to take us out of our misery,” said Charitable. It is the spirit of sharing and their faith in God that has enabled Ellen and her family to survive in these harsh conditions. Their faith is their rock and their comfort. “When we don’t have anything we get something from our neighbors. God says to share what you have, so when you have something you share it,” Charitable said. “We all live together, and we are all poor together.” Your compassion enables Food For The Poor to provide safe housing, food and other necessities to families like Ellen’s. You can be the means through which God answers fervent prayers and lifts up those who have so little. ✦
“Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” (Luke 3:11b)
“When I ask something to God, I get an answer from Him,” Jessica once said.
God answered Jessica’s prayers through you! You heard the heartbreaking prayers of this little girl and stepped in to help answer them. When we first met sweet Jessica she was 9 years old. She was sitting on a moldy, damp mattress in a rusty zinc-and-cardboard shack in Honduras. When it rained, the dirt floor of her home turned to mud. When the wind pounded, the flimsy walls would shake and frighten Jessica and her siblings. Through your outpouring of love and generosity, Jessica’s prayers were answered and she now lives in a solid concrete home with a roof that doesn’t leak and a door that locks. Her house even has jalousie windows to keep out the rain, roaches and rodents.
Before
“I asked God and God answered my prayers. He always answers prayers. You just have to pray with love,” Jessica told us when we visited her again in her beautiful new house. Thanks to the kindness of compassionate people like you, Jessica now goes to school and has her very own Bible she reads from every day. She and her family are so happy and grateful living in their solid Food For The Poor home that generous donors like you helped provide! “Our change is so big. I am working. I can make a living. We live safe and clean. Little by little, we will get ahead. I have strong faith,” said Jessica’s mother. ✦
After
Page 7
Angels Wanted
A monthly giving club to sponsor orphans
Life for innocent children before they came to an Angels Of Hope orphanage was marked by neglect, abuse, loneliness and despair.
Right now, hundreds of precious children are waiting for your help. When you give a monthly gift of $34 to sponsor an orphaned or abandoned child through our Angels Of Hope program, you become a messenger of God’s love.
“It’s more than a sponsorship, it’s a relationship!”
_____________
_______________________________________________
For just a little more than a dollar a day , you can help provide all the essentials a child needs to grow and develop.
_______________________________________________
Please, become an Angel Of Hope today!
or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/sponsororphan today.
_____
To learn more, email angelsofhope@foodforthepoor.org
A project of AN1610 / DM6593 • 11/16