Grace provides a loving home for eight orphaned children
Every day in Africa, despite massive efforts to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS, mothers are still dying of the disease, leaving thousands upon thousands of children to fend for themselves. In the slum community of Kibera, it is estimated there are at least 20,000 orphaned children.
A dying mother’s greatest fear is that her children will be alone, abandoned, hungry, vulnerable to every unscrupulous adult. Her deepest desire is to know that someone will take care of her children, love them, feed them, guide them and protect them.
The wonder is that, in the midst of extreme poverty, there are other mothers, often with large families of their own, who will take in another woman’s children to love and care for them. This is for them a huge financial burden, but they are willing to sacrifice in order to mother these orphaned children.
Grace is one of these big hearted women. She has taken eight orphans into her small shelter beside the railway, to feed, love and care for them. She supports them by running a day care, and selling poles for constructing houses. Life, however, in the informal settlement of Kibera is fragile. Grace lives in constant fear of eviction by the Railway authorities. Last year a fire destroyed her home and livelihood. She had to start all over again. Neighbours gave her a little bit of clothing and bedding for the children. Village of Love helped with some start up funds for her pole business.
Grace’s dream for her children is that they grow up to be able to fend for themselves and become responsible citizens.
She is doing everything she can as their mother. She loves them, cares for them, guides and protects them, but she needs our financial support to be able to feed them and keep them in school. Will you join Grace in giving this gift of mothering the motherless?
Through Village of Love, the women do not receive handouts; they receive a hand up, through the micro-loan program. Your donation will empower these heroic women with funds for: micro-loans, small business management training, mentoring and support groups, psycho-social counselling, women’s empowerment meetings and supplementary education fees.
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$35 will provide training for one woman in small business management and the best use of a micro-loan.
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$80 provides a micro-loan for one entrepreneur.
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$25 a month supplies 15 women with mentoring and ongoing support in applying that micro-loan.
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$40 a month provides women’s empowerment meetings for 30 women, and education on HIV/AIDS.