JFM
The dry smile on Maria’s face is fleeting. It speaks of the many struggles of the 54-year-old single parent who lives in Bukela village. When she got married decades ago, she left her hometown of Kakoola for Bukela to get married to a man who worked as a casual laborer hoping to start a family with him. It was not to be. She did get married, but one day, her husband of 10 years, like most men in the informal settlement, left home one morning to look for work; in this case, he never returned. “I don’t know where he went. He never came back”, says Ms. Maria
Maria had four children who had not attended school for two years. During the day, when their mother is looking for manual jobs, the older ones look after their little ones. Without a formal job, her family is not guaranteed a meal.
On a lucky day, we take one meal, but water has been our present daily help most of the time, and we mainly depend on goodwill. The shack they call home is rented for Uganda Shillings UGX 30,000, and she is six months in arrears. She is in debt, including at the nearby grocery shop. At one point, the caretaker almost evicted her for not paying her rent. It was during the rainy season, she recalls. But she was kind enough to let her back in the house when she saw her babies crying in the cold. They agreed that she could pay any amount she could get. Thankfully, JFM’s delivery guy from his own cleared six months of Uganda Shillings UGX 180000 and put a smile on this lady’s face.
Most of the jobs she gets are laundry which pays very little; JFM was aware of her situation and helped her out because these are the kind of people we preach the gospel to.
What makes matters worse is that poverty and diseases go hand in hand; she had stopped long to taste sugar, saying it’s a luxury, but JFM provided, and her face lit up.
A great thanks to our dear loyal donors for always helping such underprivileged people facing poverty. You are the only reason we can do what we do.
Feeding the tummy lasts a day, feeding the soul lasts a lifetime.
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