Charity* felt the first of the raindrops on her skin. With a glance at the darkening sky, the 60-year-old widow quickly covered her handmade samosas before they were ruined. After packing up her things, she made the muddy journey home from a market in Nairobi, Kenya.
Charity’s workday might be over unexpectedly, but her hardships are ever present.
Like countless women living in poverty worldwide, she shoulders the burden of being her family’s only wage earner.
It’s a heavy load. Her situation is so precarious that even a rainy afternoon is a setback. She can’t protect herself from the elements, so her daily wage is weather-dependent.
That’s on top of the lingering devastation caused by COVID-19. Charity used to earn an income by selling fish, too, but lost her supplier during the pandemic. With price increases, she can’t afford to hire someone else. So, while part of the world slowly recovers, millions like Charity continue to suffer losses. Her meager, unstable income simply can’t support her dependents. Her family survives by skipping meals and sacrificing other needs, such as school fees.
As Charity perseveres under these overwhelming circumstances, your prayers and support are reaching her with resources, opportunities, and the hope that God cares for her.
Charity received emergency food support for her large family. This help is not only nourishing them but also gives her a reprieve from spending limited resources on meals so she can save for her small business. “I have become very disciplined in my savings journey and I’m planning on expanding my business,” she explained. “I’ll buy a large umbrella, since on rainy days I’m forced to close.”
She is also receiving vocational training to help her succeed in the marketplace and develop her roadside stand so it can sustain her family. She has also been able to put money aside for school fees for the grandchildren who depend on her. “You have helped me through a lot,” Charity said.
Charity stands in God’s love. Her small business is growing, but even more so is her trust in Him. “My favorite Scripture is Matthew 6:25: ‘Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?’”
You can help women like Charity* come out of poverty and exploitation and know the hope found only in Christ.
With a gift of $50, you can share in the cost of safe housing for a woman and her children. A gift of $100 provides job skills training, and $350 gives one woman, like Charity, a small business start-up kit.
*Name changed.
The hardships women in the developing world face often leave them without hope. Through your generous gifts, Samaritan's Purse is working to restore the hope of women through programs aimed at increasing literacy, providing maternal health care, teaching livelihood skills, and stopping trafficking and prostitution.