We were on the way back to a town after distributing food in several villages when the officials In our journey we encounter so many touching testimonies but we just want to share one of many.
Accompanying us asked us to visit one particularly poor family. I (Linda) was told they live a long way off the main road and we would have to go by motor bike. It was advised for my safety that I ride on the back of one of the male officer’s motor bike as he was a very stable driver. I shortly understood why as we were soon on a very long twisting narrow path with deep drainage channels either side flowing with black and smelly water. In fact I was so nervous I prayed the whole journey.
Eventually we arrived at a hut to meet a young couple who were carrying their daughter who had water on the brain. They shared that when she was born her head just kept growing, but they had no money for treatment.
I could see the mother’s deep sadness that she couldn’t set her daughter free of pain and suffering.
Watching the love they showed the child was deeply moving. Even though she was severely handicapped the mother had done her best to make the little girl look pretty by giving her a small golden coloured bracelet.
That family’s poverty did not diminish their love.
Our planning procedure for helping areas in poverty has us get an application form and a photo
from each family requesting help. We had seen that in that photo the girl’s mother did her best to make the child look beautiful, even giving her a new colourful flowered pillow case.
The child’s mother poured out much love over that little one, even though the child would never be able to show love back to her mother.
Life is hard for the poor, but much harder again when they have a handicapped child. We were able to join our love with that of the parent’s by helping them with enough food for a month and some additional money.