Hello,
My name is Ruth. I have just received my second monthly portion of food and am waiting for my son to come with a bicycle to help me get this food to our home. Annie, the mzunga (white person) IRM, asked me a lot of questions about my life. Here is the story I told her.
I live in a small village, about 20 kilometres from here. I left our home at 6 am this morning because I did not want to be late for the distribution. We are also asked to help to help take the bags from the storage and prepare the piles. There are a lot of people here today – they told us that there were 400 families coming to collect their portion today. There are also some people who came, hoping there would be extra but since they are not on the beneficiary list, they were told that, sadly, there was no food for them. I feel sorry for them but some of us have already pledged to give 1 kg of our maize each month to help feed the orphans in this village who are part of the “God’s children” program at the local church here.
Hungry Goats
I am so thankful for this project as I have 14 children to feed; 4 boys and 10 girls. They range in age from 2 to 22. My husband is unemployed and as I am occasionally able to get some small odd jobs, he stays with the children. When Annie asked, I was able to assure her that, yes, he is a good help and does cooking, cleaning and laundry duties very well when I am at work. The children had not been attending school before the first food came. With only one or two small meals of ugali or casava per day, they did not have enough energy. School is from 7 am to 4 pm and the walk is one hour each way. This past month their energy has returned and they now go to school happily and even take a little lunch along! The school is free but the teachers have up to 100 students each.
Hard at Work
Our cow died last year due to illness. We used to have 4 goats to provide us with milk but we had to sell them because we could no longer feed or give them water. Our water source is a 3-hour walk away from home and we have to pay 5 shillings for 20 litres of water. We use only what water is absolutely necessary for living.
I have given birth to 14 children. The first was born at a dispensary (clinic) but the rest came too quickly and the clinic is far away. I was attended by a “midwife”. She has had no official training but has lots of experience. I carry the babies on my back with a wrap everywhere I go for the first two years and breast feed them about that long too.
I really enjoy working in the water pan for my 12 days per month especially since I have lots of energy now. I am very happy to earn my food and am excited at the idea that soon my water supply will be closer to home. It feels so good to have energy again! The amount of food we receive really sustains us and we are so grateful. We have had other projects in this area before. Some have given much smaller portions, some promised food never came and a “work for cash” project resulted in no money ever being received. I am so pleased with this World Renew project. We were fed even before we started to work. The names of the beneficiaries and the criteria to receive food were posted so we could trust that this is a fair project. Every bag was given to the beneficiaries with the green cards – none was missing and none was left over.
I am so thankful to God for His provision for me and my family!
It is now 2:30 pm and my son has arrived with his bicycle. We will load the 50 kg. bag of maize on the bicycle and I will carry the 10 kg. of split peas and oil home on my head. We need to leave now. If not, we will need to walk in the dark. Tomorrow I will happily and gratefully start digging at the water pan again, as promised, to pay for this food.
*This guest blog is based on an interview with Ruth (not her real name)
This story tore at my heart. I grew up in a family of 13 kids. I was the 10 child. This reminds me of my mother and father who worked to keep us fed and clean. This was here In Canada some 40 years ago. My heart goes out to this family with 14 kids.
Love be with you.
Diane
This is inspiring, to read what this woman has to do, but with such gratitude. It was good to ‘hear’ the story from her perspective, and to know how they appreciate what World Renew is doing.
Wow. Thanks for sharing your stories. What an inspiration. What a story of grace and perseverance. You continue to be in our daily prayers! Kirsten, Matthew and Emily say hi.
Love,
James and Joy
So good to read this story – a real life perspective of how difficult life can be for some people and yet how thankful they are in spite of it- blessings can be found in every situation – keep up the good work Harry and Annie- our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Thank you so much for taking us along on your journey, we look forward to reading about your adventures every week, many bring tears to my eyes.
So good to hear first hand how some of the funds for World Renew are being distributed. Great job Harry & Annie!
May God be with you every step of the way!
Connie & Bill
What a cool post, thanks for sharing “Ruth’s” story. It really gives me perspective when I read stories like hers. It’s amazing what you guys are doing, looking forward to more posts!
i do not know what to say! this blog was a face and a voice of a real person, who is so grateful for the abundance she has received. Ironically, by western standards, that abundance is a meagre portion.