Meet Stessy. This precious four-year-old lives in Haiti. Her home is literally a tent.
And it’s not even a nice tent… their “tent” is actually a combination of tarps and sheets propped up on sticks. There’s a bed at the back, a small pile of dishes in the corner, a wooden table and a small stove set carefully in the open space on the ground in the middle. And that’s it. Can you imagine?
At night Stessy’s mom, Widelène, takes a piece of corrugated metal and props it over the tent’s “door.” She has a small chain she uses to lock this piece of metal to the wooden stakes. That’s all the security she can give Stessy and her sister.
This is the only life little Stessy has ever known.
Even harder to wrap your head around than where she lives is what she eats each day.
On good days, they have one meal. Usually it’s just some bread and a little coffee to wash it down. The caffeine gives Stessy a little energy, but no real nutrition. On bad days they have nothing.
This is where Stessy and her family live.
You see, Stessy’s father abandoned them a few years ago leaving Stessy, her older sister and her mom all on their own. Her mom got pregnant with her older sister when she was just 17 so she didn’t have a chance to finish school. She does laundry for people whenever she can to earn a little money. At most, she makes about $13. In a month.
“This life we’re living,” Stessy’s mom says, “is not what I dreamed for me and my family.”
And yet, Stessy’s mom does what all moms do – she does her best to make each day as good as she can for her family. “Every day I am trying to make my tent a comfortable living space for me and my children” she says.
Little Stessy and her family are the reason Childcare Worldwide feeding programs are so important!
Thanks to gifts like yours, Childcare Worldwide is able to provide Stessy and her family with a Critical Care Pak. She couldn’t believe all the food we’d brought. There was a bag of rice almost as big as her, another bag full of beans, a big jug of oil, and even some canned fish!
There was a feast in their little tent that night, bigger than any Stessy could remember!
But a Critical Care Pak is so much more than just meals, and money saved. For Stessy and her family, that gift meant hope.
Giving thanks for this gift of food, Stessy’s mom said, “food is our big challenge, but God always protects me and helps me in any situation,” adding hopefully, “we hope that God will provide more happy memories for my family.”
With full bellies, their world looked so much brighter. And each of them started to believe that the brighter future they dream of is possible.
Childcare Worldwide is a Christian child sponsorship ministry that shares the gospel, provides hope, and helps impoverished children around the world. We serve through children’s ministries, children’s homes, in many countries around the world. Childcare Worldwide is grateful to partner with generous people all over the world to build a better life for kids in need. If you’re interested in feeding hungry children like Stessy click here to learn how you can help.
On MissionFinder, we have over 1,000 ministries offering opportunities like this to serve at home and around the world. Does your church or organization need help organizing mission trips? Check out our partner site, MissionMinder.com. Their easy to use software will help you manage all the details for your short-term mission trips and team members online. Unlimited Trips. Unlimited team members. Easy online fundraising pages. Try it free for 30 days. Learn more here.
