Updates

With the end of the year quickly approaching, we’re grateful to reflect on the lives that have been directly impacted by your generosity. For Pedro and Evona, your support has provided stability during a truly devastating year for their family.

Several months ago, Pedro and Evona’s father went to work at 10 p.m., as he always did, as part of a small overnight fishing crew. But the next morning, his boat did not return to shore. In the days that followed, one of his crewmates’ bodies was found washed up miles up the coast, and the boat was later discovered empty and stripped of its motor. It was assumed that the crew had been overtaken by gang members, an increasingly common threat in recent years, as drug trafficking has made the waters far more dangerous and has fueled a rise in motor theft from small fishing boats.

A typical fishing boat in our area, crewed by 10–15 men, setting out at night when conditions are calmer and the fish are most active, then returning in the early morning.

Heartbroken by the loss of her husband, the children’s mother faced her new reality with courage and determination. She took any work she could find, cleaning houses, washing dishes in restaurants, hand-washing laundry for neighbors. Despite her resolve, her income was barely enough to put food on the table, let alone keep her two children in school.

Evona and her brother, Pedro, are now a part of our Scholarship Plus program.

Pedro and Evona were referred to our scholarship program and were quickly assessed and enrolled by our social worker. About to complete ninth grade and kindergarten, the siblings are continuing their education and beginning to regain a sense of stability. Their mother shares that in the midst of their hardship, she went through a period of deeply questioning God, wondering why their family had been asked to bear so much loss. Yet over time, she has come to see their experience in a new light. She says the support they’ve received, and the kindness of others, has been a tangible expression of God’s care for them. In her words, it is their faith, strengthened by the people who have walked alongside them, that has sustained them through such profound loss and hardship.

Thank you for walking alongside this family, and many others, through your support. We are grateful for you.