Hope After the Flames

KENYA – Meet Emmy, a warm and kind teenager who wants to be a doctor someday. She lives in Kenya with her mother and four siblings. Sadly, Emmy has endured incredible pain and loss in her young life due to burn scars that threatened her future. 

A Horrible Accident Causes Burns

Two years ago, Emmy went out to buy some paraffin for the lamp that her family used for light. Unfortunately, instead of paraffin the shop sold her gasoline. When Emmy went to light the lamp after she got home, tragedy struck and Emmy was engulfed in flames. 

The accident left Emmy badly burned across much of her body. She was taken to a local hospital where she had a lengthy stay as she recovered. Her medical bills were partially covered by the national insurance and partially with the help of her village. Even so, Emmy’s treatment was incomplete, and money had run out to pay for the remaining care that she still needed.

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A Need for Surgery in Kenya

The burn scars had left the skin on Emmy’s hands badly contracted, sharply restricting her movement, and it only got worse as she grew. To compound the issue, Emmy’s father abandoned the family right after the accident, leaving Emmy’s mother to support the family alone.  

The injuries made it difficult for Emmy to perform basic life tasks and particularly to do her schoolwork, as the contractures made it difficult for Emmy to hold a pencil and write. Though her whole life was still before her, things were looking very bleak for Emmy. Then faithful Operation Blessing partners like you stepped in to change her life with burn scar surgery. 

You Made Burn Scar Surgery Possible

After hearing about her situation, Operation Blessing launched a special fundraiser just for Emmy through our Life-Changing Surgeries catalog and compassionate people like you stepped in to bless her. Soon, all the money needed for Emmy’s burn scar surgery had been raised! 

Since then, Emmy has had her operation and is making a remarkable recovery—all thanks to the generosity of friends like you. “Thank you for helping me with the medical bill,” Emmy exclaimed. “I hope to go back to school and study to be a physician. God bless you!” 

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Masks of Hope for Loyda

PERU— Can you imagine being an unemployed single mother in Peru during the pandemic? This was the harsh reality for Loyda, a Peruvian woman with three children. Loyda supported her children with her small business selling fish and plantains in the street. But when COVID-19 struck, her business went under. Loyda had no income to feed her three children. “I was depressed every time my children would say, ‘Mom, I’m hungry,'” Loyda told Operation Blessing staff.  

But thanks to your incredible generosity, hope was on its way for this single mother in Peru! Through your support, Loyda received the hands-on training she needed to start a new business: making and selling face masks. Through her new business, Loyda has the income she needs to keep food on the table. Thanks to you, Loyda and others in the community now have the training and tools they need to support themselves by making face masks. “I am so excited and relieved that I am learning more about sewing!” Loyda exclaimed. “With these masks we can sustain our families.” 

Your support means the world to us. Thanks to you, people like Loyda are receiving gifts of hope that radically change their lives and help them break the cycle of suffering. Please click here to learn more about how you can get involved with Operation Blessing’s hunger relief programs. Thank you and God bless!

Feeding a Young Family in Kentucky

Katrina loves being a stay-at-home mom. Unfortunately, it has not been easy for her family during the COVID pandemic. Like others, they were in need of hunger relief in Kentucky. Her husband Nathan is a truck mechanic in Mayfield, Kentucky. He worries about losing his job every day amidst the unpredictable economic climate created by the pandemic. His family faces food insecurity, a situation where they do not have a reliable consistent source of healthy food. Financial shortages often contribute to a situation where food insecurity can occur. Those who are struggling, like Katrina and Nathan, often have to choose between paying the rent or buying food. A terrible choice no one should ever have to make.

Thankfully, Katrina heard about a food distribution at Operation Blessing partner Calvary Cumberland Presbyterian Church. This food pantry is just one of many helping people in need. This one is supplied by the generous donations of Operation Blessing partners like you. These supplies of food help ease the burden for families like Katrina and Nathan’s. Katrina visited the distribution and received bags of groceries that were a “godsend” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to YOU, Katrina and Nathan can rest easy knowing they will not go hungry due to financial insecurity. Thank you for providing a young couple with hunger relief in Kentucky! Find out more about how your partnership and kindness feeds families in serious need.

Single Mom Blessed by Warehouse of Hope

Angela is a single mom who loves spending time with her boys. They are 4 and 6 years old. A few years ago, Angela started her own in-home daycare. But when enrollment numbers began dwindling, bills began piling up. She was struggling financially and did not know where their next meal would come from. For many single mothers facing food insecurity, this is a common scenario. Food insecurity is a situation where you do not have a reliable source of nutritious food. In some cases it can lead to extreme hunger. 

But Angela’s friend told her about Operation Blessing partner, Warehouse of Hope. She was astounded by what she discovered. Thanks to YOU, Warehouse of Hope is filled with food and other supplies for struggling families. Warehouse of Hope, and places like it, help supply families who cannot afford enough food to feed themselves. This, of course, includes single mothers facing food insecurity like Angela. Thankfully, Angela was able to receive several bags full of food to feed her sons during tough times. 

Now Angela has a stable job working remotely. But she will never forget the blessing and joy she received from YOU in her time of need. Your partnership with Operation Blessing is making a difference. Your generosity and giving helps supply places like Warehouse Of Hope. This provides hunger relief for families in need. Thank you! To get involved, visit https://www.ob.org/hunger.

Eastern Star is Feeding Elizabeth City

Distributing food from Operation Blessing, Eastern Star Church has been providing hunger relief in North Carolina for people in need. Thanks to giving from our generous partners, Eastern Star Church has been helping people in Elizabeth City for more than 15 years. Likewise, when hardship hits, food insecurity is often not far behind. Now due to COVID-19, the issue of hunger relief in North Carolina is greater. There are people in Eastern Star’s area struggling with hunger. The church serves many people who wake up in the morning wondering what they are going to eat that day. Faithfully, Eastern Star provides food to help mitigate that hunger.

Latoya is a mother who works two jobs to provide for her daughter, Zakeya, an honor student. Sadly, Latoya’s hours got cut when COVID-19 hit the United States. Hope was not lost though. Eastern Star Church was happy to help her bridge the gaps created by limited income. They made sure she had nutritious food on her family’s table.

Some aid recipients have turned into volunteers over the years. These volunteers now return the joy and hope given to them by the ministry. They provide hunger relief in North Carolina to many people. Thanks to YOU, struggling men, women, and children in Elizabeth City are now able to put food on the table during tough times. Thank you! To get involved, visit https://www.ob.org/hunger.

A Big Blessing for Villagers in Cambodia

CAMBODIA – Hours from the nearest city, the village of Trapeang Kha is like so many others in developing nations around the globe. The village is rich in beauty, but does not have the resources it needs to meet the needs of the people living there. Struggling farmers, hardworking fishermen, and unskilled laborers comprise this economically challenged community. Many of their younger members end up moving to Thailand to find better jobs. One pressing problem is the lack of access to clean water in Cambodia.

This requires citizens to search for water that is often unclean and unsafe. One resident, a woman named Ty, described the situation. “I used the water from the stream which was located near the mountain. Normally, I had to spend time walking about 0.3 miles to get water to use daily. The water was dirty and it had leaves, insects, and chemicals in it. My family used to get sick from using it.”  

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Clean Water Solutions For The Village Of Trapeang Kha

Then Operation Blessing friends like you reached out to make a difference for these precious villagers through a well that provides clean water in Cambodia. “Now, it is not difficult to get water like in the past. I have a new well and enough water to use. The water is clear and safe and the pump is easy to use,” Ty said. 

Another resident, Srem, age 10, added, “Every morning I get water for my parents for cooking, drinking, washing, and bathing. My brother and sister like to use this well too. I have enough time for school and I can still help my family.” 

“I love this new well because my family and my livelihood are better,” Ty said as she explained the change this well has created. “Thank you for sponsoring this well. May the Lord bless your family.”  

In fact, many of the grateful villagers we talked to wished blessings upon you. Thank you for your giving heart and your generous support of clean water projects in Cambodia and around the world!  

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Serving Former Community Servants

Robert and Edie Rowland were EMTs for more than 15 years. Hard working and dedicated, they never thought that one day they would face food insecurity in North Carolina. Years ago, they met on the job and later married. Over time, lifting people and heavy objects took a serious toll on their necks and backs, one of the challenges of their both physical and stressful profession. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep working as EMTs due to the strain. Eventually, Robert was unable to work completely and Edie lost her job in retail. 

They were struggling to keep up with bills and were falling behind financially. This is one of the unfortunate effects of food insecurity.  Eventually, they were unable to buy enough food for the family. The result was the need for hunger relief to meet these gaps in income caused by unforeseen circumstances. 

But everything changed when Edie met a woman who lived around the block from her. The woman was a member of Eastern Star Church in North Carolina. Eastern Star Church operates a food pantry that helps fight food insecurity in North Carolina. Operation Blessing regularly provides food to their pantry. She told Edie about their monthly food distributions and said they could help with hunger relief. Edie and Robert began visiting the distributions, stocking up on groceries and other resources for their tight times. They are very grateful for the precious blessing received when they needed it most. Thank you! To learn how you can get involved, visit https://www.ob.org/hunger-relief/.

A Bright Future After Cataract Removal

8-year old Kimberly loved to draw. But one day she began to notice her right eye was getting blurry. These were signs of Kimberly’s undiagnosed, yet serious, eye problem in Honduras. Kimberly’s mother, Carla, also noticed that her daughter’s right eye was bloodshot. She suspected something was wrong. So the next day Carla took Kimberly to the doctor.

The doctor diagnosed Kimberly with a cataract in her eye. He also told her that the treatment would include surgery. The surgery, of course, was very expensive. Carla was overwhelmed with sadness. The idea of her young daughter’s vision being obscured was painful. Carla also learned that Kimberly’s eye trouble involved more than a cataract. Her litany of serious eye problems also included a detached retina. This would also require a surgical procedure to fix.

Besides the strain of a heartbreaking diagnosis concerning Kimberly’s eyes, finances were another challenge. Tragically, Kimberly’s father had abandoned the family years before and Carla makes only a small income. She could never afford the surgery for her daughter’s eye problem in Honduras. But, thanks to you, hope was not lost! Carla heard about Operation Blessing’s life-changing surgeries program. They told her a donor wanted to help Kimberly with her surgery. The surgery was arranged. Carla was overjoyed! Her daughter would be able to see without blurriness. The surgery removed her cataract and restored her retina. Kimberley’s sight was restored! Thank you for your heart to see people all over the world healed from infirmities. To get involved, visit ob.org/surgeries.

Relief for Desperate Hurricane Victim

BUENA VISTA, HONDURAS – In late 2020, two hurricanes tore through Honduras with deadly force. The storms caused great need for hurricane victim relief. Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota struck within a month and a half of each other. Brutal winds and damaging flooding changed lives forever. Because the hurricanes were so close, the community of Buena Vista suffered immense damage. Maria Paz, a resident of Buena Vista, spoke to Operation Blessing staff about her experience. She told us that her neighborhood was the most damaged in the area. “They called me to tell me that I had to leave the house, all the people had already evacuated their houses.” said Maria. Maria’s neighbors were worried about her, since she was the only one who didn’t immediately evacuate.

Thankfully, Maria survived the hurricanes. However, her home and community were left ravaged. Maria has no way to access her home at the moment, because the hurricanes washed so much away. The landslides buried many houses in Buena Vista. Maria and her neighbors were left without hope.

Helping Desperate Hurricane Victims

But you have a heart for victims of disaster like Maria! Thanks to your generous support, Maria and her neighbors received an amazing gift of hope. You provided food, hygiene kits, and first aid to suffering families. Thanks to you, Maria and her neighbors have the support they need to start taking the first steps to recovery. Maria is so grateful for your help! “God has not abandoned us, and has blessed us!” She said. “God bless the people who have felt in their hearts to donate to help us!

Your incredible generosity is providing hurricane victim relief to those who have lost so much. Gifts of hope, like the one you gave Maria, have made a profound difference. From hurricanes and tornadoes to floods and refugee crises, Operation Blessing is so grateful for your support. To learn more about giving to victims of disaster, click here. Thank you, and God Bless!