During the recent mission trip, the team was able to spend time with several of the families of the WellSpring children. A few years back the Lord brought us Rueben, while he was out selling avocados (from his families tree) and through that meeting, it has grown into a larger relationship in which Wellspring assists Rueben and his brothers going to school.
Today we would like to share what we learned about Grace, the boys mother. The following is her testimony which she shared with us during our visit.
“My name is Grace, a single mom of three boys. I’m 40 years old. My oldest son is Reuben, he’s 13, then there’s Innocent who’s 9, and the youngest, Haggai, is 7. I don’t have a job, just scrape by doing a bit of business here and there. Sometimes I pick veggies from the farms, or grab avocados from the tree in our yard to sell so we can have something to eat. My husband passed away two years ago, and since then, I’ve had no one to help me out. My parents and my husband’s family don’t support us and often say mean things about me. Even when I’m feeling unwell, it’s only my neighbors who lend a hand.
Most of the time, I send Reuben and Innocent out to sell avocados every day. Whatever we manage to sell helps us pay the rent for our tiny two-room house. They charge us k50 a month, but the owner wants two months upfront, which means k100. Our house doesn’t have electricity, and the floor is basically just earth. The roof isn’t great either; when it rains, water comes in. Reuben and Innocent sleep on the ground, while Haggai and I sleep in the other room. We don’t have many blankets or stuff in the house. When my husband died, he left us with nothing; he was the only one bringing in money with tough jobs in town.
A lot of times, we only manage to have one meal or even skip meals if we can’t sell anything. This makes it really hard for the kids to go to school. I struggle to get school supplies for all three of them. Reuben is at Kawama West Community School in grade 6, while Innocent and Haggai go to Kawama Basic School in grades 1 and 2. It’s tough to support my boys’ education; buying books, shoes, and other supplies is a hassle, and right now, they don’t even have proper uniforms. I don’t like sending my kids to sell avocados before school, but our situation is pretty rough. I’ve also started farming on a friend’s land, but it’s not enough. I enrolled in school too, under a government program for older folks in rural areas, taking my grade 9, hoping for a better future for my kids.
Living in Kawama West isn’t the best for raising kids, especially boys. There’s so much going on—lots of drinking, drug use, and other bad stuff, so I’m not thinking about marrying again. I just want to find a way to raise my kids right. I pray they’ll get an education despite what we’re dealing with; I know God is watching over us.
My biggest hope and prayer is to see my children grow up, finish school, and live a better life. I want them to take care of me when I’m older. I really appreciate the help you gave Reuben with his school supplies and bag. If possible, I’d love for you to help his brothers too, as they need bags to carry their books. Please keep supporting me and my family; we could really use it, especially for my boys. If anything were to happen to me, I worry about who would take care of them, given how my family treats us now. I really don’t want them to end up on the streets.”
Grace would like to thank you for all your doing to help her children with education, please continue to pray for Grace and her boys.
