Hope for Children Who Are Living in Poverty

In many parts of Africa and South Asia, hope for children is being offered through many organizations, including GFA World. Sometimes, this hope is delivered through tangible help like clean water wells, education and medical care. Other times, the hope comes through caring adults who help children see a future apart from poverty—a mindset that is sometimes an all-consuming influence.

When a child’s grandparents grew up in poverty, followed by their parents, and now them, there is a poverty mindset that often overtakes them. It’s hard for anyone inside the cycle to imagine a future without the hardships that come with poverty. In a sense, poverty creates blinders that are difficult to remove.

Divena, age 5, was often left home alone with her older brother.[1] Her dad, a truckdriver who was required to travel weeks at a time, had no other options after his wife suddenly left the family to be with another man. Divena’s grandmother was elderly, but she tried to help. She knew her grandchildren would die of starvation if something didn’t change. However, her aging body left her unable to do much.

Divena couldn’t attend school. Instead, she spent her days playing in the mud. That is where Yashimita, a GFA social worker, found her. She was in Divena’s area visiting some of her students when she spotted the little girl likely caked with mud and her heart filled with compassion. She knew just the place that could help Divena and her brother—GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program!


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