A Helping Hand...

This is a story of a women in the community here. Her name is Marie (not her real name). She has a seven year old daughter. She came to the Lighthouse a while ago asking for help, she has no money to clothe her daughter and tends to look in rubbish bins for food. She cannot read, write and she doesn't really know her numbers either. In the evenings she use to go to a free place to read and write until she was attacked and then she became too scared to leave her house. I don't think her house can really be called a house - it consists of a room, and with a small bathroom, with the shower over the toilet. Recently as she is behind on rent by two months (so becoming very close to having to live on the streets), her Landlord took her keys and her and her daughter had to sleep on the streets for a night. She use to work cleaning other people's houses, but work has tried up.

So how do you respond to a story like that?

With a little helping hand...

Well this story touched some people at the Lighthouse, they prayed and came up with an action plan to help this women. Not to help her so she becomes dependant on our help - but to give her a helping hand, a push-start to be able to earn money, stay in her house and be able to read and write. We are putting a few things in place, so that she will better her and her daughters life...

We offered her a job (with a member of the Lighthouse sponsoring her) - she is now working in the  kitchen alongside our cook, learning the basics of how to run a kitchen. This job is not permanent, and has some conditions with it too - she has to continue to learn to read and write as this will help her find a job, she is also going to have to start looking for a job, and to learn to budget her money between rent, and food etc. She is also being discipled by someone from the Lighthouse. We are here to just walk alongside her, guiding her in the right direction...

This project really excites me...It is exciting to know that through God we are able to help Marie change her and her daughters life. Something so simple, is so going to be so effective (hopefully!).

How many more people need a simple scheme like this to get them on the right track, a bit of positive encouragement and direction, a little helping hand...