As a mother, I wish for my child to be the kind of person who is confident, considerate and competent. I want her to learn how to program computers, surf and change a tire.
My dreams for her seem so grandiose when compared to the aspirations of many of the mothers Food For The Poor serves. With Mother’s Day around the corner, I can’t help but think of what other mothers are enduring, and the simple things they hope for their children.
Francisca wants her two girls to not have to scream in fear when it rains and their dirt-floor shack in Nicaragua turns muddy.
“I feel sad because I know they are afraid, and I know they will get sick,” Francisca said.
A mother to six children, Sylvia washes clothes for others to make ends meet, but it’s not enough. Their home in Jamaica, pieced together with aluminum and plywood, is on a shaky clay foundation.
Sylvia prays every day for God’s help to find a safe shelter for her children. “I want them to have a better life, not like me,” she said.
Sandy and her husband Andrew struggled to raise their four children in a makeshift tent held together with sticks and a crumbling cement wall. All they wanted was a proper home for the kids.
As Mother’s Day approaches, reflect on how your mother’s dreams for you molded your life, and think about ways you can honor her legacy and the sacrifices of mothers everywhere. Through Food For The Poor, you can ease a mother’s burden by sending a child to school for a year, or you can try to win your mother a free bouquet of roses to be delivered in time for Mother’s Day. And we can all pray for the mothers who simply hope for enough food, clean water or a dry home for their children.