Hear from one of our Sponsors
We have been sponsoring children through Mercy in Action for several years. On a trip to the Philippines in 2012 we were fortunate enough to meet our sponsor child, Mary. It was great to meet her after years of sending gifts and receiving letters. She is in high school now and doing really well in her studies. It was wonderful to hear how the sponsorship had changed her life and given her the ambition to go to college and become a teacher.
On the same trip we met Samuel, aged 8, who was living rough on the streets with no one to care for him. He looked very dishevelled, dirty and sad with no future and no hope. After our return to the UK we heard that Samuel and his two brothers had been taken into the new MiA boys’ home. Shortly after this we became his sponsors. We now have photos of him smiling, washed, hair brushed and dressed in clean clothes and a little chubbier in the face! At first he was home tutored so he could catch up on those missing years of schooling. Now he goes to ‘proper’ school. Samuel seems to have caught up on his schooling really quickly and we were impressed with his last ‘thank you’ letter to us – neat handwriting and all! Samuel now has a home to call his own and hope for a better future. Well done Mercy in Action!
Hear from one of our children
I was only 10 years old and my friends were the ”supermix” boys who Mercy in Action were feeding. I came along with my cousin Lenlen because we were hungry too. In those days I didn’t go to school much and was behind for my age. I used to spend my time keeping an eye on people’s cars for them while they were shopping and I used the money they gave me for food or to pay for schooling needs. There were times that no-one took care of me. My aunty was always angry and my parents had no work. I never knew what it was like to have new clothes to wear or to know when my next meal was coming from…
I was so happy when I could go to school properly and then to go onto college was a dream come true. I graduated in Social Work in March this year and hope to take my board exams this June. I will then be a fully qualified social worker! In the meantime I’ve just managed to get a job as a shop assistant which means I can help my Mama and Papa and my sister to have a better life. Even a job in a shop isn’t possible without college education. Mercy in Action has done so much for me and I’m so happy and grateful for all that you’ve done, not just for me but for many of my friends too. It has been hard sometimes to keep going when so many others have given up, but I wanted my family to have a good future and for any children I may be blessed with to have a better life too. College was very hard work, but I loved learning how to help the poor and having the knowledge that I can help change other children’s lives too. I’ve just had my 24th birthday and I know my life is better than I ever thought it could be and that my days of being hungry and alone are over. Thank you again for everything.
God bless, love Joanna