For the past several years, Hand of Hope, Joyce Meyer Ministries World Missions has partnered with Pat Bradley and International Crisis Aid (ICA) to help tens of thousands of people in some of the most difficult and poverty-stricken places in the world.
ICA’s mission is to bring the necessary food, medicine and supplies to desperate people who are in life-and-death situations. This often means going where other organizations cannot or will not go…and sometimes it means taking escalated risks.
Spanning Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, North Korea, and Indonesia, ICA partners with other organizations to make the greatest impact they can, demonstrating the love and care of God in the midst of overwhelming circumstances.
Most recently, Hand of Hope partnered with ICA to help facilitate two of the most amazing, and necessary, outreaches in the nation of Ethiopia.
“Your baby is going to live”
Ethiopia is a beautiful and diverse country, but it is also a hard country…and one of the poorest countries in the world. With over 76 million inhabitants, nearly 28 million live in poverty, with many making less than $1 a day.1
Poverty has also come to the village of Zobecho. Here, 5-year-old Abeba lives with her father, mother and 6 brothers and sisters in a grass hut.
Her family relies on farming to earn money. But this year, the drought has ended the village’s hopes for a crop. Abeba’s mother has a little food, but it won’t be enough…it is never enough.
But then there are rumors of people who want to help…people who have food.
When her mother brought her to one of our many ministry-supported feeding centers, Abeba had less than 2 weeks to live.
Her legs and arms were swollen, and her feet looked square and tall…all signs that she was starving to death and that her organs had begun feeding off of her body.
That day her mother came to us in tears, hoping that there was something we could do…some way we could help save her baby. And there was.
We spoke the greatest words she could ever hear: “Your baby is going to live.” We gave her food for Abeba and enough food to feed her entire family.
In partnership with International Crisis Aid, we’ve greatly increased our efforts in Ethiopia, where more than 12 percent of the children never live to see the age of 5.
“Our friends and partners make it possible for us to provide daily food and vital medicines to more than 200 families in this nation,” says Dan Meyer, CEO of U.S. Operations. “These families average 6 people in each, made up of men, women and children.
“We’ve seen several children who were only a matter of weeks away from death. The good news is that because they have recently become a part of one of our sponsored feeding programs in this area, they are going to have a second shot at life.”
1www.cia.gov
Providing God’s Love and a Way Out
Four years ago, Ababich moved to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, hoping to find a better life. Here the streets are lined with one tiny door after another for block after block. These doors open into small, dark rooms that are just slightly bigger than a bed.
This is where she lives. This is also where she works.
As a prostitute, Ababich often works from sunset to sunrise, hoping to make enough money just to pay her rent. Each night she lives in fear of being beaten or contracting HIV.
But there’s more. Living with Ababich in this tiny room is her 1-month-old baby, Basa. Ababich loves her baby, and she is desperate for a change, but she just doesn’t see a way out.
And Ababich isn’t alone. Here in Addis Ababa, approximately 150,000 women and girls live and work as prostitutes. But through our partnership with International Crisis Aid, we are offering a second chance to these girls who are looking for a new life.
Each week our teams walk the streets—offering encouragement, prayer, the Gospel message, and a way out to those who are willing to talk. Many have given their lives to the Lord...and some have taken us up on the chance to walk away from this life altogether.
Prostitutes Able to Leave That Lifestyle Forever
You see, through the assistance of our friends and partners, we have also recently opened our brand-new Hand of Hope women’s home for those who want to escape this lifestyle for good.
As space is available, women are offered a chance to leave the red-light district and start a new life, which includes a home, food, medical care, counseling, education and job placement, and, most importantly, spiritual training and discipleship.
Through your incredible support, you have made a way out for precious young women who need a second chance…women who have nowhere else to go…women like Ababich.
Several months ago our team prayed with Ababich and she received Christ as her Savior. Just a few weeks later, she left her tiny home…and she left her life as a prostitute forever. Today, Ababich lives in our Hand of Hope women’s home, where she receives love, support and much needed healing.