Feeding Perculia’s Dreams

From an early age, Perculia knew what she wanted to do with her life. “I always wanted to be a nurse,” she recalled. But the odds were against her. Living in an impoverished area of Zimbabwe, there was never enough to eat. “You could spend the whole day without eating anything,” she said, adding, “And won’t get anything, also, at home—so it was just hard.”

“Knowing that I would get something [to eat] at school, it motivated me to push to where I am today,” said Perculia, a 24-year-old nursing student. Just about to graduate from her program, the soon-to-be-nurse reflected on her days in school when she was a recipient of a feeding program provided by the partners of Joyce Meyer Ministries.

When our feeding program partnered with Perculia’s school in Tsholotsho, her whole world changed. She went from not knowing when her next meal would be, to receiving food on a regular basis. “After getting meals, I was motivated to go to school every day,” she said. “I wanted to go into school on weekends!”

Having a full stomach allowed her to focus on her studies—and for the first time, her dream of becoming a nurse felt like a possibility. Today, she is grateful for the Joyce Meyer Ministries partners who literally fueled her passion of helping others—because she had been helped so much.

Recently when she had a chance to visit the Hope Factory and see where the food is currently prepared, she said, “I'm hoping this [feeding program] will go on and help more generations to come so that kids will accomplish better lives.”