Stories

The following stories ar­e not unique. Every day there are many more orphans and widows who find themselves in an impossible situation. Amongst their current state of poverty and disease, they find themselves struggling with­ the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS. ­

With your help, Visionsledd can reach out to people in these communities, connecting them with education about care and prevention practices. Visionledd will also enable the churches to care for the vulnerable children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS by providing them with a stable home and a caring guardian.

­­­Malisela
As a widow ­and mother of five children, Malisela was in dire need of financial support. Her husband’s death left her with no money and she received no support from her community.

­Each day she struggled to provide food for her family. A small vegetable garden provided her with little income. They were tha­nkful for one meal a day – many days they had nothing. She bought food for her children, setting aside a portion of her share as savings. Over time she started a dry fish business, but Malisela continued to fall short in providing for her family.

But thanks to our supporters, WOW was already working within Malisela's community and was able to come alongside her, helping her overcome the barriers she faced. Through micro-finance or rotating loans WOW helps fund business expansion in micro ways – a simple loan of $15 up to $100 can help buy the products needed to stock a small table at a market or even out of a home.

Through WOW’s efforts, made possible by your support, Malisela received a small loan. Malisela’s customer base grew as she was able to buy larger quantities of fish. Her business did so well that she was able to pay off her loan in two months and start a second business of selling secondhand clothes.
She tells us that “having two meals a day was a distant dream, but now my children and I eat three good meals a day; I still believe I am dreaming.”

Freda
Freda is 53 years old. Eight of her orphaned grandchildren lived with her until recently. Sadly, she had to send four of them to other family members because she could not earn enough to buy food for them.

Every day Freda sets out her booth of fresh vegetables praying someone will buy something. Most days she earns about four cents. She supplements her income by begging. Freda and her grandchildren are severely malnourished.

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Chrissy
Chrissy was one of Visionledd's home-based care patients. Not long after our team met her, she passed away. However, although her life was filled with extreme poverty and unrelenting disease, her hope in Christ was a testimony to those around her.

When we first met Chrissy, she was lying on a dirty mat on the ground outside her grandmother’s house. Her weak and frail body was covered by a ragged blanket. Flies buzzed around her infected eyes. Her skin was peeling.­ She was in the last stages of AIDS. Her husband had abandoned her. She lived with her grandmother who now cares for Chrissy’s two children. She had absolutely nothing. We prayed with her and when we were finished she began to sing, her voice thin and weak: “I’ve got a beautiful home in heaven where there is no rain, there is no sickness, there are no worries.”