*names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect privacy
Zekaryas* and Taena* married in 2007. They have 3 sons.
When their oldest son was 4 years old, he became severely ill. He often couldn’t go to kindergarten or play with his friends. Between his son’s illness and his poverty, Zekaryas felt hopeless. In his despair, he decided he wanted to know more about Jesus, but he wasn’t sure how to tell his wife. After much internal struggle, he finally set a date to tell her. However, before he got a chance to talk to his wife, she surprised him on that same day by accepting their neighbor’s invitation to go to church and receive prayer for their son. Four days after these prayers, their son was completely healed. Within two weeks, both parents decided to follow Jesus.
Gemaneh*, another son, was sponsored when he was 4 years old, and Taena joined one of our self help groups. While pregnant with her third child, she was diagnosed with cancer. Over time, she became more and more ill. During a visit from Gemaneh’s sponsor, Taena was so sick that she voiced her concern about her family’s ability to pay for her funeral expenses. However after seven years of suffering, she was healed thanks to her medical treatment, prayers, and encouragement.
Today, Taena is busy making and selling a special Ethiopian sauce with pepper and Ethiopian herbs. Not only does Zekaryas help her with the business, but he now attends self-help group meetings, takes care of the children, and does the house work. The sponsorship team says that he is a role model for a lot of people. Together, they’ve taken out small loans from their self-help group and repaid them on time. Their business is doing so well that they recently took out their biggest loan for $350 to expand. Zekaryas has also become an assistant leader and is in training to become a self-help group leader.
Sponsoring a child is life-changing for both the child and their families! If you know someone who would enjoy changing a child’s life for $40/month, please have them contact us at sponsorship@hopeinview.org or go to www.hopeinview.org/sponsorship