Stories of Hope

Kerby’s School Days

Kerby’s father Ricardo has a job about 30 minutes away from the village where his family lives in a bamboo house. Even though he works hard, he only brings home about 140 U.S. dollars each month—not enough to cover basic living expenses for his wife and two children, so they don’t always know where their next meal will come from.

In days past, the family had to borrow money every year, when nine-year-old Kerby went back to school after the break, to pay the extra costs for his school supplies. That was before Feed the Children began outfitting students there with notebooks and other classroom essentials, backpacks and even shoes to help with their daily walks. The school feeding program also helped Kerby, who was small for his age, put on some weight.

These days, Kerby is more energetic both at school and at play—he loves to ride his bicycle and play basketball with his friends—and he worries less about not having the basics. In fact, Kerby’s mother now belongs to one of our local savings groups that helps her put money away. The family’s fortunes seem to be improving.

“If not for Feed the Children,” Kerby’s father says, “life would be very hard for us. You have helped us with our difficulties, so we thank you.”

Justin’s Home

Though they have been in their community for a few years, Justin’s family once lived a very nomadic life. Now seven years old, Justin has lived in three different regions of Honduras because of the country’s limited employment opportunities. Although his father works when he can as a bricklayer, he can’t always find a job. When he does, he often has to travel, leaving his family alone and only returning on weekends.

This way of life means the family often struggles to make ends meet, and in the past Justin didn’t always get enough to eat—especially for a growing boy. But since Feed the Children has been active in their community, during each school day he now gets a nutritious lunch at the Feed the Children meal center. His mother takes comfort in the fact that, no matter how tough life gets, at least her son will be able to eat at school.

Along with the feeding center, children in Justin’s community also benefit from growth and nutritional monitoring, deworming medication, vitamin supplements and the promotion of hygiene practices that help keep them healthy. Like many members of his community who testify to the difference programs like these make in their lives, Justin says he’s glad to stay in one place now and not have to move around so much.

As Justin’s mother says, “everything that Feed the Children brings to us helps us grow and relieves many of the hardships we used to bear.”