Once upon a time, I worked at a nonprofit organization as a Program Director. One of the departments under my supervision was the ESL program. Through running it, I met many immigrants from different parts of the world who needed to learn the first rudiments of the English language. They were assessed and placed at the appropriate level based on their academic background and their proficiency in the language, including any gaps in foundational knowledge.
A specific widow caught my attention while I was touring the classes and watching the teachers and students’ interaction in order to ensure that both sides were professionally cooperating with each other in order to assess and later file my quarterly reports. I lost touch with her after I left that agency. Years later, I saw her during my three times a week walk on a nearby very busy boulevard. She looked haggard standing at a bus stop with a medium size suitcase and she was visibly perturbed. My heart took a leap and gave me a knowing check. After we exchanged the polite customary greetings, she started to tell me of her ordeal and how her daughter threw her out of the house and the reason why she was roaming the streets with no place to go. My sense of discernment through the Holy Spirit made me aware that she was telling the truth and my heart melted as I understood exactly where she was coming from, having briefly walked that path myself. We talked about her situation and how I could best help her. I made a few phone calls to locate temporary lodging for her, as I did not have a place of my own anymore to house her at the time.
Another encounter really shook me when I saw her again in such a deplorable situation on a bus stop bench and I burst out crying uncontrollably as I quickly walked away not to let her see me. This encounter was not just a coincidence, but also a catalyst that God used to awaken a calling within me to serve the vulnerable.
My soul cried out and throughout a torrential flow of tears, I asked God how could I be of service to people like this widow who lost her husband a while back and was at the mercy of people, of the flow of cold and hot seasons, which implacably succeeded each other, year after year without intermittence. He gave me a vision of children sitting on a dusty remote area. I grabbed them one at a time to remove their filthy garment and clean them. I was also wondering where I would find clothing for so many of them. As I was pondering on the issue, racks of boys’ and girls’ clothing appear out of nowhere. I dressed them up and put them in a clean surface on the other side. As I turned around thinking that I had accomplished the task, there was another set of children waiting to be prepped up to the point that I started to wonder if there was a nearby factory pumping all these children. The more I cleaned them up, the more appeared. I eventually woke up from the dream that kept me so busy with my hands full.
I understood the call and took a proactive approach to contact different ministries in Africa, which were already dealing with widows and orphans, and that made the outreach work easier. By the grace of God, they were very receptive and our ministry helped them reach some of their milestones and goals to bring a smile to the faces of these families. Running into the harsh realities of resource limitations while facing overwhelming needs can certainly feel overwhelming. There were more demands and genuine need than available financial resources to handle the challenges, but we did what we could to alleviate the suffering and hunger that we had experienced firsthand, especially during some of our mission trips. One thing that I was sure of is that: Our God will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (KJV)
This is how the organization Helping the Helpless got started in the year 2020 and these are our immediate goals.
- We want: children to remain in school
- Families to move from emergency assistance to self-sufficiency by gaining employment or income.
- Healthcare needs addressed with local clinics
We will work on more sustainable outcomes in the near future as resources and partnership become available. We will also seek donations and partnership in the future to gather around our cause to ensure that these families facing such hardship can take solace knowing that there are organizations like ours seeking to ensure their well-being.