“I know what it means to have nothing . . . I know how it feels to be hopeless.”

Looking at the enthusiastic and accomplished young man Steven is today, it’s hard to imagine everything he has endured. At just thirteen years old, he lost both his parents—his mother died in his arms after suffering from anemia. He and his five siblings were now orphaned, and the eldest brother took over as their caretaker.

“Life was very challenging,” said Steven. Sometimes days would pass before their family had anything to eat. He shared one blanket with three of his brothers as each night they slept together on a mat on a wet floor. They lived in what Steven describes as a “dilapidated house” in danger of collapsing.

Steven nearly had to drop out of school—his family couldn’t afford the fees. And even when he went to class, he could never make the most of what education had to offer. “Imagine a boy who did not eat supper last night. Can he perform in class?” said Steven.

Yet today, Steven’s life has utterly transformed. And that transformation started with you.

Steven remembers back in 1998 “meeting a Good Samaritan” who helped rebuild his house, made sure his school fees were paid for, and gave him food, clothes, and more than just one blanket to share with his siblings.

“By this time, there was some ray of hope,” said Steven.  

This Good Samaritan was Children of the Nations, and these life-changing gifts—the ones that put Steven on an entirely new path—were only possible because of your generosity. “I remember the very first gift that I got from Children of the Nations was a 50-kilogram bag of maize because there was no food in the house . . . In Malawi, if you have maize in the house, you are rich because you are able to eat. So that was a very precious gift that I will never forget,” said Steven.

Something else changed in Steven’s life too: his relationship with God. “My trust, belief, and faith grew. I would go to Him whenever I had a need, or when I was happy, I would just tell God, ‘Thank you. Thank you for today, and thank you for the free gift of life.’”

When our staff step into the life of a vulnerable child, they do so with the knowledge that a true and total transformation is only possible with the love of God.

Today, thanks to the education and nurturing care you, our dedicated in-country staff, and the grace of God provided, Steven is now the CEO of his own business, Maximum Entertainment, which supplies music equipment in Malawi. Not only that, but he decided to come back and work for Children of the Nations as the Village Partnership Program Coordinator, giving back to the next generation of children in his community. “I know the challenges that these children go through because I have gone through the same, and I know how it feels,” said Steven.

But Steven’s transformation didn’t stop with him—it has rippled out into his family and community. “I was born into a very poor family, but I will not die poor because I was supported. I am able to support my siblings and my family. My children attend good schools, and they are doing very well academically . . . My company has five employees, and next year we are planning to extend, and we will have twenty employees,” said Steven.

Last year, Steven’s oldest son, Mc Peterson, took the MSCE—Malawi’s version of a high school diploma—and ranked fifth out of 150,000 other students. He is a testament to the power of your compassion. A child who is cared for, loved, and empowered can become a family that is cared for, loved, and empowered.

“Thank you so much to all the donors that are partnering with Children of the Nations to make sure that the most needy children are reached with the support that they need,” says Steven.

“And those who haven’t yet started to support or to partner with Children of the Nations, I want to encourage them because the need is so huge. Sponsor a child today, and it will make a difference.”

Will you answer Steven’s call and sponsor a vulnerable child today? As Steven’s story shows, change is possible, and it all starts with walking alongside just one child.

 

By Kelly Flannery, Marketing Writer at Children of the Nations