Brothers and sisters in Christ
Joanne
Joanne has 1 brother and 2 sisters. Growing up, her father was a shoemaker. But at the age of 37 he died of respiratory system failure, leaving Joanne and her siblings, as well as their mum with a lot of debt and the monthly pension of E£80 per month (£1.30). To make amends, they had to sell everything from clothes to furniture to pay their debt. Her eldest brother is the bread winner, working as a night guard in a Catholic church, for an income that barely covers their food.
Mark
Mark lives with his 7 brothers and sisters in a 2-bedroom farm house in the countryside of Asyut in upper Egypt. The entire family has only 3 beds and 1 cupboard. Their father died 10 years ago and the pension that his wife was left with was E£80 (£1.30), which does not even cover the basic needs for one of her children, to pursue further education at university. So Mark works every summer as a labourer in the house-building industry to save some money, helping his brothers and sisters go through the academic year. He does this all while studying at the Faculty of Commerce at the local college.
Neveen
Neveen works as an assistant in a 24-hour pharmacy to earn E£70 per month (£1.13). Her father left Christianity, convinced to join Islam, leaving the family of 5 without an income. The local church helps them with the amount of E£100 (£1.62) per month, which just about covers their rent, gas, and electricity. Neveen is studying to be an ophthalmologist. But coping with life is financially impossible and offers from her Muslim step-cousins of marriage and to convert to Islam in exchange for financial help are incessant.
These are just a few…
There are many, many, many others living in circumstances similar to Joanne, Mark, and Neveen. Their situations are far from unique. Your help is crucial in helping to ease their suffering, to make a difference in their lives, and to unshackle them from their circumstances of poverty and oppression.
