An Island of Hope: Bibian’s Story
Zambia – Under the shining sun, a group of children raced across the street and toward the lake. Bangweulu, which means “where the water meets the sky,” is one of the world’s great wetland systems. Situated in the upper Congo River basin in Zambia, this area has become the home of those living on Mbabala Island, a sandy ridge dividing off one of the sections of the lake.
Life on Mbabala Island has become a fight for survival—the lake has nearly been depleted of fish, and the acidic soil has rendered it barren to all types of vegetation.
A Ray of Hope for Gilfa
Uganda – Living in extreme poverty makes life hard and causes overwhelming anxiety in a person’s heart. Especially when you’re a child, and you have no control over your family’s future.
With four children and not enough income to send them to school, gardener James and his wife worried that their first-born daughter Gilfa would get stuck in poverty’s trap and that her siblings would follow.
Thankfully, through one of Bright Hope’s partner churches, James and his wife received an invitation to attend an Asset-Based Community Driven Development (ABCD) training.
Growing Seeds of Grace
Kenya – The sun beat down on the wood and clay framework of Nancy’s home as she walked home from school. With her bare feet burning on the hot sand, Nancy raced her younger siblings the last bit of their journey home.
As they reached the shade of their home, Nancy shouted, “Mama! Mama!” When her call was met with silence, Nancy looked inside for her mother. Soon she found her hunched over her chair in tears: “Your father decided he wants to abandon our family. He found a new wife and has left all of us with nothing.”