Thank you, thank you, thank you. We cannot say it enough, and in fact, we are sending you thank you from us, plus 409 x thankyou from Rwanda. In this last week, we were able to provide 409 people with enough food for two weeks – absolutely incredible! That’s 89 families - ranging from individuals to families made up of 10 people.
It sounds pretty simple, and in many ways, it is – you and I giving a little out of what we have to provide the most basic need for someone else. But achieving this is actually quite complicated!
Going out and purchasing large quantities of food, and delivering it to families in need is no small feat in the midst of a total lockdown where any movement across suburbs is prohibited. In the midst of a massive need and limited resource, finding those families who are the most desperate and the most in need has been hard work. We have to give huge thanks and a huge shout out to our local partner, CARSA, who are doing a fantastic job on the ground.
And to each of you that’s given – we know it’s not easy to do that in a time when so many people are struggling and everyone is feeling the impacts of COVID-19 in some way – so massive thanks to you for seeing beyond yourself and tapping into your generosity to make such a big difference!
The smiles tell the story…families were given rice, beans, maize flour, porridge flour, cooking oil, salt, sugar and soap. One woman who came to receive food had just given birth to a beautiful baby three days earlier. It’s heartbreaking to think of her situation – a mother with a brand-new baby and no food – she was truly desperate. She was in tears of joy as food was given to her, she was so appreciative.
This truly is 21 Days of Hope as together, we are able to offer a literal lifeline to the people that are doing it the toughest, through no fault of their own. This virus has been spread around the world through international travel – yet those who are the hardest hit, going without food, have never even been on an aeroplane. That’s such a terrible injustice. Let’s counteract that together – this is just the beginning, there are many more families waiting, so many others in need.
This Easter, for the cost of a packet of hot cross buns, you can provide someone with life-saving food for a day. We don’t need to have a lot in our hands to make a difference in someone else’s life – we just need to realise that whatever we have is much more than they do.
Give yourself a very special gift this Easter – not hot cross buns or chocolate eggs that give a moment of pleasure – give yourself the incredible joy of looking at these smiling faces, knowing that you helped to put that smile there! Share the love with your friends and family as well – you can provide an individual or a family with food on behalf of someone else, as a gift to them. We’ll send you an e-card that you can share with them as your Easter gift this year. (Example, see below)
One of our long-term supporters, Nadine, has done just that and shared:
“The work that CBL does is close to my heart! I’ve been reading the emails and following the Facebook updates about the impacts in Rwanda. It has really hit home about how much more devastating the impacts are in a country like Rwanda, which doesn’t have welfare and healthcare systems to support its people during this crisis. I thought about my family and friends – what if it was my mum that had no money, and no food? How would my sister feel if she was unable to feed her children? I’m very, very fortunate that I’m not in that situation. And I can do something to help someone who is! Thank you so much for creating the e-cards to give to my family and friends, while I can’t be with them. It gave me some real joy to spread a little love and hope this Easter.”
So cool! Who wouldn’t want to receive such a special gift at this time? It’s easy for us to feel powerless as coronavirus rages – but we actually have the ability to do something so powerful – do your part and help us reach more families. Thank you!
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