A new year filled with new hope

January 29, 2021

It’s a new year – and that brings new hope for a better year ahead. Last year, 2020 brought unprecedented challenges to all of us across the world. And these challenges were felt even more by children and families who were struggling with poverty and hunger even before the pandemic hit.

a young girl stares into the camera smiling

Like billions of children, Gloria, 7, has faced many challenges since the pandemic hit, from being out of school to not having enough to eat.

We recently had the opportunity to talk to Gloria, a seven-year-old girl who lives in Uganda with her grandparents and her two cousins. Gloria’s mother passed away when she was only a few months old. Both of her grandparents were working at the local school before the pandemic hit. Her grandfather worked as a groundskeeper and her grandmother as a cook, preparing school meals. Since COVID-19 shut down schools, Gloria’s grandparents have been forced to take on casual work around the community in order to make money to support their family. But it just isn’t enough.

The family are grateful recipients of a family food box - a gift that came just in time. These food boxes have been distributed over the past several months and have provided life-changing support to families when they’ve needed it most – thanks to the kind support of CFTC donors. The immediate support of a food box gave Gloria and her family hope at a time when it was critical, but another special gift is giving them hope for the future – the gift of a sheep.

Life changing sheep

“We are still struggling but we are hopeful,” Gloria’s grandmother, Mary tells us. A big part of what makes this family so hopeful for the future is their sheep, which are indigenous species to East Africa, similar to a Red Maasai sheep. They are working hard to grow a sheep business. With the help of her grandchildren, Mary has made big plans. “I want to expand my farm. I will buy a male sheep to save me of hiring a male sheep from within the community to mate my mother sheep. I am looking at having at least 15 sheep at all times. I am sure this project will turn the livelihood of my family around.”

a girl sits with her grandmother, lovingly cuddling one another

Gloria and her grandmother Mary have struggled because of the pandemic, but received crucial support from CFTC donors.

Gloria shares her hope with us too. She loves her sheep and is so proud that her family have named it after her. “We are happy that we have sheep and our sheep is beautiful. We now have something to look after and I know, we shall multiply our sheep to have many of them.” Still, they need a little more time to get things going. They currently have six chickens and one sheep. Selling an animal could help create extra income for a family, but because she only has one sheep, Mary told us that it is just not the right time to sell it. Selling it right now would mean food for a little while, but no sustainable business for the future. She told us that she needs to be patient, because she knows this sheep is going to change everything for her family.

Mary and Gloria’s optimism and hope is inspiring. And like so many other families who struggle with the day-to-day challenges that have been brought on, or worsened by the pandemic, she knows that continuing to work hard now and focus on the future is going to make all of the difference for her family. Mary wants to grow her farm. She also wants to see all of her grandchildren finish school. Having the extra income from her animals is going to help make that possible so she doesn’t have to struggle to pay their school fees in the future.

This new hope for Gloria, Mary and families worldwide would not be possible without the generous support of caring Canadians like you. Thank you!