Imagine coming home from a hard day of work trying to sell vegetables, knowing you did not make enough to be able to feed your four children dinner. In fact, you probably don't even have enough to feed them breakfast and the next day's only meal will likely be no more than rice with some over-ripe left over vegetable no one else wanted to buy. Your heart sinks as you see the hopeful faces of your children, thin and frail from malnutrition. You are desperate to make a good life for them, and all you can do is pray for a better day tomorrow.
Cinlunmawi's mother faced this painful truth everyday, like so many widowed women in India...she could not provide for her children and they were suffering. When she heard about Angels' Place, she put her daughter on the waiting list and in 2015, she was accepted into the orphanage. Though she would surely miss seeing her child on a daily basis, she knew it was the only way to lift her suffering and give her the gift of hope she deserved.
You can see in the image evidence of the secure and colorful life Chinlunmawi now lives. She shares a solid warm home with other children she now calls "family". Her day is full of fun crafts and activities, music and dance groups, school and studying, friends with whom she can share a carefree game in the court yard, and always a warm nourishing meal on the table for her three times a day. For so many women who live in extreme poverty, these are blessings beyond her mother's wildest dreams.
Caregivers at Angels' Place know "Mawi" as a sweet, lovely and active girl who loves to sing and dance. Mawi wants to some day be an educator and is very grateful for her sponsors who have made her dream a real possibility. Because of the James Connection, she and her mother now have hope, the greatest gift of all.
If you would like to learn how to help children like Chinlunmawi, please visit our Ways to Help page to learn how. There are hundreds just like her on our waiting list at Angels' Place, hoping someone like you might help make room for them.
If you would like to read more Angel of the Week stories, click on "Angel of the Week' under Categories on the right of this page.
