Mothers around the world are united by the desire to provide a good life for their children and to care for them as they grow. But what happens when circumstances arise that make it difficult to provide the most basic needs for your family?
In Guatemala, 54 percent of the population lives in poverty, and 13 percent lives in extreme poverty. Outside of urban centers, most people in Guatemala don’t have access to electricity or running water, leaving many mothers struggling to provide even a daily meal for their children.
MercyWorks exists to bring dignity to the world’s most marginalized individuals by meeting their basic educational, psychological, and physical needs. MercyWorks missionaries serve on the ground in rural Guatemala, through the Bethany Center mission, caring for and educating mothers and helping ensure their infants and children thrive by providing hearty meals, medical care and attention, education for young children, and training programs that improve the women’s ability to earn a living. Our goal is to elevate the levels of human dignity and increase access to basic human rights around the world.
But this work can’t be accomplished by our missionaries alone.
The problems may seem too great to tackle on your own, and you might even be wondering how you can make a difference from so far away. But there is much we can do to help our sisters and brothers in need. With this in mind, here are four tangible ways you can make a real and immediate difference in the life of a struggling mother, right now:
Learn more about the women who are fighting for human dignity and basic rights for themselves and their families. It is important to be well informed with the facts about the devastating poverty and inequality that exists around the world. By listening to the stories of struggling mothers, the daily tragedies they face no longer feel so foreign.
MercyWorks has put together an informational eBook — Working Toward New Life and New Hope: The State of Women’s and Children’s Health in Rural Guatemala — which describes the full scope of health outcomes in rural Guatemala for women and children. Download the eBook and share it with your friends and family so that more people can learn about the dire situation in Guatemala.
Speak up and advocate on behalf of the women and families in need and share their stories. Be sure to follow MercyWorks on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates about our work and spread the word to your family and friends. The greatest change can be made when many voices come together with one goal. By raising awareness about the challenges families in need face, you can be a voice for some of the most vulnerable and neglected members of society.
Join the MercyWorks community as we lift our voices in prayer for the physical and spiritual well-being of mothers and their families facing illness and injustice. Consider signing up for the St. Philomena Novena, a nine-day prayer for babies, children, and mothers in need. When you sign up you will receive daily emails with prayers and reflections to help you offer up your day for a struggling mother in need of your prayers.
Give a gift to help continue the mission of MercyWorks and improve the lives of struggling mothers. You can bring better birth and childhood life expectancy outcomes to the women and children of rural Guatemala by partnering with our MercyWorks missionaries. Your donation can make an impact in the following ways:
Together, we can improve the lives of struggling mothers in need. With your help, MercyWorks can continue its mission to serve the most marginalized members of society. By learning about our work, advocating on our behalf, raising your voices in prayer, and contributing to our mission, you are taking an active stake in ensuring a better world in which children can grow and prosper.
Thank you for your help and God bless!