Moving the Widow Modesta

We left early this morning for a small village outside Arusha, Tanzania to move a widow into town. It was a rough, muddy road but such beautiful country, lush and green with huge banana trees and pink bougainvillea.

The widow we went to move is 51 years old with three children, the youngest is two. Modesta is also an Albino and two of her children are Albino. Even though Albinos are not in danger here as they are in other parts of Africa there is still some cultural stigma for anyone who is different. I guess that is pretty much humans anywhere though isn’t it.

After Modesta’s husband died last year, she moved in with her aunt. Now her aunt says she can no longer take care of Modesta and her family and take care of her own family too. Modesta and her three children had no place else to go, so Neema’s MAP program (Mothers Against Poverty) has stepped in to help.

I cannot imagine how difficult life must be here for widows. They lose not only the protection and support of their husbands, they can sometimes lose their fields, their cows, their home and even their children if the village elders decide they cannot take their children.

Today we moved her from the aunt’s home to a room down the road from Neema Village. Even Dr. Sue Hamby, pictured above, one of our board members who is here visiting Neema got in on the move. Sue will turn 80 next week, just in case you are wondering if you are too old to come to Africa and volunteer at a baby home!

Since Modesta has worked many years in a day care center, we will help her open a small day care business in her home. Hopefully this will provide enough income for her to support her family.

Until it does we will be supporting her at $30 a month. I know that is not much but it will help buy her Ugali meal.

We had been told she had only a bed to move but that quickly turned into a full load which David thankfully was able to get loaded on the top of the van.

It is such fun to be able to do things like this here in Africa. This widow could not stop hugging and thanking us and asking God to bless us. You make this work possible but we are the ones who get to do the fun part and get the hugs. So Thank You! I love this picture below of Maria, our MAP director, with Modesta and her big smile of thanks after she was told that we would help her start her day care business.

We thank God for those of you who are supporting this work so that we can get all these great hugs!

James 1:27 “True religion is taking care of widows and orphans.”

I hope you too get lots of hugs today my friend,

dorris or (Mama Neema)