This program provides care and support to widows who are generally alone, living in poor conditions and neglected by others. We will highlight 5 of our widow's in this report.
Pictured below is Rosa Machava. Rosa is 78 years old and a member of the Iris church. Extremely poor and too old to work, we brought Rosa into the widows' program.
In October 2019, we wrote about one of our precious widows, Helena.
She lived in Hulene, very close to the garbage dump. Iris Ministries Canada was instrumental in rebuilding her broken-down house and supporting her care, partly by supporting a neighbour to check in on Helena and give her daily meals.
On our visits to Helena, she would remind me of when Heidi baptized her and her times of worship at the Hulene church and in Zimpeto.
Pictured below are three of our precious widows, living in their own homes, provided by Iris:
Vovo (Grandma) Rosalina was abandoned by her family after she had to have one of her legs amputated. She never had children. We provide caregivers to provide for her needs and cover the salary of the helpers who do her cleaning, cook, wash her clothes, and offer loving companionship.
One of our community pastors introduced us to Helena, a widow who lives in the community.
Helena was living in a tin shed, so the local church that supports her is currently in the process of building her a concrete block house. The pastor of local churc approached Iris to ask for our help because the church was not able to meet the added covid building code requirements. We have a builder currently finishing the windows, doors, roof, and bathroom.
We are currently caring for 3 widows in the community. Rosalina (whom we have shared about with you before), once alone, abandoned by family, and unable to walk because of amputation to one of her legs, is deeply grateful and at peace, knowing that all of her food, hygiene needs, and social support needs are cared for. The woman who provides for much of Rosalina’s care by doing her cooking, cleaning, and washing, is completely blind. We are grateful to be able to care for this woman's needs as well.
We continue to oversee the care of widows in the community. Pictured here is Rosalina. This precious one is blind and lost a leg through amputation. Rosalina never had children, and her family members abandoned her years ago. This IMC project supplies the finances that guarantee Rosalina’s food, all of her hygienic needs, and pays for a woman who does Rosalina's cleaning, washing, and cooking.
One of Iris catch phrases is “Stop for the One”. The bible says that the purest form of religion is to care for orphans and widows.
IMC built a beautiful widows house, with space for 8 widows. We provide full time care for two, as most of the elderly do not want to leave their community; we care for many others through neighbors.
Today we visited Mana Salema in her house. She is old and frail but loves our visits. We bring juice and biscuits, and of course she needs money to buy chicken!
Like most people, her biggest issue is loneliness….she asked us to take her to the beach.
All of us need others to spend time with us. We assume that is why Jesus says caring for widows is “pure”. They have nothing to give us except a chat or a smile.
