Every Gift Has a Story: Gifts of Care for Women

They have grown up in impoverished conditions, lacking access to basic necessities like clean water, proper nutrition, education, and medical care. They often experience domestic abuse and are marginalized in their communities. These women are desperate to escape for the sake of their own lives and the lives of those they love. Without clear paths out, many are tempted to resort to any way possible to provide for their families, often further entrapping them in darkness and despair.

Knowing these dynamics, Oakseed’s ministry partners seek to bring a robust gospel to their neighbors, ministering to their spiritual and physical needs. The goal of these programs is a rescue mission, providing women with resources and skills to earn a living in a God-honoring way. It means informing them of the resources and programs legally available to them so that they and their families can have food and medical care. It means showing them, through the Scriptures and how they are treated, that they are image-bearers of the Creator and thus worthy of dignity and respect. It means doing all these things while pleading with them to come to Christ, the One who, though He was rich, for their sakes, became poor so that they, by His poverty, might become rich.

Burundi is one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Although enjoying relative peace for the past several years, decades of conflict between warring ethnic groups wreaked havoc on an already fragile economy, further entrenching millions in poverty. Hannah House Family offers six-month sewing training classes for women in several neighboring communities. Graduation ceremonies are joyous occasions where the women are celebrated for their achievements and demonstrate their new skills. Many of them have been able to get jobs and earn money to help support their families. As these women participate in the classes, the instructors and director of Hannah House Family can build relationships with them, encourage them, and point them to Christ.

Ethiopia is the largest and most populated country in the Horn of Africa, and it remains one of the poorest in the world. Years of internal conflicts have further impacted the economy, and many women struggle to feed and educate their children. Oakseed supports three ministries in Ethiopia, and each of them seeks to share the gospel as they meet the tangible needs of impoverished women in their communities. Morning Light and Hanna Orphan’s Home host income-generating programs, providing skills training, counseling in starting and running businesses, and even start-up costs to get these businesses up and running. Single mothers are given food and medical assistance for their children.

Poverty in Ethiopia continues to worsen, and many poor people have no food, resorting to going through the trash for anything they can eat. Those with disabilities, the elderly, children, and sick people are especially suffering. These dire conditions serve to drive many women to prostitution out of desperation to feed themselves and their children. Love Never Fails enters the darkest places of Addis Ababa, calling women to escape lives of prostitution, come to Christ, and earn money in God-honoring ways. It provides life skills training in the public schools to teach young girls to lead healthy and productive lives, free from drugs or being drawn into prostitution.