Finding New Hope
Sinkenesh’s disability adds another layer of difficulty to her life, but she found hope
Through training and support, Sinkenesh has found new hope
Sinkenesh Dagne wakes up to water dripping on her face. Her family’s grass-thatched home can’t keep out the heavy rains that come to her local village in Ethiopia. She proceeds to wake her kids to move them to a drier spot to avoid getting sick.
Sinkenesh’s family has lived in poverty for as long as she can remember. In her rural village, job opportunities are limited. And with the climate changing, the most common jobs, such as farming, are becoming less productive and available.
But the biggest challenge is Sinkenesh’s disability. Sinkenesh is blind. Many of the jobs in her village are not made accessible to her. She is left to support her family by begging for food and money. The family attends the local church, which does what it can to help families like Sinkenesh’s.
Thanks to people like you, a few years ago, leaders within Sinkenesh’s church were trained in Community and Church Transformation (CCT). CCT is a biblical model of development that works with local churches and pastors, providing training and support to help them to go beyond their walls and address the unmet needs of the wider community – physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
The church mobilized resources for development work and supported the poor in their community. Sinkenesh and her family benefited greatly from this training. The local church was able to provide food and cash and helped build a new home. Construction of the house has improved the health and overall living condition of the family.
Churches are one of the most effective ways to help families. Because of you, Tearfund has been able to train and work alongside churches to make sure families can live and thrive. It is vital that families like Sinkeneshs’ are helped out of poverty, but this training also helps leaders and church members learn how to create lasting change and find long-term solutions. These solutions often come from better gardens, livestock buying and selling, which creates sustainable incomes.
Sinkenesh was given a male goat, and after a few months, she sold it and bought a female goat. She again sold the female goat for more money and bought a pregnant goat and a chicken. Owning livestock, learning how to create savings, and better gardening help families like Sinkenesh’s live through difficult seasons and thrive within their villages. Thank you for supporting churches trained in CCT, which helps families in the community live more flourishing lives.
Sinkenesh is very grateful for the support you have given so Tearfund can train and work with the local church.
