Single Mother Dreaming Even Bigger for her Future
Mayra is a single mother in Nicaragua.
Like most moms, Mayra has big dreams for her two beautiful girls, Seydeling, 12, and Meykelin, 15. She longs for them to attend school, to learn and grow, and eventually to graduate and achieve a bright future.
But tragically, like many moms living in poverty around the world, major obstacles stood in between Mayra and her dreams for her daughters coming true. That all changed when generous Food for the Hungry (FH) supporters made a way forward with the gift of a pig.
Daughter, Seydeling, helps look after the family’s pig.
A Single Mother’s Struggle
Mayra spent long days working tirelessly to provide for her daughters. From washing clothes for her neighbors to helping a local baker make bread, there’s little she wouldn’t do to see her daughters well fed, in school, and thriving.
But it didn’t seem to matter how many odd jobs she’d string together, Mayra simply couldn’t earn enough to pay for her family’s most basic needs. Food was in short supply in their impoverished community, and prices were going up. School fees, uniforms, and other supplies her girls need to be able to attend class add up quickly. And as a single mother, Mayra had to shoulder this burden all alone.
“This problem has affected me in a great way since I have had to double my efforts to buy uniforms and school supplies for my daughters’ studies,” Mayra says. “It is very difficult for me as a single mother to be able to provide health, education, and food for my children. Many times we have had to make do with the little I can afford for my children.”
Mayra needed a hand up to achieve her full potential and empower her daughters to achieve theirs. But being a single mother created a great stigma in her community. Without a husband to help her make payments, every local financial institution viewed her as too great of a credit risk. They refused to grant her loans to start the livestock business she dreamed could make a better life for herself.
But, thank God, FH supporters didn’t hesitate. When they looked at Mayra, they didn’t see a “risk,” but an opportunity to lift up a vulnerable family out of dire poverty and into a life where dreams come true.
If livestock is what Mayra needed to get there, then FH supporters were more than happy to provide a pig.
Mayra, a single mother, feeding the pig.
This Little Piggy Makes Dreams Come True
Not only did Mayra receive a pig through FH, but she also benefited from the training and tools that came with the animal, including:
- Bags of cement and directions to create the best possible walls and floor for a pig stall.
- A veterinary kit to help control diseases, provide deworming, and maintain overall health.
- Coordination with local partners to breed the pig to produce piglets that she can sell and gift to other struggling families in her community.
In short, it was everything this single mother needed to start a pig-breeding business.
This alone would be game-changing for Mayra, but the blessings just kept coming. She also participated in training for nutrition and household management. And her youngest daughter, Seydeling, became an FH sponsored child.
A Single Mother’s Family Transformed
Mayra could not be more thrilled with the gifts and opportunities she has received, or more excited to pay it forward other families in need. She knows what a difference the gift of a pig can make!
“Before FH helped me, I did not have the possibility of having a piglet for breeding,” she says. “Now, I have a sow, which is already very fat. And I hope to soon have about eight piglets to sell. This will greatly help my family’s economy.”
Mayra is now able to put food on the table for her family every day. She joined an FH saving group, where she plans to “save continuously and buy a plot of land to build my little house, since I have to rent right now,” she says.
Her daughters are also transforming their own futures by helping with the pig business.
“My daughter gets up early every day to feed the sow and clean up. She says that from the piglets sold, she will be able to buy a cell phone, which she needs to do research for her studies. She plans to graduate from high school in 2024.”
“I hope and trust in God that FH will execute more projects for our community, and we will be able to improve our family income and achieve our goals,” Mayra says with a smile. With her most urgent needs finally met, this single mother can start dreaming bigger and set even more game-changing goals for her future.
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A Mother’s Kitchen and Life Transformed