Finding Hope in Christ: Hawa & Lamerana

A Special Visit

This year, we added our first ten girls into the Waterloo girls’ sponsorship program in Sierra Leone. I recently had the pleasure of visiting eight of those girls’ families to inform them that they now had sponsors. That meant having the funds to start school!

I will never forget the day I took Hawa and four of our other girls to the school to register and receive their uniforms. Hawa (9), and her cousin, Lamerana (5), live with their mothers who share a duplex. Both of their fathers left their families when they could no longer provide for them. This left their mothers with the sole responsibility of meeting the girls’ daily needs. This is not an easy task in this developing country.

Each of the girls received their uniform. Hawa was the first to run to me and hug me in her excitement and gratitude. I walked Hawa back to her home and met her grandmother. She grabbed me tightly and began praying blessings over us for what God had done for them.

WITH TEARS IN MY EYES I REALIZED OUR SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM IS ABLE TO BE A TANGIBLE DISPLAY OF GOD’S LOVE AND CONCERN FOR THESE GIRLS’ FAMILIES.

A New Smile

That same evening, I received the news that Lamerana had also been sponsored. I headed back to the school the next morning to register her. Lamerana is the youngest and most shy of the girls. As she was being fitted for her uniform, there were no words, just a smile I had never seen from her. Back at her home, we met Hawa and Lamerana’s grandmother again, who lifted up her hands and exclaimed, “If we call out His name in worship, should we be surprised when He blesses us in these ways?!” God was doubly reminding this family that they are seen and loved.

Each week we have the pleasure of visiting these girls at their school and seeing their excitement and confidence grow. Lamerana even runs to greet me now and talk with me about her day. God’s hand has clearly directed this program from the beginning, and we are very thankful to be included in the work He is doing in these girls’ lives!

This article was first featured in our 2018 | 2019 Annual Report and was written by our Director of Operations in Sierra Leone, Shara Johnson.