First of all I want to thank this church for embracing me and my family. Being one of the many immigrants, I have made my home here. Back in Africa I was struggling to get a good education, knowing it would be the key to access my full potential, but in my country the will to learn is there, but the means to get the education is lacking. Most schools  do not have enough supplies and staff  is underpaid, and more often go without pay.
As a child I grew up in a country called Sierra Leone in the town of Kono, where schools were either too expensive or government schools that were underserved. I used to travel to my paternal home in the village of Kono, where poverty is the order of life. The villagers walk a  long distance to fetch water for cooking, drinking, and washing clothes, and they bathe in the rivers.
My dream, as I vividly remember, is that someday I will help with water situation and upgrade their living conditions.
Does anybody know this stress?
Coming from school,and there  is no food in the house, no hope that you are going to eat food that day. Mother is sick, and there is  no money to take her to the hospital.  Dad is jobless; therefore he cannot provide for his family. That is how stress feels: no hope for the future because of poverty. Poverty is a crisis of starvation in Africa.
Some people have only one meal a day, and some people will go without food. The sad part is that most children in Africa are deprived of at least one basic necessity of life, such as food, clean water, shelter, or healthcare. Instead of these children running, laughing, and playing with friends, these children spend their formative years struggling to survive. Poverty has affected every aspect of their lives. People are dying because of poor health care while giving birth, and these children are left motherless, and there is no government fund to protect them. Therefore they face a lifetime of servitude to the neighboring families, while some of the little girls would be sold as slaves to local fetish priests. Eventually many of these children will die from the combined effects of starvation and disease.
The most significant turning point in my life was coming to America. Since then, my entire life and my dreams have been revolutionized. Apart from the adjustment, I feel the need to talk about assisting my brothers and sisters back in Sierra Leone, where the people are very religious despite being poor. Â Worship takes a center stage, but many of the people lack formal worship services. Â Some gather under trees and some have the privilege of building small chapels. They lift themselves up in prayers and hymns believing in the message that one day they shall over come these conditions. I want to believe God is using me to appeal for help on their behalf.
Life over here has both contrived and challenged me heavily into the person I have become.  Gone are the days I felt no-hope in tackling issues like poverty. I have realized I am surrounded by God’s extraordinary people who think like me, who have the dream to improve humanity.  This church has been good to me and I believe and trust in God Almighty that together we can help build something better for  the villagers in places like Kono. My prayer is that this will be incorporated among our church projects.
North Raleigh Church of Christ Ladies' Ministry 