OPERATION BLESS ING INTERNATIONALJANUARY 2015

Blessingsoperationblessing.org

Kanya’s Courage A little girl finds justice

with the help of her grandfather and Operation

Blessing partners{ P A G E 8 }

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A Message from THE PRESIDENT

Bill visits with a family in Guatemala where an innovative Operation Blessing agriculture project is aiding the war on suffering.

When watching the evening news we often hear the term "boots on the ground," usually in reference to courageous American troops sent to fight the war on terrorism. Today, I would like to talk about a different

kind of war ... the war on suffering. Our teams are fighting this war on many fronts, both domestic and foreign. Operation Blessing teams are your boots on the ground in the war on suffering.

The stories in this issue are about victories in the war on suffering, examples of how Operation Blessing helps: A seven year-old girl in Cambodia who stands up for her abused friend in the face of ridicule; two grandmothers, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Peru, both raising grandchildren because their own children have met with calamity; a Holocaust survivor overcoming her own disability but determined to help others by offering free translation services; a young African mother with a disabled husband facing the daunting task of raising four children while also being the family breadwinner.

The challenges faced in each story are quite different, but the solutions follow a common thread. In every case, an innovative solution is provided because an Operation Blessing team met the need. The stories are typical of how OBI is meeting needs and alleviating suffering — examples of how, together, we can win the war on suffering, one battle at a time.

Operation Blessing has boots on the ground in the U.S. and in 23 countries around the world. Your faithful support provides the fuel in the engine of our ingenuity and the ammunition that we use to fight and overcome the forces of suffering. If you want to do more, please consider increasing your support. I promise you that we will keep the boots on the ground where they are needed most and keep fighting to increase the number of people we help.

Thank you and may God bless you in every way,

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A Message from THE PRESIDENT 4 Sophia: A Holocaust Survivor Operation Blessing brings help and hope to a struggling Holocaust survivor in Israel

6 Learning to Grow A young mother in Rwanda fights malnutrition with help from Operation Blessing partners

10 Help for Mama Rosa A hardworking grandmother and her orphaned grandchildren receive a special blessing in Peru

13 Helping Hukki Clean water changes life for women in a struggling village in India

14 Food for her Grandchildren A Pennsylvania grandmother receives a helping hand providing for her growing grandkids

Inside this issue Cover PAGE 8

Kanya’s Courage A little girl finds justice with the help of her grandfather and Operation Blessing partners

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ISRAEL

SOPHIA: A Holocaust Survivor

Sophia was just a little girl of three in Ukraine when the war began — to this day she remembers the fear her family endured when Ukrainian Jews were killed in what is called the

largest massacre of the Holocaust.At the first opportunity, Sophia’s cousin helped the little girl,

along with her mother and grandmother, flee the country by train. She still remembers sleeping up in the luggage rack during the weeks-long trip to Siberia. It was this brave act on the part of her young cousin that spared their lives during the Holocaust.

After the war, they and other families returned home, but many had lost everything during the war. She remembers living in a

Operation Blessing brings help and hope to a struggling Holocaust survivor in Israel

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one-room house with five other people as her family spent years rebuilding their lives — Sophia even became a seamstress to help provide for her family.

Then, in the 1990s, Sophia joined others in migrating to Israel, making a home there and even learning Hebrew. She also faced and survived cancer in her new home.

But recently, Sophia fell on hard times again. Her cancer returned, and she struggled to travel back and forth from her home to the hospital.

So Operation Blessing stepped in, providing a machine that allowed Sophia to receive her treatments at home. Teams have also visited her regularly, purchased food and cooked meals for her, and even helped clean her home.

Appreciative of the help she has received, Sophia volunteers with Operation Blessing to help others in need. A number of government benefits are available for families in need in Israel, but they must be filed for in Hebrew — a stumbling block for many Russian-speaking families. So Sophia helps translate information from Russian into

Hebrew so OBI teams can help those in need request help.

“Sophia is always thinking of others and looking for ways to make life better for those around her,” said OB Israel

staff. “We are both very grateful to have each other and look for-ward to our partnership for a long time.”

In honor of World Holocaust Victims Remembrance Day January 27, will you join us in praying for Holocaust survivors in need? ◆

Sophia’s grandmother

Sophia wore this vest when she was a child during WWII.

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RWANDA

A young mother in Rwanda fights malnutrition with help from

Operation Blessing partners

Learning to Grow

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At only 17 pounds, little Imanirakoze was only half the weight of a healthy child his age — despite how hard his mother Venantie worked to provide enough food for him and his siblings.

Living in a small Rwandan village with a husband too ill to work, Venantie carries the difficult burden of providing for her family of six.

“I’m the one that provides for them, and every day I have to work,” she told OBI staff. “If one day I don’t work, my children don’t eat that day.”

Operation Blessing partners with Gardens for Health Interna-

tional to bring hope to hungry families like Venantie’s through an agricul-tural training program that teaches students how to cultivate gardens that produce the nutritious food they so desperately need. Graduates of the program have seen major improvements in the health of their families and also have enough food to sell at the market for additional income.

Since enrolling in the program, Venantie has been able to feed her children a variety of nutritious foods and proudly shows off the weight Imanirakoze has gained.

“Malnutrition won’t touch my family again, because I have gardens of vegetables,” she said. “We’ve even started to eat spinach and cabbage! If you eat vegetables, you know you’re staying strong. And I’m hoping to grow even more.” ◆

“Malnutrition won’t touch my family again, because I have gardens of vegetables.”

– Venantie

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An only child raised by her grandfather, 7-year-old Kanya* found a sister in neighborhood friend Chenda*. The girls, who were both from families too poor to send them to school, spent their days

playing make-believe and roaming their rural village together.When a middle-aged Australian man befriended them, they were

excited to play in his big house and eagerly accepted his kind offers of candy and sometimes food or money they could bring home to their families.

One day, Kanya looked into the window of his house and saw him abusing Chenda. Scared for her friend, Kanya ran home to tell her grand-father and Chenda’s family.

At first, Chenda’s family couldn’t believe what Kanya told them and even sent her away — but she did not give up. Despite doubts that the

CAMBODIA

Kanya’s Courage

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A little girl finds justice with the help of her grandfather and Operation Blessing partners

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police would side with the powerful foreigner, Kanya’s grandfather and several neighbors reported what Kanya had seen.

The report was passed on to their district’s anti-human trafficking police unit — a unit that has received ex-tensive training over the past decade from Operation Blessing partner, International Justice Mission (IJM). The authorities re-quested IJM’s help in the investigation and resulting court case to help both girls through the trial process.

“The court room is unfamiliar and intimidating. Our goal is always to help survivors understand that they did nothing wrong, that they are not in trouble,” said Sopheap Seng, an IJM social worker.

With Kanya’s bold and clear testimony the offender was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison.

“When I was interviewed, I was scared,” Kanya said. “But I was able to answer all their questions; I just wanted to help my friend and tell the truth.”

“I am proud of Kanya,” her grandfather said. “I had heard about the abuse, and I was angry about what the foreigner was doing, but I was

scared. When Kanya said what she had seen, I was proud of her and I wanted her to tell the truth.”

Both girls have received counseling, Chenda and her fam-ily continue to receive aftercare services from IJM and the girls are even attend-ing school now.

Kanya’s courage and the tireless efforts of IJM staff made it possible for Chenda to have justice — a victory that Operation Blessing and its partners are striving to repeat in nations all around the world. ◆ *Name changed to protect identity 9

Kanya with Sopheap, her IJM social worker, and a social worker from her school.

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When he was just five years old, Alex lost his mother. Soon after,

his father left their community in search of work and never returned.

Thankfully, Alex’s grandmother — affectionately called Mama Rosa — took in the young boy and his little sister. Mama Rosa and her husband worked hard to provide for the two children, but it wasn’t long before Rosa’s husband passed away.

Now Mama Rosa is all the family Alex, 11, and Camila, 8, have. She has done her best to raise the children and provide for their needs, end-lessly washing clothes by hand for income.

“I really miss my parents,” Alex said, “but we have my Mama Rosa and she works hard for us.”

But sometimes the hard work wasn’t enough, and Rosa struggled just to buy food. So when there wasn’t enough to go around, Rosa would forego her portion so Alex and Camila wouldn't go hungry.

But hunger wasn’t their only struggle. Their home was a ramshackle building, unable to stand up to the wind and rain.

“It seemed like [the house] would fall on us, the rain flooded

PERU

A hardworking grandmother and

her orphaned grandchildren

receive a special blessing in Peru

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Alex and Camila's new house keeps them safe and dry.

Help for Mama Rosa

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the roof and every-thing inside got wet,” Alex said. “The house started leaning and I got scared, but I was more scared for my Mama Rosa and my sister.”

The little family fled their house and took shelter with a Alex and Camila's home was damaged in a storm.

Help for Mama Rosa

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neighbor. But when they tried to return home, it became apparent that their house was no longer inhabitable. Worse, the hard work of washing laundry was wearing on Mama Rosa’s aging body.

Unable to keep up with the demanding labor, Rosa was soon unable to afford food for the children. More than anything, she dreamed of providing a better life for her grandchildren.

“I want my children to live in a safe place with the things they need, I don’t want them to lack food or anything,” she said.

When Operation Blessing came to Rosa’s community to distribute new shoes, teams learned about their situation and soon built her family a new, sturdy house that could endure the seasonal storms. In the new house Alex and Camila even have their very own beds.

“Thank you, Operation Blessing; I love my new bed and room!” Alex said.

The new house also contains a small storefront, stocked with supplies, where Rosa can sell everyday staples — a booming business since there are no other stores in her community. She even received training from Operation Blessing on running a small business, book keeping and more.

The income she earns from the store is enough to provide food for Alex and Camila and even set aside savings for health care and other expenses that will come in the future.

“This is God’s blessing,” Mama Rosa said, “and I’m dedicating this business and this house to God.” ◆

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In her remote village in India, Hukki begins her day while it is still dark.She rises early to prepare a meal for her family — her husband Lal

Singh, their three children and his parents. Her day consists of cooking, cleaning, washing and, perhaps most time consuming of all, collecting water.

Their only water source is an open well roughly half a mile from their village of mud huts with thatched roofs. And when rainfall is low, the well dries up.

Worse, the water she is able to bring home to her family often makes them sick because it is rife with contaminants.

Relief came to Hukki and her entire village when Operation Blessing teams arrived to drill a bore well. Now Hukki and the other women have access to water right in their own village. It never runs dry and, best of all, is clean and safe to drink. ◆

INDIA

HELPING HUKKI

Clean water changes life for women in a struggling

village in India

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PENNSYLVANIA

When their son passed away three years ago, Linda and Nelson immediately took in their four grandchildren — providing them with a loving home and everything they

needed to get by.But a car accident had already forced Linda onto disability, so

she spends her days taking care of the kids and volunteering to help those in need at a local food pantry. Then an accident left Nelson

A Pennsylvania grandmother receives a helping hand providing

for her growing grandkids

Food for her Grandchildren

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with a painful back injury — ending his career in demolition work.

Nelson picked up odd jobs when he could, but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills and keep food on the table for their growing grandkids.

So Linda turned to the same food pantry where she had regularly volunteered and asked for help. Thanks in part to Operation Blessing partners, she received the food and supplies her family needed to get through hard times.

“We would really be struggling if it was not for Operation Blessing,” Linda said. “We love the fruits and veggies we get, and also the stuff to make spaghetti. I love to cook, and they make it so I can cook good, healthy things.”

The Operation Blessing-supported food pantry near her home serves more than 1,500 families each month with nutritious food, necessities like diapers and more.

“When our folks see the Operation Blessing truck pull in, there’s just a lot of excitement,” said Gary Bellis of the food pantry. “Because we know we have good product that we can distribute to so many people in need. I can’t say enough to Operation Blessing and to all the people that make Operation Blessing possible. You are so helping us to accomplish the mission that God has for us.” ◆

Food for her Grandchildren

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Copyright © 2015 by Operation Blessing International, P.O. Box 2636, Virginia Beach, VA 23450. For more information, call (800) 730-2537 or visit our website at operationblessing.org

THERE’S A better WAY TO share YOUR BLESSINGS WITH THOSE who need HELP THE MOST. Visit ob.org/ClubBless to learn how your gift can make a difference this year.