Women’s Lives Transformed Through Send Relief South Africa Project

By Send Relief Staff

Emergency food rations that you helped provide through Send Relief saved these women and their families from starvation!

Dudu lost her job as a domestic worker due to COVID-19 and was feeling desperate. Her husband was murdered 15 years ago while she was at work, and three of her children subsequently died of natural causes. She was left to care for three orphaned grandchildren on her own.

Along with providing filling essentials such as maize and rice, Send Relief partners were able to help Dudu start her own vegetable garden and supply her with the seedlings and fertilizer needed to keep food on the table for years to come.

Pauline is a diabetic and suffers from arthritis. She also cares for three grandchildren, one of whom is mentally challenged. Her home was already dilapidated when a heavy storm in 2020 blew the roof away.

Pauline’s roof has been repaired by our partners, and she was also assisted in creating a backyard vegetable garden. With the grocery money she saved by attending a food distribution, she was also able to build a two-room blockhouse to shelter her grandchildren from the elements.

Matrina is a 67-year-old diabetic and asthmatic. In 2019, her husband passed away suddenly, leaving her to care for 11 people who were dependent on his income. Because she did not have updated identification documents, she was not receiving her pension and had to work grueling hours as a domestic helper and street beggar. Due to COVID-19, the children in her care were not in school and needed more food. In desperation to provide for her family, she began consulting witchdoctors to try to improve her circumstances.

Through Send Relief partners, Matrina learned how to budget and is now using her garden to sell produce, adding a much-needed source of income to the family. She was also able to purchase a new ID and is now on the waiting list for a government pension. Our partners report that her life has changed radically and, rather than consulting witch doctors, she now attends weekly Bible studies and church services.

Thabile was unemployed but found occasional tasks as a domestic helper. Apart from her own four children, she cares for five orphaned grandchildren whose mother was brutally murdered by her boyfriend in a horrific act of gender-based violence. Five of the nine children were receiving child support, but the other four did not have the birth certificates needed to obtain government assistance. The first few months of lockdown made her already-difficult life unbearable.

Thabile is also now attending church and, with the money she’s saving through her vegetable garden, she is building a small house for her family. Send Relief partners assisted her in applying for her grandchildren’s birth certificates and, as a result, some are now receiving government aid which helps keep the family nourished and safe.

Annatoria was earning a living by selling scrap metal but, with lockdown regulations, she was unable to leave her home. Even though she has severe heart problems and is a widowed diabetic, she does not receive any government assistance, so her only source of income during quarantine was the child support her four grandchildren receive.

Annatoria’s health has drastically improved, and she has a small produce business that helps her afford diabetes medication. She recently committed her life to Christ as a result of the positive interactions she had with believers through this project.

A small act of kindness can truly transform a person’s life! These women have hope for the future as a result of your generosity. Pray for their continued spiritual growth as they raise their children and grandchildren.


Published July 13, 2021

Send Relief Staff