SARAH, a Treasure from the slums
We first met Sarah when one of our scholars, invited her to attend Pastor Elaine’s Saturday soaking & worship service in 2012. She was thin and malnourished and had problems trusting and obeying authority. She was quite stubborn and very critical of other people. Her inability to trust authority is understandable when we found out more about her past.
Sarah’s father passed away while she was young. Her mother then became addicted to illegal drugs and has since been hiding from the police. Thus, she did not receive proper care and love from her parents who were mostly absent. She was left in the care of her older brother.
The family barely had enough to provide 3 square meals a day, and much less school. Sarah babysat her neighbor’s daughter in exchange for food. Things then took a change for the better when Sarah was eventually given the opportunity to be part of Fishes & Loaves’ Scholarship Program.
After only a year in our Scholarship and Feeding Program she became one of our top scholars. She is a bubbly 13 year-old who is responsible and reliable. Sarah is quite the achiever in school yet remains humble about her achievements. She is also a fast learner who ranked 1st overall in her class this year. She now actively serves in our Children and Youth Ministries as one of our youth leaders. Sarah is a source of inspiration for other youths and children, a source of pride and joy for all of us at Fishes & Loaves.
A DRUG RUNNER’S STORY
Pastor Elaine first saw 8 year-old Mark begging for food and money to give to his father who was (still) in prison. He wandered the streets half-naked, dirty, barefoot and hungry. Whatever clothes that were given to him he handed over to his friends. He is a generous child.
Mark lived under the care of his grandmother. He belongs to a family of drug pushers and drug addicts and lived in a house that was a drug den. His grandmother sometimes instructed him to sell drugs and collect money from other drug users.
He seldom went to school because of extreme poverty.
His mother recently died while pregnant (with his 4th sibling) due to alcohol and illegal drug-related complications.
After more than a year of feeding and nurturing Mark, he was eventually included in Fishes & Loaves’ Scholarship Program and provided temporary shelter at the Miracle House. Today, Mark gets consistently high grades in school.
He also actively encourages his “old buddies” about the love and hope he has found in Jesus. Although Mark’s struggles on his road to full recovery are real, his progress and determination have only served to further strengthen Fishes & Loaves’ commitment to cheer him on his journey with Jesus and countless other children like him.
SUCCESS STORIES WITH CALVARY KID’S HOME
BABY JONAH
Baby Jonah was a mere infant when Fishes & Loaves first came to the slums 2013 when “feeding” meant a Saturday afternoon of giving out pieces of bread to the children. His was a life of abuse and neglect at the hands of a mentally unstable mother who kept him in a closet drawer and left him in a basin of water whenever he needed to be washed.
It was common knowledge in the neighborhood that she would threaten to throw baby Jonah into the sea each time he became irritable and unruly. We prayed fervently for baby Jonah. He needed to be rescued and placed in a new home.
God answered our prayers in the form of Nanay ( mother) Billie and Pastor Joe Rosmarinos. They are the founders and house parents of Calvary Kids Home, a safe and loving home for children in crisis – our partner children’s home and sheter in saving His precious children.
4 SIBLINGS SAVED
Through our feeding program, we came across a family who had 6 siblings. One baby already died from severe malnutrition. The older girl clearly needed immediate medical attention. Her bones were sticking out of her back and she had a hard time breathing. Despite our best efforts to save her, her body was too weak. It suffered greatly from severe malnourishment and TB. She died. She left 4 of her siblings behind. We were worried for their safety. They continued to live in an abusive family environment of neglect and where substance abuse was the norm. We stormed the heavens in prayer for these children.
Our answer came during a crisis situation.
One of the siblings, Marnie was left untreated for diarrhea for a week. She was seen naked trying to find water to bathe herself. She was skin and bones. As we rushed to her rescue, we discovered that her baby sister was also very sick. The doctors said that we almost lost them. Their bodies were so infected that upon treatment, 350 worms came out from both of them. All children suffered from TB and severe malnutrition.
All 4 siblings were eventually rescued from their desperate situation and transferred to the care of Calvary Kids Home.
Today , all 5 children INCLUDING JONAH are healthy and going to school. They are well on their way to living whole lives. Thanks to Calvary Kids Home’s partnership with Fishes & Loaves, these children were given hope for a better life.
* These stories are based on true to life accounts of the children and the families that the foundation has helped. However, for their protection and privacy, their names and other personal information have been replaced.