DRC: “Now I have hope”

Dear my beloved Peter.

I am very happy to have this chance of thanking you very much for having allowed me in your family.  After hearing that you have allowed me in your family I was very much pleased.  Thank you very much.  My God bless you very much.

I wish to tell you a bit of me.  I was born in a poor family.  After a short time mam passed away when I was still very young then later dad married another wife who mistreated me very much.  Then I disappeared from home and went to the capital city Kigali where I started to struggle for survival.  Here I started a hard life that was in 1984.  Later I was pregnant and gave birth to a baby without a husband.  This is when I started real poverty up to now.  But now I have a hope because of your sponsorship which you are sending to me.  I am sure it is going to help me from this poverty.  Thank you very much.

I am again thanking Women for Women program for having joined me with you and for their lessons which they are teaching me.  They are very useful to me.  I have a hope that this sponsorship is going to be productive and that it is going to help me from the poverty which I have been living in for the whole of my past life with the help of these lessons I have been taught in this program.

Here poor people are in problems because of how our country is developing at high speed people who have knowledge and who are able to work are becoming more and more rich, but we are also trying to see that we are not left very far away from others. Rwanda is a country with a good vision now.

I would like to have your family photograph so that I can see them.  I will aslo try to send mine to you.

Dear my beloved Peter, how are you doing over there in America.  I was very happy to hear that you have completed your presidential elections very peacefully.  We Rwandans we have been praying for your elections all the Christians in their services were praying the election in America.  You have showed the world that you really have democracy.  Here in Rwanda we are also preparing for the presidential elections next year in 2010.  We also need your prayers so that it may run smoothly.

Dear my friend I heard that in your country of America you have a lot of coldness and snow.  How are you now is it very cold at the moment?  I wish I could reach there and see that place and meet you with your family.

I will always pray for your protection.  I have two children one is called Uwimbabazi Clarissa and the 2nd is called Uwera Jeannine.  They are all greeting you  and wishing to see your children.

Send my greetings to your family as well as your friends.

Thank you may peace and blessing from God continue to be with you.

From the one who loves you very much.

Marie

Letter Quotes: Nigeria and Rwanda

“Thank you very much for being my sponsor sister in the program Women for Women. I am full of joy for the support and encouragement you gave me. My condition before was full up ups and downs, things were very hard. I hope my life will change with your support; thank you for sending sponsorship funds to us. …I have a sister with me here, you have proved to be another one, you are my sister indeed. I will put my effort to see that I learn what thy have to teach us.” –Eucharia from Nigeria

“By now you may be wondering what is happening in our clan (Women for Women). This is to tell you about the positive impact in my life. I learnt many things but to start with is political power, that we women have equal power in government. In fact that we can contest for any political post even presidency or any political appointment and have the right to vote and be voted for during election.” –Beatrice from Nigeria

“Thank you very much for your sponsorship which I am very much pleased with my family is also very much happy. I have finished to shelter our house and I have bought a cow from the profit I made from this sponsorship. Actually have been doing well in my small business I have been making a good profit. I’m hoping to open an account from the bank where I will be saving some little money. I wish I could meet you and hug you with my both arms. I have got a new baby boy he is one month old. God has answered our prayers.” –Silvine from Rwanda

“I am a single mother, my husband left me with one child. I told her about our friendship and she was very happy so every time I write she tells me to send greetings to you. She knows that all I managed to achieve was because of your sponsorship.” –Floride from Rwanda

“Thank you very much for sponsoring me from poverty which I was in and I am infected with the HIV/AIDS I am on the medicine which reduces the power and strength of HIV/AIDS and this medicine needs to be taken when you have taken something or eaten so I was very stressed. …I was almost giving up with my life because of this disease but now I am doing well because of your sponsorship which I am using to produce profit and this profit is helping to feed my five children with my parent. …Thank you from your sister who loves you.” –Odette from Rwanda

Iraq Letter Writing Announcement!

As many of you know, we have historically been unable to allow letter writing for our participants in Iraq as a matter of security. It was found to be unsafe for the women to have letters from their sponsors, particularly from sponsors in the United States. Recently however, the women in our Iraq program have made it clear to us that they feel a great loss in being unable to correspond – and we have worked with our wonderful Iraq staff to make it possible.

We began piloting a program for letters in Iraq in Fall 2008, with the assurance that we would let you all know as soon as we were ready to open the letter writing program to all Iraq participants and sponsors. That day is today! Iraq sponsors: if you choose, you can now send letters to your sponsored sister.

Letter writing in Iraq differs slightly from the program in our other countries. Since it remains unsafe for the participants to have physical letters from their sponsors, we will accept letters from sponsors only through email. The letters will then be available for sponsored sisters when they are in the office for their classes. Participants in Iraq will write paper letters, which we will send along to you the same as those from any of our other country offices.

Although they are unable to take the actual letters home with them, so far the participants are ecstatic to be able to communicate with their sponsors and very appreciative of any letters or photographs (sent as attachments) we have sent to date.

If you would like to email a letter to your sister in Iraq (or any of our countries), simply send it to letters@womenforwomen.org and include your full name and sponsor ID, along with your sister’s name, country, and woman group.

Letter Quotes: Afghanistan

“I am very happy that I have a kind sister like you. I am a house wife, it is going to be 16 years that my husband died and I am bread winner of my family and have a lot of economical problems. Now one of my legs and one of my hands broke because of economical problems I can not go to doctor for cure and I come to this program very difficulty. May thanks from your funds and cooperation of Women for Women International and I am very happy that I received your letters.” –Parwar from Afghanistan

“Women of Afghanistan suffered a lot of problems during these last decades and they want to live in peace and to be self-sufficient.” –Rahima from Afghanistan

“We are getting close to elections and I took card of elections and I want to participate [in the] elections and select our candidate” –Zansangi from Afghanistan

“I want to begin other programs like this for Afghan women.” –Gulalai from Afghanistan

“I am an uneducated woman, I send my children to school and I love equally my sons and daughters. I am very happy in Women for Women International that this program offers many useful lessons about women’s rights. Before I joined this program I didn’t have information about women’s rights and now that I am a participant of this program I have learned many useful lessons about women’s rights that women can work and help with each other. We are women that we must love each other and live in peace.” –Sheama from Afghanistan

A letter from Rozia in Afghanistan.

DRC: “I will cherish [your friendship] forever”

Dear Irene,

Warm greetings to you and to your family!  I hope all is well with you.  As for us, we are currently doing well but the future is God’s secret.

I am so happy to have you as my sponsor sister. I feel blessed to have had you in my life. Your friendship has meant a great deal to me and I will cherish it forever.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  My name is Riziki.  I am 30 years old.  I was born in Bagira Zone, in Bukavu town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  I am a singer and belong to a protestant church that we call 5th CELPA/Philadelphia.  My husband loves God as well.  My oldest daughter is a singer as well.  She is 6 years old and is in the 1st grade.  The second is a boy of 3 years old and the third is a boy of one year.  I also take care of two orphans.  We live by God’s grace because we are facing many challenges in our country.

I know Kiswahili and French. I like cooking different recipes. I want to learn English and guitar. I like religious music because it comforts me so much. Our culture is different from yours. Divorce is not allowed in our tradition. Once one gets married, he/she must endure all the difficulties that he/she face in the household. Only death will separate you.

…My husband’s name is Mbisso that means attic/garret.  My name is Riziki that means blessing or wealth.  Our kids’ names are: Binga, Robin, and Louange.

Every day when I get up, I make a short prayer, then I get my kid ready for school, clean the house, wash dishes, make lunch and provide food for my family. After eating, I go to the market to buy food for the evening meal. Once I am back from the market, I start cooking then we gather for food. After eating we pray together and read the bible. My husband and I teach our kids God’s words then we go to bed.

My God bless you for your good deeds.

Sincerely yours,

Riziki