Stories

Angella never expected to become a widow, divorcée, and single mom to five children and four grandchildren, all within a few years. Her husband died in 2006, leaving her to raise three children on her own. She remarried in an effort to secure financial stability for her children and two new step daughters, but the new marriage quickly ended, leaving her alone, again. She knows first-hand how mental health can affect every aspect of one’s life.

How are you doing—really doing?

Right now, there are 3.5 billion people still living without safe toilets. Because of a lack of sanitation, diseases spread among their families and communities, killing 1,000 children under the age of five every single day. This global situation poses a threat to half the world’s population and puts women, girls, and vulnerable groups at risk of harm.

On World Children’s Day, we’re highlighting the need to start strong!

I think we can all agree that water is essential to life on Earth.

When Deborah was just 12 years old, she was kidnapped and held captive with a group of young girls for two months. By the time she escaped and returned home, the damage was done. Her harrowing ordeal haunted her into her teens and adulthood. Fearing social stigma, she told no one the truth about what had happened, except for her mother and sister. She had been a victim of human trafficking, but she didn’t feel like a survivor. She felt restless, fearful, and depressed. She isolated herself from friends and community. She couldn’t work—she could barely brush her own hair.

Juana will never forget the little water bottle that she carried to school every day. Water access close to home (or in your house!) is critical to development. Girls in Guatemala need access to water to help them stay in school.

When Irene's husband left for Kenya to seek employment, Irene became a single mother solely responsible to provide for five children.

Ashrayan, a government-built project housing over 48 families, had no local water supply. Residents spent hours traversing a steep hill to collect unsafe water that made them sick. Ashrayan had no preschools and only one primary school a kilometre away. “Being far away from the [primary] school, we were not very interested in education. If we have that interest to involve our children with school, it’s quite tough to go to school regularly for our children by walking that distance from our house,” one mother shared.

A girl’s first period is her first step into womanhood. Many girls, however, are never taught that menstruation is a normal process—their first period comes with fear, confusion, and a lack of confidence.

How health education empowered a community to shed superstition and find true healing - for body and mind.

It’s hard to get much done when you’re always getting sick. Debilitating stomach cramps, chronic fatigue, and the embarrassing need to run to the washroom every 15 minutes tends to get one down.

A natural resource that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and makes up to 60% of our bodies, water contributes to life around the world, including providing food, income, and wellbeing. Yet, the global water crisis is commonly misunderstood! This World Water Day, Food for the Hungry experts in water, sanitation, and health (WASH) have joined together to help you dispel some common myths about clean water, and give you a better understanding of the work we do with water around the world.

Superstition, misconceptions, and poor health knowledge made Julekha and her family vulnerable to disease. Most of the people in her village were illiterate and extremely poor. A lack of health clinics perpetuated the people’s reliance on superstitious beliefs to heal their illnesses.

Tube-wells are fast, safe ways to get clean water access to families in high density areas.