Personal Dignity Kits make a difference in El Salvador

November 4, 2022

Personal Dignity Kits Make a Difference in El Salvador

Imagine a home in rural El Salvador.

Inside that home are rooms full of children. These children have come from a variety of different backgrounds, but most are without family and without basic necessities. But they have been welcomed into this children’s home. Now, they wake up, take a shower with their bottle of shampoo, and put on a freshly laundered set of clothes. They head to school and come back home. They eat a meal, do the dishes, then clean up the house. Finally, they get ready for bed, brush their teeth, and wipe their faces with a washcloth and soap.

To us, these are simple, minimal daily tasks. To many children in El Salvador, this is a rarity.

In El Salvador, 22.8% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many children cannot attend school, leaving nearly half of the rural population without being able to read and write. In rural areas, it can be hard to afford or have access to the most basic necessities.

Food For The Poor started the Angels Of Hope program to sponsor vulnerable children; clothing them, feeding them, and giving them an education, all within a caring and nurturing environment. When Midwest Mission sends Angels of Hope shipments, each and every item goes to a children’s home that is much like the one described above. These children are finally receiving the care they have always needed, in an environment that shows them God’s love.

Recently, we received a report from Food For The Poor’s in-country partners in El Salvador. They had received an Angels of Hope shipment from Midwest Mission that contained Home Care and Personal Dignity kits. The Home Care Kits contain basic home-cleaning supplies, including household cleaner, dish soap, laundry detergent, and a scrub brush. The Personal Dignity Kits contain needed hygiene supplies including a washcloth and hand towel, toothbrush and toothpaste, bar soap, deodorant and shampoo.

These items provide children’s homes with the means to give these children clean clothes, a clean home with clean dishes, and hygiene supplies. Receiving these items helps create the caring and nurturing environment these children need and deserve.

This shipment, in particular, went to nine children’s homes in El Salvador.

Nestor Peña, Food For The Poor’s coordinator for gifts-in-kind, shared with us about the impact of this shipment:

“The kits are something that the children’s homes truly appreciate having because they consist of consumables that are used on a daily basis. They are indispensable to one’s personal care and help in the prevention of disease and promotion of good health, especially in this era of COVID-19, and to have them available at children’s homes is truly a blessing.”

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Solar Panels to be Added to the Midwest Mission Warehouse

For our Endowment fund this year, we asked for donations to help fund solar panels that will be put on the first warehouse at Midwest Mission.

Chantel Corrie, Executive Director, shared about the process of choosing to add solar panels:

“When I became director five years ago, my goal was to get the organization as secure as possible for the future. That meant writing down a lot of information, creating systems, and working on the property to make us as effective and efficient as possible. We actually looked at doing this project four years ago. It wasn’t God’s timing. In 2020, we discovered an incentive program for energy-efficient lighting. It decreased consumption by 25%. One of our volunteers referred us to a solar company she knew from another project. Their first question was about the difference in our bills. We explained the upgrade. Turns out you don’t want to get a solar array larger than you need because it drastically decreases the return on investment. Thankfully, God is always orchestrating the work and connections in his perfect timing at Midwest Mission.”

Solar will save $308,494 over a 25-year period giving a conservative return on investment of $220,140.

We are excited to begin this project and to improve our stewardship of the resources God has given us.

HELP FUND THE SOLAR PANEL PROJECT

Prayers to Lift Up

As we move into colder weather, please pray that resources will reach those who need them to stay warm. Pray that we will all be grateful for even the smallest blessings we have.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"

Psalm 107:1

Midwest Mission Weekly Projects

Work of the Mission Volunteers

Projects completed

180 UMCOR Cleaning Kits
2040 Rice Meals - O'Fallon First UMC, IL

Other work done

Student Desks - built, sanded, & applied polyurethane
Bikes - repaired
Cleaned facility
Sewing machines - repaired
Counted items into inventory
Rolled trash bags

Disbursements

Sugar Creek UMC Chatham, IL reading materials Value: $146.00
Markesan WI Food Pantry, Markesan, WI redirected hygiene supplies and fabrics Value: $82.00
Fountain Clinic, Marshall, MI, redirected cleaning and hygiene supplies Value: $288.00
St John's Breadline, Springfield, IL, redirected cleaning and hygiene supplies Value: $424.00

*Redirected items are those items received that do not fit into the parameters of our kits and projects.

Midwest Mission is able to do this work because of your generous donations and willingness to volunteer. Thank you!

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