A Brighter Future

Prescription for Hope programs provide a better life for vulnerable HIV/AIDS orphans

When we hear the words “global pandemic,” it’s easy to believe there’s nothing individuals can do to stop the spread of HIV. But there are practical ways to be involved. To learn more about what you can do, visit our BE THE VIRUS homepage.As the eldest child in a Mozambique family, 14-year-old Tembe knew what would happen after her father died of AIDS. She would be responsible for her three younger siblings and two orphans the family had taken in.

She also knew there would no longer be any time or money left for school.

As she feared, Tembe was forced to forfeit her studies when her father died in 2005. Her day-to-day life was filled with fetching water, cooking, cleaning, and working the fields to make sure the family had enough to eat.

The future appeared bleak. Returning to school seemed impossible. Worse, economic struggles often put unskilled young women in Tembe’s village at risk of sexual exploitation, early pregnancy, and HIV infection.

But Tembe’s life is different today. Through Prescription for Hope, the HIV/AIDS ministry of Samaritan's Purse, Tembe is back in school. She’s also enrolled in sewing classes at a vocational training center Samaritan’s Purse started in her community.

Tembe enjoys interacting with the other children at the center and is learning new skills that will increase her self-confidence, creativity, and independence. She’s also learning about Jesus Christ, and God’s plan and purpose for her.

“I feel good about my life when I am at the center,” Tembe said.

Throughout the world, Prescription for Hope has implemented programs designed to provide comprehensive care for orphans and vulnerable children and to strengthen the Christian response to the HIV/AIDS by mobilizing private, church, corporate, and government resources.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27a, NIV).

WAYS YOU CAN HELP

PRAY:

Please pray for our ongoing HIV/AIDS ministry in Mozambique. Pray that churches and local Christians will continue to reach out to families affected by the disease with God’s love and compassion.