By Brian Stevens | Donor Engagement Director
Thank You for Your Generosity and Solidarity with Families
Thank you for your generous support for Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program. Thanks to you and people like you, this past October 109 of 110 families in the third cohort graduated, becoming the latest group of families on Lagonav Island to escape extreme poverty for good.
I can’t thank you enough for helping to make this possible. When these families entered the program in April of 2019, they were among the very poorest families in their community. They lived in tiny, dilapidated homes, drank unpurified water, and had no latrine. Hunger and illness were constant companions and they often could not afford to pay school fees.
Your Generous Support + Their Hard Work = Lives Transformed
Your generous support gave families the opportunity to create a better life for themselves, encouraging their hard work, resilience, and determination. Today, as they graduate, they each have a savings account, and a source of steady, reliable income -- either animals to raise and sell or goods to sell in their own small business.
They have clean drinking water and a sanitary latrine. They are healthy, no longer hungry, their children are in school, and they live in a safe, sturdy, dignified home. Most importantly, they now have the skills and confidence to ensure that they can maintain the extraordinary gains they’ve made.
At the graduation, each graduate told us how her life and life for her family has changed. Here are a few of examples of what graduates said:
Because of your support I am now able to send my children to school and we have clean water. We have a house, and I have animals to raise so I can earn money and take care of my children. Thank you very much. ~ Kenflore
I thank you because I had nothing. I was homeless and I used to be humiliated by those I was staying with. Now I have a house, and animals to raise. I will always remember you in my prayers. Thank you so much. ~ Nerlande
Your support has helped me so much. My children are in school now. I'm raising goats and chickens to earn a living and I have a donkey. Thanks to you I am no longer sleeping in someone else's house. Your support has restored my dignity and I can be among other people and feel like a human being. ~ Marieliene
Dignity and Hope Restored
Your support and their own hard work and determination has changed the trajectory of life for these families, restoring their dignity and confidence and giving them hope for the future.
It’s that sense of confidence and dignity regained that did as much as any material item – such as livestock to breed and sell or the goods to start a small business – that your generous support provided.
That’s because families that live on the margins often feel as though they have little or no reason to hope for a better future, much less plan for one, so they don’t. Your support gave them a reason and taught them how – for the very first time – to earn a living and plan for the future.
A Family Graduation Program with Results
Through their own hard work and determination, and the opportunity that you and supporters like you provided, the families in this third cohort achieved the following results:
• 100% of children are living free from malnutrition
• 100% of families have clean water
• 98% have a savings account
• 94% of children are living at home with their families
• 87% of children are enrolled in school
Parents Freed 59 Children from Slavery and Brought Them Home - Thanks to Supporters Like You!
Parents who are unable to feed, clothe, and educate their children often feel forced to send them away to live with others, with the hope that it will mean a better life for their children. Often, children who are sent away become enslaved by those who receive them. But thanks to you and donors like you, parents in this third cohort were able to free and bring home 59 girls and boys, and enroll them in a quality school in the community where they live.
Gratitude for Your Generosity and Solidarity with Families
Your generosity and solidarity with these families has transformed the trajectory of their lives, giving them the opportunity to earn a dignified living and provide for their children and themselves long after they graduate. If you have any questions about what your support helped make possible, please call or write me anytime at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net Thank you again for your generosity, your care, and your concern for vulnerable children and families. I am grateful!
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