FAIR Blog

Giving Widows a Boost

As you may know, FAIR has many ongoing projects that are featured in FAIR’s online catalogue. Some of these projects are designed to meet a very specific need, but can have big and broad impact. Fellowship International missionary Richard Flemming recently shared a great update on the Aiding Pastors’ Widows project (D.R. Congo). We hope that you will be as encouraged by his words as we are!

“It’s difficult for us to appreciate the challenges that those living in contexts of great poverty face on a daily bases. For the vast majority of these people there are no jobs available; daily, they must find ways to generate income to cover the most basic of needs for their families. This means selling anything that others will buy. Long days can be spent walking the busy streets with armfuls of goods or setting up a small table where those passing by risk picking up a thing or two.  While this is the grueling reality for many living in poverty, it is especially tough on widows who have lost the income of their husbands. Our project for the widows of Communauté baptiste du Congo (CBCO) pastors seeks to help these women regain some independence by providing them with a means to gain income. After several training sessions on generating revenue, and an unscheduled pause due to COVID-19, 23 widows of CBCO pastors each received $375. This kind of help can be a game-changer for these women! We heard many expressions of deep gratitude that we pass on to all who contributed to this project. Thank you for your participation in coming to the aid of these widows! We look forward to reporting on the various ways in which these widows were able to start some small commercial affair. As is the case with all of our projects, our team in Kinshasa is giving oversight to this initiative.”