They move quickly along the muddy road, bare feet dancing over the wet dirt as they weave in and out of the refuse, disappearing in piles of debris taller than they are. The girl pulls her younger brother along by the arm, neither of them seeming to notice the horrible stench as they casually step through streams of sewage flowing through the center of the village. Clothing already soiled and torn, they make no effort to avoid staining it further as they wade into the garbage and begin their daily search for scraps of leftover food that others have disposed of.
Later, after they have collected as much as the two of them can carry, they will return to the crooked, metal-roofed shanty they call home to boil down their treasure into something akin to a paste. It has very little nutritional value, very little taste. But it serves to fill their empty stomachs and stave off hunger – for a while.
These children happen to live in the Philippines. But millions like them can be found in places like Brazil, Sierra Leone, and India. They exist like ghosts, on the margins of society in Johannesburg, Mexico City, and Kampala. They are the children of the streets. The hungry ones, struggling to survive, desperate for a meal.
Some are orphans. Some are runaways. Others reside in extended families. No matter what language they speak, what continent they live on or how they came to be scavenging for food, they share a commonality: grinding poverty.
It is into these seemingly hopeless situations that Feed the Hungry goes. Dedicated to feeding the hungry around the world, empowering the church worldwide, and sharing the hope that comes through Jesus Christ, this timely ministry is helping change people’s lives for the better, for the future… and for eternity.
“We’re really reaching the ‘least of these’,” says Feed the Hungry President and CEO Stefan Radelich. “The marginalized, vulnerable, the forgotten, the overlooked and the ignored.”
The organization was founded by late pastor and evangelist, Lester Sumerall in 1987. Since that time, they have delivered more than $200 million of food and supplies in 92 nations around the globe.
Knowing the needs of the world’s impoverished children goes far beyond the physical, they continue to seek new ways to meet spiritual needs. That’s where Biblica comes in.
“One of the things we were desperately looking for,” explains Radelich, “was a resource of Scripture to put into the hands of our local church partners. Through our new partnership with Biblica – using their Bible Adventures magazine, specifically made for children, as well as New Testaments – we see that this program is going to have so much more impact.
“It’s not just about feeding the body. It’s not just feeding the soul. It’s feeding the spirit as well. As these [Biblica resources] are put into the hands of local churches, we are empowering them to reach the lost and to make disciples, fulfilling the Great Commission.”
Biblica is a particularly strategic partner because of the number of Bible translations available for both adults and children to read in their own languages.
“Through the partnership between Feed the Hungry and Biblica, we send out Bibles in native tongues, so people can relate and read the Word of God in their own language. This is powerful, especially in slum areas, to be able to give a Bible to a mom, a dad who never had one before.
“Working with local churches, we know the Bibles are going to be used very powerfully – not just to hand out and hope people do the right thing, but in discipleship on a daily and weekly basis.
“We’re anticipating thousands and thousands of lives being changed by the Word of God.”
This Christmas season, we’re seeking to take age-appropriate Scripture to 1,000,001 children. It’s a huge goal. That’s why we need your help. You can reach at-risk children with God’s Word by making a gift today.
