Blog: December 2015
Of all the gifts you buy this Christmas, none will match the significance of purchasing a bed, sheets, and a pillow for a girl in Malawi. I promise!
It won't be a fancy, expensive bed with a Sealy mattress and brass bed posts. But it will be a good bed. More importantly, the bed will represent something far deeper to our young ladies--it will provide safety, security, and opportunity.
Yes friends, there is some really good news at UrbanPromise International this Christmas.
Because of a few generous donors, we've been able to finish construction on a girls’ dormitory for RiseMalawi Ministries. A dorm that will be home to 50 girls.
You ask: "Why do we need a girls’ dormitory?"
Imagine sending your daughter or granddaughter on a 2-3 hour walk every morning--just to get to school for her 7:30 am class.
Imagine her leaving before the sun rises, walking the first hour in complete darkness. Imagine her walking home at the end of the day for another 2 hours--many of those miles also in darkness.
Now imagine that the deserted paths and wooded areas through which she walks have been sites for abductions and rapes.
You're beginning to see the picture.
That's exactly what our girls in Madisi have been facing for the past 3 years.
We need to protect them.
This story in particular really pushed me over the edge: Ninth grader Sarah was walking home from our high school one day. She was abducted and taken to a small house. Waiting there was a much older man who claimed to be her new husband. For three days she was restrained against her will. Even the local police turned a blind eye.
Fortunately, some of the workers at RiseMalawi noticed her absence. Our girls’ empowerment program team went to the house, rescued her, and brought her to live temporarily with one of the staff. This has allowed Sarah to return to school--and she is excelling.
A new dormitory means a safe place for Sarah and her friends. If we can get enough beds purchased in the next 20 days, the plan is to have the girls into the dorm by February.
That's why I need you to purchase a bed this Christmas--maybe two beds, even three. Just $75 per bed. $50 for a set of linens, towels, and a pillow. $125 for all of it!
And here is some more great news: for every bed and linen set we underwrite, a generous donor will mutiple the gift by 5, with a donation toward UPI’s operational expenses! Up to $25,000!
That's right. You buy a bed for a girl, and UPI receives a gift to help keep doing all of this important work.
So I hope you will respond and spread the good news of God's love this Christmas.
-Bruce Main, founder and president, UrbanPromise International
