Storms, Hunger, and Sickness: Delivering Hope Into the Heart of Crisis

Rebeca held her baby girl close and whispered a prayer. Miley, barely four months old, was the youngest of five daughters in a family struggling to survive life in the small rural village of Yoro, Honduras. But crisis after crisis threatened the health and hope of the whole family. 

Both Rebeca and her husband were agricultural workers, but recent storms had destroyed crops and taken away their livelihoods. One storm flooded their home, sweeping away their meager food supply. Their income was gone, their food washed away, and on top of everything, they learned Miley had a heart murmur. No food, no money, no transportation, and no way to make the seven-hour trip to see a specialist. Their hope was slipping away. 

Still, Rebeca refused to give up. She brought Miley to a Materna Kit delivery in nearby Olanchito, desperate for help. 

Thanks to donors like you, that’s where life began to change for Rebeca and her family. 

Supported by your generosity, our community health partner was able to give Rebeca breastfeeding supplies and information. But what started as a lesson on using a breast pump turned into a lifeline for the whole family. 

That one connection, made possibly by your support, opened the door to so much more: education on baby nutrition, encouragement in her role as a mother, and most importantly, a relationship with Advance Community that would carry her family through one of their hardest seasons. 

When the storm left the family hungry, your support sent food: two months’ worth! And when Rebeca shared Miley’s diagnosis and their hopelessness in getting the help she needed, your generosity made it possible for us to act. Because of you, we were able to say yes, yes to helping her reach a pediatric cardiologist, yes to covering the costs. Yeses that led to answers. Answers that brought peace.  

At their first visit to the specialist, they discovered Miley’s murmur is benign. Their baby girl is healthy. And her parents have hope again. 

“Our children won’t go to bed hungry! And we can sleep with peace knowing that our baby girl is going to be okay.” 

Because you gave, the worry that once clouded Rebeca’s heart has lifted. Miley is growing strong. Their family has food to eat. And they know that, whatever tomorrow may bring, they are not alone. 

Thank you for standing with families like this in their most fragile moments, for saying yes when they need it most.