{"id":206896,"date":"2019-10-31T12:23:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T17:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=206896"},"modified":"2023-08-16T09:29:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T14:29:37","slug":"made-love-bakers-dream-fulfilled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/made-love-bakers-dream-fulfilled\/","title":{"rendered":"Made with love: A baker\u2019s dream fulfilled"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy empowerment group, Divine Power, drove me to not discriminate because we are all coming from different backgrounds. We are able to come together to share ideas, to unite and to do things all together. It drove me to just see everyone as she is or as he is.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2012 Welshman, 3rd year participant (Zimbabwe)<\/span><\/p>\n

Strong feelings of uncertainty, skepticism and doubt filled the mind of Welshman as he arrived at the initial enrollment meeting with Zoe Empowers Zimbabwe. Although he, along with his ill mother and two siblings, were still grieving the loss of his father, the family\u2019s sole provider, his selfless spirit and commitment to serve his family kept him motivated to survive. Their six-month participation with an outside aided program providing food and school fees to impoverished families, has just ended, and Welshman was desperate for help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the death of his father, Welshman was the first of his siblings to drop out of school to begin working piece jobs. He regularly washed clothes, tilled farmland and cared for crops, but his $1\/day income was not enough to sustain them. They struggled to pay rent, and as a result, they were forced to move frequently. His mother\u2019s illness required attention and resources he couldn\u2019t provide, which added to his stress and responsibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

When relatives generously offered to care for his mother outside the home, Welshman and his young siblings, Troudlindsly and Munyaradzi, were left alone. Not knowing who else to turn to for support, the family attended various local meetings hosted by outside relief organizations. Welshman and his siblings found temporary comfort from the promises made in the meetings, only to be letdown when the organization didn\u2019t follow-through.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I thought Zoe Empowers was a joke at first, because of all the other organizations who made promises but did not deliver,\u201d Welshman said. \u201cI was tired of attending those types of meetings.\u201d His lack of trust and hope manifested as tears as he described his situation to Zoe Empowers staff upon enrollment. Although he wanted food, clean clothing and all the other common needs desired by incoming children, Welshman expressed \u201che wanted to be loved\u201d more than anything. His family was accepted into the program and began in April 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

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