Jill Henn

A Mother’s Love.

A mother’s love is a truly audacious force. It’s a kind of love that will overcome the gut-wrenching blows of loss, grief, sickness and pain to make a better way for their children. It is self-sacrificing, loyal and ever-committed to help form a strong and healthy future for the ones they love, even when it comes at the cost of their own well-being.

This is Gurubari’s story.

As a young girl, Gurubari grew up with her family in a village in Eastern India. Married at 20 to a man her parents arranged for her, Gurubari quickly started a family of her own. Her life was forever changed by the birth of her son, and it wasn’t long after that before they welcomed a daughter to the family, too. They owned a beautiful home and shared a wonderful life together, but it wasn’t long before tragedy struck. Ten years into their marriage, Gurubari’s husband died, leaving Gurubari all alone as a single mom to provide and care for her two young children. 

It was also about this time when Gurubari got sick. 

With strong character and unwavering courage, Gurubari found work as a day laborer. For nearly 20 years, she worked tirelessly to support her two children and provide for their needs and education. Her focus after losing her husband was solely on creating a better future for her son and daughter, despite the toll it took on her. But shortly after her husband’s death, Gurubari was also exposed to leprosy, and this illness led to decades of excruciating pain and incessant degradation. 

Gurubari’s wounds grew so severe that she was barely able to walk. They were infected and bleeding, causing fever symptoms that were never-ending. But Gurubari had never received treatment. Never once had she gone to a clinic to care for herself, but instead put all her income towards her children’s futures. Her daughter got married and moved away. But due to the leprosy on her leg, her neighbors forced her to move out of her home. Then, her son unexpectedly passed away. Gurubari was left all alone, with nowhere to go. As a last resort, she found herself at West Bengal’s Gidni Leprosy Colony. 

Through our Leprosy Care Project, Gurubari is finally receiving the treatment she desperately needed. She is receiving regular medical visits right at her front door, and because of access to medication and consistent treatment, Gurubari no longer suffers from high fevers or infections. With help from the treatment center, paired with her determination and positive outlook, Gerubari is hopeful about her future after recovery from leprosy. 

Leprosy is an isolating disease. Even though 95% of the population is immune, the fear of being exposed to its bacteria leaves most people with this condition severed from their families and loved ones. Gerubari has a dream to fully recover from leprosy so that she can one day be reunited with her daughter. She has no desire to stay in a leper colony, with her only option for income as a beggar on the streets. But with healing comes hope, and Gerubari has a deep hope to recover from her illness and live the remainder of her days with her family––the ones her mother’s love has always fought for.

A Second Chance.

When you find yourself abandoned and alone, who do you turn to?

When you’re kicked out of your home, overtaken by addiction and despair, where do you go?

When life is falling apart, health is failing, and you’re at your worst, what do you do?

This paralyzing place is where we first met Meena. 

After an inconsolable fight with her family, Meena found herself helpless and living on the streets of India. To cope with the heavy loss of her family, she took to drinking to numb the pain. Lost in the endless cycle of drinking to escape, Meena’s addiction became so severe her body began to shut down. 

Alone on the streets, Meena suffered a severe stroke. 

When the police found her, she was unable to walk or even lift her head off the ground. It was hard to tell if her nervous system would ever recover or if she’d survive. With no one to call and nowhere else to go, the police carried Meena off from the streets and brought her to the Home of Hope. 

The Home of Hope is a homeless shelter where hundreds of people with mental and physical disabilities live and receive care. Many are near death when they arrive, and are welcomed into a safe space to live out their final weeks or months of life in peace and with dignity. But for Meena, her stay at the Home of Hope did not mark the end of her life. Instead, it brought about transformative rehabilitation and healing.

With the help of medical professionals, Meena received the treatment she needed not only to survive, but to live a better life. Miraculously, she has learned to walk again,and has been serving the Home of Hope community by cutting vegetables and preparing food in the kitchen. Not only have the skilled staff team helped Meena learn useful skills, but they’ve also walked alongside her through her addiction. Since coming to the Home of Hope, Meena is no longer drinking or relying on alcohol to cope with her pain. She has found a safe place to live, growing from others with purposeful ways to give back.

Meena is not only growing in health and skills, but also in dreams for her future. She now feels safe to talk with the Home of Hope team about her family, and has hopes for reconciliation with her daughter. Where many would have said her life was over, Meena was taken in and cared for. From having nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Meena now has a community around her of support to help her build a better future–a life richer than the one she left behind on the streets. Others cared for her when she couldn’t care for herself, and have given her a priceless gift.

The gift of a second chance. 

Standing in the Gap.

Born into heartbreak and humble beginnings, Florence is no stranger to hard and heavy things. From the very first months of life, there has been a chord of grief woven into her story. The unexpected death of her twin sister at three months was a devastating blow—a sister so intimately connected but never got the chance to know. But even despite heartbreaking loss, her parents loved her and worked hard to care for Florence and her brother.

In a rural village in Southern Uganda, Florence was forced to grow up fast. Too fast. While most little girls her age are playing with dolls or dancing and singing with friends, Florence was working around the clock to help her family. As a dedicated fisherman, her father was often gone before dawn and out past dusk to provide what little he could. But with her mother at home unable to find work, there was never quite enough money for food, housing, or school fees. Florence had big dreams for her future, though, and was willing to do whatever it took to help her family get out of the cycle of poverty. 

Then, something unexpected happened.

Instead of shouldering the weight of her family’s bleak financial situation, Florence quickly learned she had her own burden to bear. Barely a teenager, and pregnant, she saw all her dreams for a better future crashing down. Shunned by the community and ridiculed to her face, Florence’s shame rose as her self-worth plummeted. Her whole life she had worked to bring pride to her family, but now she brought humiliation and more financial burdens. Florence didn’t know then if that was the end of the story. If her life was over in the same moment a new life had just started. 

But it was only the beginning.

With the help of The Hope Venture’s partners, Florence hasn’t had to choose between motherhood and education. Between a future or a family. Through the Scholarships for Teen Moms project, she can have both. With access to a top-tier education, Florence once again has dreams for her future. From her own story of hard and heartbreak, she now has a passion to stand up for the voiceless and victimized. Florence dreams of one day becoming a lawyer, and hopes to stand in the gap against poverty and injustice. 

A dream that wouldn’t have been possible without someone standing in the gap for her, and helping her to see the value in herself again.