There are basically four ways that we go about helping people financially. One is to help them get to the point where they can provide for themselves. That often means investing in a small business that they want to start, such as selling fruits and vegetables, but that they don’t have the capital to invest in it. Once that is done then we normally provide them with what we call ‘sustaining assistance,’ whereby we provide some food and/or money for food even if they are “on their feet.” While it might not be something that is absolutely essential or needed, it does show compassion and charity, something we all need, regardless of the situation. At the same time, in order for people not to rely on us in that way and for them to take as much ownership as they can moving forward, once we start the sustaining income we gradually reduce what we give them over a period of six months. During that time, if they need it and want it, we do what we prayerfully can to help them in areas that will benefit them with regards to feeling confident and competent with how they are going about their lives. In turn, it also allows us to reach out to other people in need. We will always do our best to stay in touch with them and check in on them from time to time, as we in no way want anyone to feel that we are abandoning them or not helping them sustain on their own. Most importantly we want to leave them with a sense of hope and trust that God is with them and will continue to be so.

The third way of how we help financially is to help support people who need it on an ongoing way. These are people who don’t have the means or the ability to provide for themselves and are basically reliant on others to get by and survive. This is normally the elderly or someone who is in some way disabled, physically or mentally, or both. This includes institutions and organizations that serve that population. We help them as necessary, while also providing emotional and spiritual support, something we do with everyone but which is needed more so by some than others.

The last way we go about providing financial support is what can be termed as ‘special circumstances.’ This can mean helping pay for a surgery or hospital care that isn’t covered by insurance. It can mean providing health insurance (while not expensive for us it is to them and is much needed). It can mean paying for hospital transport (something that is not provided here unless paid for), clothes for a mother’s child, school fees, and various other things that might come up in someone’s life that don’t fall under the parameters above.