Faith With Vision and Action

Ivon Cuervo - Posted on November 13, 2009

An economic crisis made Baudilia ask herself what she had in her hands and how she could make what she had produce an income to provide for her family. Once she took this step, the opportunities came. Today, she and her family are witnesses to how God helped them overcome the difficulties and look for a better future.

“Eight years ago, my husband and I had to leave our home town where we used to live due to the violent situation there. We came to the city looking for a job,” remembers Baudilia, 43.

Upon arriving in the city, Baudilia worked washing clothes in family houses and Manuel, her husband, looked for a job cleaning gardens and cutting trees. Both had temporary jobs. At home, however, the economic needs were greater than their ability to meet them.

“There were occasions when we did not have anything to give our children to eat during the day. We had to wait until night time to see what we could purchase [something to eat] with what we earned [during the day],” says Baudilia.

During the hardest times, Baudilia begged on the streets; but in her mind, the thought of going out from that situation was always in her mind: “I like to work, I do not like to depend on what others give me,” she affirms.

She and her husband have eight children, curiously, all of them have a name starting with the letter F: Francisco, 22, Ferney, 21, Fabio, 20, Faber, 15, Fadiluz, 13, Fadimir, 10, Fernanda, 6 and Faider, 2. Francisco has started his own family already and Ferney has begun to help to support the family working as street seller.

God Makes New Things

“When it rained our house got flooded and we had to put everything on the beds. Then, one neighbor told us about World Vision and that they could help us with construction materials for our housing. I looked for the program staff and they registered Fadimir and Fernanda [in the sponsorship program],” says Baudilia.

Just as she wished, her family started to be sponsored by World Vision and got the materials to improve the house (wood, bricks and zinc [corrugated metal] tiles).

Among other benefits, the sponsored children receive are the school and the hygiene kits. These are useful for all the other siblings as well. In addition, Fernanda’s sponsor sent her three special financial gifts for clothing and shoes.

The family’s situation began to improve substantially when Baudilia found the way to get some more income from a family tradition. “I learned from my grandmother how to make home-made bread, cooked in a wood oven. One day, I decided to prepare the bread and sell it,” says Baudilia.

“The first production was not good. But, I started to do it again, and that was good,” remembers Baudilia. “I started to prepare small bread and offering it to my neighbors for a fee. They liked it… I regained the investment and had a profit of US$10,” she adds.

Using this initiative, Baudilia started to have some customers and then she asked for a loan from the micro-loan project of World Vision (Plante). “World Vision approved a micro-loan for $50 which I invested in the ingredients for the bread. The day that we bought the sack of flour, my children were very happy,” remembers Baudilia.

Baudilia’s work day starts before dawn. She gets up at 3 a.m. to prepare the bread and at 5:30 there are already people buying it at her house. In just 3 hours manages to sell the entire batch. “I thank God because I am doing well. I put love and faith into what I do,” she says with satisfaction.

This year, Baudilia had the opportunity to sell the bread and cookies she prepares, in an entrepreneurial fair that was organized by World Vision to help small businesses like this get to be better known.

“Thanks to World Vision that has helped us, my mother can work,” says Fadiluz, her daughter. The changes are favorable for all the family because now Baudilia is able to spend more time at home and has the ability to provide food for her family: “Before we only ate rice once a day, but now we can afford other food like meat, eggs and milk,” emphasizes Fadiluz.

God used what Baudilia had in her hands and blessed it, making it possible her and her family to see their dreams come true.

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