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Make a Mother’s Day!

23 April 2012

What will this Mother’s Day look like for you? It probably depends on who you are. If you’re a child, the planning might have already started – with help from hallmark advertising if you’re a ‘big kid’ or your primary school teacher if you’re a bit 'littler.’ If you’re a Mum, you might be treated to breakfast in bed (studiously ignoring the burnt edges around the pancakes and the tea that’s ten degrees colder than you normally make it!) If you’re a husband, you might get called up for active service or, if you’re very lucky, get to bask in your wife’s reflected glory – being treated to the pancake that fell on the floor!

If you’re Lorie, ‘Servant Leader’ at the Women’s Transformation and Empowerment Project (a partnership between Anglican Aid and Samaritana Ministries) your experiences of Mother’s Day and motherhood would be altogether different.

Lorie’s mother died when she was 10. Her father was a fisherman in their home village and but couldn’t support all of his ten children. Within a few years, Lorie and some of her siblings had dropped out of school and been sent to live with various relatives throughout the Philippines. Lorie stayed with her eldest sister. At first she worked as a household helper to support herself, and send money back to her father and siblings, but later her sister convinced her to work in a bar. Dotted throughout Filipino cities, these bars serve as fronts for the country’s world-famous sex industry, which the University of Philippines estimates to be the nation’s fourth largest source of revenue. After a few years, Lorie came to hear about the work of Samaritana. There Lorie was taught how to cross-stitch and, even though she received far less money for this kind of work, she decided to stay because of the attraction she felt to the genuine friendships and teaching about God.

Lorie has been married for 12 years and has two daughters, aged 13 and 9. She feels that marriage and motherhood have taught her lots about persevering in relationships, despite difficulties and disagreements.

It’s unlikely that Lorie will be getting served breakfast in bed this Mother’s Day. But she does have more hope than she did ten years ago. Through the training at Samaritana, she’s been able to provide for her family by establishing her own business, selling cosmetics and other small-goods. She’s also continued on with Samaritana, recruiting and training other women who want to leave prostitution and start a new way of life. Most of all, she’s come to see that, despite all she’s been through, God’s worth trusting and she wants Him to be part of her life.

This Mother’s Day, Anglican Aid has partnered with Mother’s Union Sydney to show the love of Jesus Christ to women like Lorie in the Philippines and other Mums in India too. We want to recognise that women around the world suffer disproportionately from low household incomes; poor nutrition and sanitation; and limited access to healthcare services, education and employment opportunities. We want to help them turn their lives around. We want to Make a Mother’s Day!

So, if you want to give your Mum a gift with impact, why not purchase one of our $10 or $20 Mother’s Day cards today? All proceeds go to the Anugrah project in Northern India (assisting children with disabilities and the Mums and Dads who care for them) and the Women’s Transofrmation and Empowerment Project in the Philippines (helping to transform the lives of female survivors of prostitution in Quezon City). Best of all, your Mum will get a gift that really doesn’t stop giving!
 

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