Esther
For Esther, school was the safest place—safer than home or church, safer than anywhere else. While attending secondary school in gang-dominated rural Haiti, MBB provided her scholarship, stipend, daily hot meal, monthly leadership training, and ongoing counseling.
Esther is an orphan. Her mother died several years ago, and her father died last summer despite Esther’s desperate attempts to nurse him back to health. Some of her siblings could not reach the funeral because gangs controlled the paths to their mountain home. They could not all gather to celebrate his life or decide how the family would move forward.
One of Esther’s brothers is now in prison, accused of being a gang member. Her family believes he is innocent but lacks the resources to hire a lawyer. A cousin has already been murdered by a gang, leaving the family afraid of who might be next.
Still, Esther and her siblings do what they can for one another, even if that means acknowledging, “Today we are hungry, but we hope tomorrow might be better.”
Before Esther’s mother, Elcina, died, she described what MBB meant to her family:
“I cannot explain how thankful I am for the MBB program. I pray for each of you every day, that you will not become discouraged in your work, because this program enables my family to take a small breath of hope.”
Esther has now graduated from secondary school. She would like to pursue a medical career but may begin by starting a small business to help support her nearly blind grandmother and her siblings.