A housing recipient's gratitude

Until Food For The Poor donors intervened, Barbara Austin of Georgetown, Guyana, lived in what amounted to a lean-to – none of her four walls were complete, and a ripped tarp served as her roof. Everything was wet from rain and standing water.

“For the past four years my mind has been troubled; I had to send all my children away from me to seek shelter with relatives and friends because I had [nowhere] to put them,” she said.

In tears, Austin said she does not have the words to adequately say thank you to those responsible for the construction of her new home, a sturdy, elevated house with a real roof. She said it is incredibly heartening that what her family could not have done for her strangers could.

“Now I am at peace all my children are coming home to me,” she said. “It is not easy being apart from my children. Many nights I cried since I could not pray with them and tuck them into bed.”

It costs Food For The Poor just $3,200 to build a home for a homeless family. But now through Feb. 29, gifts we receive to our “Welcome to My Home” housing campaign are being matched dollar-for-dollar courtesy of generous supporters who believe in our mission. Thanks to the match, every gift of $3,200 you give to build a home will actually build TWO houses! Learn more.