Dear Friend,

Last week I was able to travel internationally for the first time in two years. It was great to be “on the road again.” I wasn’t in one of the countries with Five Talents programs, but it was a country with similar areas of severe poverty.

I talked with a man who had been laid off from his job when the pandemic hit hard. One of his close relatives died from the virus. And his limited resources ran out quickly, so his family eventually could only eat once a day about 2:00 each afternoon. He was so frustrated that he couldn’t provide for his children.

The man was able to get a job with his cousin to put in a tile floor, and at the end of the job he made $60. On the way home he bought cereal for his children to eat breakfast, and they were thrilled.

This pandemic has been so frustrating for all of us, but I sometimes forget how much harder it has been on those living in poverty. It makes me grateful that there is something effective we can do about it, and I am grateful that Five Talents is working every day to build up the resiliency of those living in the most severe poverty.