Meet Birsha. She is a widowed lady who lives in Nepal. Her kids are grown but live near her. Birsha’s husband was the family breadwinner but now he is gone and she found herself working in construction. Birsha used to carry up to 100 pounds of construction materials on her back. Most women like her end up being beggars when they become old to work.

MercyWorks staff member Daniel Visitacion recently met Birsha in Nepal. You may be aware that MercyWorks has been helping to rebuild homes in Nepal since the terrible earthquake almost one year ago. Daniel noted there were many widows as a result of the earthquake and some of them were young. He held meetings with various pastors in Nepal to see how widows like Birsha could be helped aside from rebuilding homes.

Birsha is a good cook and makes a national dish that is common to the Nepalese diet. It is called Chatpat and is made of rice, beans and lentils and seasoned with grounded dried fish and turmeric.

MercyWorks gave Birsha $100 US to start a Chatpat making business. She started this endeavor six months ago. Today she is making $40 US per day and providing for her family and is no longer destitute.

MercyWorks has helped people like Birsha in various parts of the world such as Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Thailand and now in Nepal. There are many more widows in need MercyWorks is in the process of helping.

Any amount of donated funds can help widows like Birsha. Thanks for your interest in helping people impacted by war, famine, natural disaster or extreme poverty.