Poverty and the Purple House


We pulled up to a small private school in a neighborhood in Nicaragua. Our driver turned the key in  the ignition and Kendra, the missionary we were with, began to tell us why they decided to partner with this school.  

"See that purple house with shutters over the windows," she asked.

Sixteen-year-old twins lived there with their mother. 

Kendra met them when they were 11. She brought them to a camp the missionaries hosted each summer.

At night, they screamed.

It was so bad that she pulled one of the girls outside and asked what was wrong.

Desperate for her daughters' survival, their mother would accept food from a pastor in the community. 

He came by at night, where she would meet him on the front steps. In exchange for food for her daughters, she would let him go inside and have his way with the girls.

They were also forced to sleep by the open windows so men could come in and out throughout the night. 

When Kendra heard this tragic story, she decided that not only did Feed the Hungry need to have a presence in this neighborhood, but that families there desperately needed food. The school is now a feeding center for FTH, and the students regularly eat Feed My Starving Children meals. 

Kendra contacted the authorities about the situation. They did an investigation. She hopes that it, along with a presence in the community and much-needed nutrition, can help others not take such drastic measures. 

"The affects of poverty go so deep," Kendra said as she twirled a little girl's orange-tinted hair and moved on to explain how consistent nutrition meant it was starting to grow in healthy.