Finding faith in tough times

Veronica was born in Makole, Tanzania. Her father left the family when she was five and surviving became tough.

“On some days, we had only one meal,” Veronica explains. “If we had lunch, we would wait for the next day before we had another meal. My mother’s business of preparing and selling buns for a profit of 1,500 Tanzanian shillings [56p] was very small to support the family needs.”

Veronica was seven when Compassion started a project at the local church.

“Now my family began to get support from the church. They started to give us food and helped us with other needs at home like paying for rent. They also paid for the school fees. The small business my mother was doing helped in supporting us to buy other needs at home,” Veronica says. “Because I was the oldest child, I was helping my mother by taking her business of selling buns around the community. It was tough, but I had no choice. Either do it and survive or don’t do it and continue to suffer.”

“When I finished secondary school, my results were not very promising. My family and the project worked hard to support me, and they got me enrolled at a vocational training centre where I trained as a plumber,” Veronica says.

When her mother became sick, Veronica struggled with her studies. She had to make more and more buns to sell in order to keep the family afloat. She woke up early every morning to prepare wheat flour for making buns. By the time her mother recovered, she had fallen behind in her course and had to work hard to catch up.

Even with all that she has gone through, Veronica is grateful to Compassion for the way they’ve stood with her. Through the church-run project, Veronica and other children have an opportunity to hear the word of God and know Jesus as their Saviour.

“My siblings are now Christians as well,” Veronica smiles. “I have now been baptised and my mother decided to be baptised. We are now all members of the Baptist church in Makole.”