Lockdown in Peru: Ten weeks and counting

“We hope this quarantine will not be extended because I am afraid people will not be able to survive.”

Our Peru partner prayed those words in mid-April. It’s now a month later … and the lockdown is extended to the end of May.

Just as she feared, people are struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic. They’ve been quarantined inside their homes, unable to work. With no way to provide for their families.

Today, you have the chance to help provide aid like emergency food to families who are starving. And your donation will DOUBLE up to $235,000 thanks to a matching gift from World Help Board members!

Many people in Peru survive day-to-day, buying food with the money they have earned in the past 24 hours. Maria is one of them. Maria owns a small restaurant in her village, and until 10 weeks ago, it was her livelihood.

As a widow, she doesn’t have a husband to help her financially. She worked from dawn to dusk just to scrape by. Every morning she’d walk down the dusty path to her restaurant before the fog had even lifted from the trees and begin her duties for the day.

Maria’s restaurant was her only source of income … but the coronavirus took it all away.

Now, she’s forced to stay indoors along with everybody else. Police and military guard the streets to ensure people abide by the rules. While these precautions are meant to keep them safe, it’s leaving families without food and clean drinking water.

These impoverished people don’t have pantries full of canned goods and freezers stocked with frozen meals. Their small wages enabled them to buy enough food for only one day at a time. That’s all they could afford.

Now another week has come and gone. And the pantry and freezer?

Still empty.

“People don’t have enough food to be at home and support their families,” our partner said. “And the parents can’t do their daily work because they’re not allowed to go out.”

These people are trapped. Parents are helpless. They desperately want to feed their families, but they have no way of doing so.

If you’re a parent or grandparent, think of your own children or grandchildren. You’d hate to look them in the eye and tell them, “I’m sorry. There’s no food.”

But that’s exactly what so many families have had to tell their kids in Peru over the past 10 weeks. They’ve had to wipe away their little ones’ tears and put them to bed hungry.

Still, God is in control. He sees everything that is going on in the world. He sees the hunger. The sickness. The anxiety and fear. And He has a reason for it all.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God …”

What a comfort! As a believer, you can rest assured that God is in the midst of the coronavirus. He’s bringing about so much good — even in the midst of darkness.

Even in Peru.

Pastors across the country are moving their sermons online. And since everyone is stuck at home, more and more people are tuning in and hearing the Gospel.

“This virus is bringing inspiration to find God,” our partner said. “I see preachers sharing their preaching on [social media]. COVID-19 is touching hearts, even people who didn’t believe in God.”

These people are starving, both physically and spiritually. Will you help them? When you give to provide coronavirus relief, your gift will not only help meet the physical needs of these families … but you’ll also help introduce them to the love of Christ.

Remember, every dollar is doubled to have twice the impact. That means $8 is now enough to help rescue TWO people!

Your doubled gift will also help erase World Help’s budget shortfall left behind by canceled fundraising events. You’ll help ensure impoverished people around the world — people like Maria — continue to receive lifesaving aid.

God is moving even in this crisis. And today, He can do it through you. Please give as generously as you can so families in developing countries have enough food and resources to survive this ongoing pandemic.

Every $8 helps TWO people