The best kind of comfort food

If you’ve had a loved one pass away, you’ve probably experienced neighbors, family, and friends doing their best to offer some kind of kindness … usually packaged in a covered dish.

Grieving families are usually overrun with lasagnas, cheesy casseroles, and other comfort food. And, eventually, maneuvering items in the fridge becomes a game of Tetris.

But when Tyag recently lost his mother, his kitchen was bare.

Because of the coronavirus, no one was dropping by with food. And Tyag, left jobless because of the lockdown, couldn’t afford to put food on the table himself. While grieving the loss of his mother, Tyag was forced to watch his wife and children slowly starve.

Families like Tyag’s around the world are going hungry right now because of the coronavirus. Your gift of emergency coronavirus relief will help provide lifesaving essentials like food and other critical aid. Plus, your gift DOUBLES thanks to a matching gift!

I’ve changed Tyag’s name to respect his privacy during this hard time. He is just one of countless people in his South Asian village who are now out of work and wondering where their next meal will come from.

On any day before the coronavirus pandemic, Tyag would be out pulling his rickshaw to earn money for his family. He would spend hours transporting people back and forth across the city. He never made very much money each trip, but eventually the fares would add up enough for Tyag to buy a little food for his wife, children, and elderly mother.

Then, the tragedies came one after another. The coronavirus pandemic. Joblessness. And the death of his mother.

Birthdays, weddings, and other celebrations can all be postponed. But if the coronavirus has taught us anything, it’s that death waits for no one.

In the midst of the global health crisis, Tyag knew there wouldn’t be a big funeral. But what broke his heart the most was that he couldn’t even afford a simple wooden casket for his mom.

Fortunately, a local church stepped in to provide a coffin, and the pastor performed a simple ceremony for the immediate family. Even though these church members were struggling to afford food and basic necessities themselves they wanted to help.

“This is one example of how the church is rallying to help people in need,” our partner in South Asia said after sharing Tyag’s story. “God wants to use the church to help people in this desperate time.”

And right now, the greatest need of all is food. Hunger keeps coming even if the money has stopped coming in.

“My family is suffering because we have not had food for two days,” Tyag said.

Having just lost his mother, Tyag is terrified of losing any other members of his family. He is terrified of having to go back to the church members and ask for another coffin … this one small enough for a child. But without regular meals, they will starve.

Many of the church families who helped Tyag are now facing a food shortage too, along with countless people across Asia and the world. But you can help meet the immediate needs of people who are suffering because of the coronavirus.

There’s no food as comforting as the kind you receive in your most trying times. And, right now, you can help feed someone who has lost all hope. You can provide peace of mind to a parent who thought they would watch their children starve during quarantine.

And thanks to a generous matching gift, every dollar you donate will DOUBLE to help 2X as many people. World Help Board members have committed to match your gift up to $235,000. So, every $8 you give now provides essentials like emergency food to TWO people.

Even if you’re never able to meet them … even if you can’t deliver this aid in person, you can be a loving friend and neighbor to someone struggling to get by.

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