Picture this: It’s Monday morning. The kids are running late for school, and you’re running late for work. You hastily get them out of bed and dressed for the day. After a quick breakfast, you hustle them to the bathroom so they can finish getting ready.
Except … they don’t have toothbrushes. Or combs. And hardly any soap for washing. What do you do?
Unfortunately, this is the dilemma many parents face on a daily basis … including Concepcion.
A critical care kit will make a world of difference for someone in need
Concepcion and her children live in a small village in rural Guatemala. Like most parents, Concepcion helps her kids get ready for school every morning.
But unlike many of us, she can’t afford basic hygienic items for her children. Instead, they often have to use soap and a towel to clean their teeth. Without a hairbrush, Concepcion must use her fingers to comb the knots out of their hair.
With no other choice, she sends them off to school before she begins her walk to the coffee fields. She will work all day to earn enough income to buy food for her family. There will likely be no money left for anything else.
“[With] the little money she earns, she only has enough to [buy] food,” one of our partners said. “She does not have the necessary resources to be able to buy basic products for her hygiene and that of her children.”
For Concepcion, essential hygiene items like soap, shampoo, conditioner, and toothbrushes are luxuries. Every day, she must make the difficult decision between feeding her family and keeping them clean.
Countless families go without the supplies they need to stay healthy
At first glance, the answer might seem obvious. But it’s a much harder decision than we may realize. Poor hygiene not only decreases self-confidence and raises anxiety in children and adults but also puts them at risk for easily preventable infections and diseases.
If Concepcion or her children were to become sick, there’s no guarantee they’d be able to afford medication or other necessary treatment.
Plus, children who can’t practice good hygiene often have lower self-esteem and don’t perform as well in school. A lack of access to these basic essentials not only affects their home lives, but also impacts their futures.
But did you know that for just $20, you can provide a critical care kit to someone like Concepcion? Personal hygiene kits include essentials like soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and more.
Your gift could also give people critical care kits containing school supplies, baby care items, or feminine hygiene products, depending on their greatest needs.
For Concepcion and her family, a critical care kit would do more than provide cleanliness. It would restore a sense of self-worth, protect them from sickness, and help her children have brighter and more promising futures.
Send a critical care kit and give hope to a little boy like him
By providing a critical care kit, you can give help and hope to children who can’t afford school supplies, parents who don’t have the essentials to care for their infants, and men, women, and children who don’t have access to essential hygiene products.
Your gift will also show them the love of God in a practical, tangible way.