Are you scared of snakes? Comfort is.

But that didn’t stop her moving to protect her family from the jeers and taunts of her community in Ghana. As a sufferer of leprosy, Comfort was treated like an outcast. She moved to a run-down shack at the edge of the forest after the birth of her first son. It was there, alone under the shade of a tree, that Comfort gave birth to her second son.

Imagine that for a moment. Lying there on the ground in pain, all by yourself. Delivering a baby boy in the dust.

The house where Comfort gave birth to her son.

Living on the outskirts of town had other challenges to overcome. Every night Comfort went to bed praying against rainstorms due to the holes in her roof. She says, “My biggest fear was snakes. Sometimes I returned from the stream to find a huge snake stretched out in front of the tent. Imagine such a snake entering our tent at night. But God has protected us; that has never happened; we only saw them in the day and frightened them away.”

Like many mothers, Comfort dreams of a better life for her sons. In 2012, the local church partnered with Compassion to open up a new project and both of Comfort’s sons were enrolled.

Emmanuel Hammond, the project director, thought he had come to the wrong place when he first visited Comfort’s home. “It was not a home for any human being,” he says. Emmanuel took photos and showed them to the rest of the project staff who were stunned. Everyone agreed that the family must be relocated from the forest shack at once. 

Comfort's new house.

Comfort's sons, Joshua and Charles, are now thriving.

Through Compassion, funds were raised to provide a new home for Comfort and her family and a strong sky-blue home was built on a safe piece of land closer to town. Comfort says, “Sometimes I feel that I am dreaming. I am not used to receiving so much attention. I pray for God’s blessing for all the people who are showing so much love to me and my children. Now I do not have any worry when night falls or when the rain comes because we have a proper house. I am so grateful to all who made it possible.”

By working in partnership with the local church, we’re able to reach those in desperate poverty and help to provide a different future. This is why this Mother’s Day, we’d love to encourage you to bring hope to mothers like Comfort by sharing Compassion. Whether it‘s with your friends, small group or church, getting just one child sponsored makes a huge difference. To order your Mother’s Day materials here.

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