Celebrating Moms We Love
Some celebrate Mother’s Day with a special meal or family trip. Others honour the women in their life with gifts and flowers. No matter what your tradition is, we can all agree that moms make the world a better place. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight some of the bravest, inspiring and most resilient moms we know—our clients.
Rita
Rita and her children live in northern Uganda. After Rita’s husband passed away from heart complications, his relatives began to relentlessly threaten her.
They cut down all of Rita’s crops, killed her livestock and threatened her with machetes. They took over her corner store which meant her daughter Milly couldn’t afford to go to school anymore.
Rita was broke and at the end of her rope. She decided to walk to a police station to tell them about the abuse. One of the police officers told her about IJM.
Thanks to our supporters, IJM supported her case and won. The court affirmed Rita’s rights to her land. IJM helped police arrest and imprison a relative that had been taunting Rita and stealing pieces of her land.
Rita has also reopened her store so that Milly can go back to school. She smiles when she talks about her children, with determination in her voice. “I fight hard to make sure they realize their dreams.”
This Mother's Day, give gifts of freedom through IJM Canada's Gift Catalogue!
Roopa’s carefree childhood came to an abrupt end when she was thrust into a life of slavery at 6 years old. Her parents sought out work in a nearby brick kiln, hopping that this new job would secure a better future for the family.
Instead, they endured constant violence, backbreaking labour, and abuse for the next 13 years.
When Roopa was older, her parents arranged for her to marry a young man in the kiln named Banaiah. Soon, 16-year old Roopa became pregnant with her first child. Even while pregnant, she was still forced to work.
In her eighth month, an accident sent Roopa into an excruciating early labour. Unwilling to allow Roopa to see a doctor, the kiln owner callously let the young woman writhe in agony, bleeding and screaming for a day and a half before finally delivering her still born baby.
A few years after this tragedy, Roopa became pregnant again and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
This time, she was determined to secure a life of freedom for her family.
Read the rest of Roopa’s story…
Albertina is a grandmother living in Northern Uganda.
A decade ago, after a brutal civil war that claimed her husband’s life, Albertina returned home from a refugee camp with her family hoping to settle back into a normal life.
But when she arrived home with her children and grandchildren, she discovered her neighbours camped out on her property.
They were there to steal her land. And they had spears.
This crime, often violent, is called land theft. Nearly 1 in 3 widows have reported being victims of this crime in some parts of Uganda.
Read the rest of Albertina’s Story…
Send rescue and restoration this Mother's Day!
Shop the IJM Canada Gift Catalogue.
Can you imagine being denied rightful citizenship in the country of your birth?
Meeyu is a 28-year-old mother of five who belongs to an indigenous hill tribe minority group in Thailand called ‘Akha’.
Although they have lived in Thailand for generations, Meeyu and her family are not officially recognized as Thai citizens. Without citizenship, no country has to defend you.
You have no access to healthcare, education or protection from the law. No citizenship also leaves women like Meeyu especially vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation.
Thankfully, Meeyu did not give up fighting for herself and her children.
Read the rest of Meeyu’s story…
After Thaiyamma married Devendran, the love of her life, they had a beautiful daughter named Lavanya. They had a job building roads together, but when their daughter fell ill, they took a small loan of about $15 from the owner of a wood-cutting facility to help pay for the treatment.
For just $15, this cruel man gained complete control over every aspect of their lives.
They laboured, starved and were beaten. Day after day. Week after week. Life’s only purpose was survival.
Then Thaiyamma realized she was pregnant—again.
Read the rest of Thaiyamma's story...
Looking for a unique way to celebrate a mom you love?
Shop our online gift catalogue for a meaningful Mother’s Day gift that changes lives for moms around the world!
