When a parent – especially a father – unexpectedly passes away, the impact lasts a lifetime. In the most immediate future, mothers and children left behind often struggle simply to eat. When we or our partner churches identify such a family, we work to provide short-term assistance. Often times, this is a month’s worth of essentials for meals, including rice, so that physical survival is taken care of while the mother makes plans for other provisions. For some of the neediest people in our community, this is a life saver without creating a long-term dependency.