Meghan Howard is the retail operations specialist for Feed My Starving Children.

We’ve heard it many times, “Be thankful for what you have.”

Volunteering at Feed My Starving Children reminds us of this, but another wonderful aspect of coming to FMSC is to be inspired and feel thankful knowing about the wonderful work our food partners do around the world each day. Knowing of these organizations and the inspiring individuals they serve can help us be thankful to live in a world with such compassion in the midst of such sorrow.

One of our food partners, Children’s Cup, is a beacon of hope this holiday season. Children’s Cup provides more than 4 million FMSC meals a year to children in need.

We can be thankful for the determination Children’s Cup has to make a lasting impact through sustainable community transformation and love for children in desperate need in Swaziland, Africa.

Since 1992, Children’s Cup (CC) has set up 38 CarePoints in Swaziland. A CarePoint is a place where FMSC meals, medical care, character development and education assistance are all provided to the neediest of children.

Ultimately, CarePoints are where lives are changed. Children who came to CC CarePoints hungry and desperate for food have now grown into bright, hope-filled young adults, leading the way in their families and communities.

One way this FMSC food partner was able to make such a huge impact in the community was by creating a skills training program to train and empower the next generation in Swaziland.

The young artisans enroll themselves in the program to learn a trade, but most importantly, they gain HOPE for a brighter future for themselves and their family.

Here is one story you can be thankful for today:

Meet Nothando. She enrolled herself in CC’s Skills Training program and will now be the first in her family to graduate high school!

Nothando is 17 years old and lives with her grandmother, two aunts and five siblings. One aunt and her grandmother work to provide for the entire family, which is enough to keep them fed but not nearly enough to cover all of their school fees.

Most of her siblings have dropped out of school, and her other aunt will not be able to finish because she can no longer pay her fees. But Nothando can.

A CarePoint kid since 2006, Nothando learned how to bead salad spoons and forks in Skills Training once she got into high school. Because of her dedication and determination, she has already paid for her first two years of high school and has a promising graduation ahead of her. Nothando loves the Lord and aspires to leave Swaziland and become a doctor.

Nothando and many other students like her are being helped through the partnership of Children’s Cup and FMSC each and every day – and for that, you can be grateful this holiday season.

With every MarketPlace purchase, you are helping a hard working young adult like Nothando build a better future for themselves – one that they never thought to imagine. Happy Thanksgiving!