01/31/2022 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – When ICC launched another Hope House in 2019, Sosna Rizk was one of the students who benefited from the center’s programs. In February, she scored poorly on her exams and was admitted into the child sponsorship program. Only eight months into the child sponsorship program, Sosna is back on track for her grade level and is even scoring highly in math.
Hope House seeks to combat the generational persecution that Christians face by providing critical education and all-around support for children and their families. The ICC child sponsorship program ensures that families have adequate nutritional, medical, and spiritual care. The initiative has had a profound impact on young girls like Sosna, who have limited educational opportunities and face other obstacles because of persecution.
Sosna’s parents are encouraged by her growth, not just educationally but also spiritually and physically. “I always pray for her that she will become the best person in the world, and I pray that God will achieve for her all that she wishes. But I left the desire of choice to her. She is very calm and obedient at home,” her mom told ICC’s Hope House staff.
As the second of three children, with one older brother and one younger sister, Sosna lives with her family in a quaint home. Her father works as a farmer, as do many men in her village. Sosna contributes to her family’s needs by assisting her mother with the housework, saying, “I have to help my mother to prepare bread dough, then bake the bread.”
Hope House seeks to empower young women like Sosna, to encourage them to consider what their futures could look like. In many impoverished Christian communities in Egypt, it is often believed that there is little place for women in education. Girls are needed to maintain the household, a task that does not require formal education. Yet, it is this mindset from cycles of generational persecution that limits the community and opportunities for young women.
“I learned from the lesson of love how to love all people and help my family at home,” Sosna says of her time at the center. She is involved in discipleship classes with a local partner church and learns the biblical basis for education and caring for others. When asked about her dreams, Sosna repeatedly tells her teachers and Hope House staff, “I wish to become a famous actress, and I acted in many plays at my church.”
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