Nidia stands with what is left of her belongings after a fire destroyed her house.

HUAYCAN, Peru – In only minutes, everything Nidia had was gone.

She and her youngest son, seven-year-old Rodrigo, watched in utter helplessness as flames consumed their small home. It was gone—all of it.

Only moments before, a short circuit occurred in one of their outlets, causing an electrical fire. When Nidia attempted to rescue a few of their belongings, a searing hot beam crashed down on her arm. The two narrowly escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

There was no hope of a rescue either, with the nearest fire station over an hour away.

“In a few seconds, the fire took everything from me,” Nidia said.

It wasn’t just the home that she lost in the fire—it was her entire life’s savings. Nidia had been to the bank only days before to withdraw everything in hopes of building a new home for herself and her 3 sons. But now that money was gone too.

“I’ve worked so hard to be able to give something to my children. I didn’t have many luxuries in my house; I’ve been very poor. My mom and dad didn’t have enough money to buy me a little table, a cup, anything,” Nidia said tearfully.

An Operation Blessing team constructed a new house for Nidia and her 3 sons as a surprise blessing.

Her neighbors were sympathetic and did what they could—giving Nidia some food and clothing. She also improvised a temporary room for herself and her sons to sleep in at night made of supplies provided by her neighbors, but there were no resources left to build a new house.

When Operation Blessing heard of her plight, a team partnered with Nidia’s middle son, Mario, to surprise her with an incredible blessing.

“We met Nidia … heard her story and were just compelled to help her and her 3 sons,” said Jordan Durso, regional director for Latin America.

In just one day, the team cleared the property and put up a new home for the family.

As Nidia walked up the hill to see her house for the first time, she asked through her tears, “Is it mine?”

Nidia had been optimistic that God would provide for her, but she never expected it to be so quickly. She told the Operation Blessing team how amazed she was that people would come from so very far away to selflessly do something for someone they didn’t know.

“Thank you so much. This is really a blessing; I can’t believe it,” she said. “Thank you for everything that you have done. God bless you.”

In an effort to help Nidia rebuild her life, Operation Blessing also gave her items such as clothes, school supplies, mattresses and cooking pots.

“There are so many more people that are in need,” Jordan said, “and we just hope that we can be a blessing to other ‘Nidias’ out there.”

To date, OB Peru has built 46 homes for families in need, averaging about 1 new home a month.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This microenterprise venture is one of many Operation Blessing projects touching lives around the world. You can be a part of improving the quality of life for impoverished communities by supporting these and other life-changing programs.

 

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