Mathayo

Mathayo lives with his aunt because, when he was only six months old, his mother—who struggled with mental illness—threw him into a ditch. Some children saw what happened and alerted his aunt, who came and rescued him. His mother later remarried, but her husband repeatedly tried to kill Mathayo during visits.

“Why won’t he accept me?” Mathayo often wonders. Through the lessons he learned in It Takes Courage and the Christian Rite of Passage (CROP) program at Hope for Life, Mathayo has come to believe that God is calling him to be a bridge to reach his father. His father does not yet understand that they are both image-bearers of God, but Mathayo is determined to tell him that

he forgives him for trying to take his life.

After high school, Mathayo became a skilled mechanic. Using income earned from training

others, he was able to rescue his two sisters, who otherwise would have been placed in a

children’s home. Though his grandmother had been living in a rented house, Mathayo also

managed to build a semi-permanent home for her. Today, his family depends on him.