Always Doing Good

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Michelle Davis

Astou was quieter than usual in ESL classes. She waited until the other ladies left for the evening to talk with her teacher. After several minutes of chit-chat, the conversation grew more serious. With tears in her eyes, she revealed that her husband had just been deported. How would she and her six children manage?

She knew they could not all return to their West African country, but how would she be able to work, pick-up, and drop off her young children at school each day? What about the bills? Her husband had been the significant wage earner for the family. Astou wondered aloud where God was and if He would help her.

Envision New York City started a fund that seeks to help Astou and West African women like her in their transition to the US—The Tabitha Fund named after Tabitha, a disciple in the early church who was “always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).

The Tabitha Fund addresses critical needs for women in transition. It provides supplies for ESL classes. We currently have over 25 West African women taking ESL classes twice a week. These beautiful women desperately want to learn English so they can find jobs in NYC, communicate with their children’s teachers at school, and pass immigration tests to obtain green cards or U.S. citizenship.

The Tabitha Fund also provides scholarships for job training programs, immigrant advocacy resources, and children’s support services such as tutoring. The cost to provide this type of support for 50 West African women is approximately $11,300.

Alliance Women has set a goal to raise $56,500 for the Tabitha Fund, enough to cover these critical needs and invest in transitional housing. We invite you to partner with what God is doing among West African women in New York City, like Astou, by contributing to the “Tabitha Fund” through your gifts to Alliance Women.