Read our founder’s perspective on how a sociology lesson became a real-world mission at Happy Mercy Center.

Poverty was a concept that was covered in depth during my undergraduate sociology courses. In the classroom, we were taught that poverty is mainly classified in two distinct ways: Relative and Absolute.

• Relative poverty is a comparison of how one person matches up to another economically. Under this definition, a person can still be considered poor even though they are fully able to meet their basic daily needs.

• Absolute poverty, on the other hand, is much more severe. As defined by the United Nations, it is “a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.”

It is one thing to memorize a definition for an exam; it is a completely different thing to see it with your own eyes.

The Heartbreaking Reality of Absolute Poverty

The heartbreaking truth is that before coming to Gladways Rescue Center (now known as Happy Mercy Center), the children we serve experienced absolute poverty daily while living with their parents.

Most of these households are led by single mothers who face unimaginable circumstances. To afford just one single meal a day for their kids, these mothers are often forced to leave their young children completely unsupervised while they go door-to-door, begging for a single day’s casual labor.

When you are systematically unable to provide for your own flesh and blood, a crushing weight takes over. Overcome by depression and utter hopelessness, many of these women slowly had their dignity stripped away. Some drowned their sorrows in illicit local brews, while others fell into unsafe encounters just to survive—leaving their children deeply malnourished and vulnerable.

Enter Director Mary: Compassion Over Judgment

Where the world might offer harsh judgment, a woman named Mary chose a different path.

Mary, the director of the rescue center, saw these children and their desperate mothers. Instead of looking down on them, her heart was filled with pure compassion. She opened her arms, opened the doors of her center, and has since loved and supported scores of children through some of the toughest conditions imaginable.

Mary and I crossed paths over five years ago. At that exact moment, the center was facing a critical, immediate shortage of consistent food. We didn’t have a lot of financial security at the time ourselves, but we looked at the need, took a radical step of faith, and simply said yes.

The Seed of a Foundation

Over five years have passed since we made that promise, and because of this community’s support, these children have not slept hungry a single night since. It was during those early days of stepping out in faith that the seed of the Humphrey Hiuhu Foundation was officially planted in my heart. We realized that absolute poverty requires absolute, tangible action. We cannot solve every global crisis, but we can make sure that a child has food, water, a safe bed, and a future.

Will you take a step of faith with us today? Your partnership allows us to keep saying “yes” to Mary, to these resilient single mothers, and to the beautiful children who deserve a life of dignity.