We are pleased when some of those with whom we work let us know how our efforts
have impacted their lives. This is what IHLH is here for!
Here are responses to questions asked of some of our students in February, 2007 (translated from French).
Konate Samba, 17 years of age, student and soccer team member
How is your life different now than before Jesus?
I have been a soccer player on the IHLH team for six years. Before knowing Jesus I was a miserable orphan without any hope of a good future. I never cared about religion, especially becoming a Christian. Thanks to IHLH, I now know Jesus and today I am a happy person. I feel like I have been born again.
Is there anything you have learned in the IHLH Center that has changed your life?
Yes, there are so many. First, I have learned that I am a person, not an animal who was born and died
without accomplishing anything in life. I also became a good soccer player and playing soccer kept me
away from the bad life on the streets. For the first time I felt that someone cared about me.
The most important is that I met a Savior in my life: JESUS CHRIST.
Has coming to the IHLH Center given you more hope that you can become whatever you want to become?
Of course! Right now I have a lot of HOPE. I was able to go back to school, continue playing soccer,
and have a normal life like any other child.
What do want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a famous soccer player like Ronaldinho (Brazilian player) or Drogba (Ivorian).
Toubanga Biassam, 16 years of age, eighth grade student
How was your life different before Jesus and how is it now?
I'm a 16-year-old orphan from Burkina Faso, a country north of Ivory Coast. Before I met Jesus,
I didn't know that God could do something in my life, because I never went to school for lack of money.
I felt useless without any future. Thanks to IHLH my life has changed. Now I have JESUS CHRIST, who
is helping me completely in every way!
Is there anything you have learned in the IHLH Center that has changed your life?
Yes, I have learned that is never too late to start doing something. I started going to school
when I was 10 years old. At primary school I attended only three years instead of six, but I passed
my exams successfully to go to sixth grade. Today I am in the eighth grade.
Has coming to the IHLH Center given you more hope that you can become whatever you want to become?
Sure, the opportunities given to me are so great that I am very optimistic about my future.
What do want to be when you grow up?
I want to become a teacher, because I have learned the importance of being a teacher through my
experiences with my first teachers of IHLH. Also I want to help my younger brothers and sisters to go
to school.
Kouadio Angeline, 10 years of age
How was your life different before Jesus and how is it now?
I am an orphan without a father or a mother. Before knowing Jesus I could only dream of a good life.
After I met Jesus I realized that those dreams turned to be real. Jesus has done so much for me.
Today I have a birth certificate, an identity, and I can go to school.
Is there anything you have learned in the IHLH Center that has changed your life?
Yes, I learned that I can love others because I am loved in the IHLH Center. I don't feel like an
orphan. Also, I learned that in life we have to be optimistic because we have God's help, of course!
Has coming to the IHLH Center given you more hope that you can become whatever you want to become?
Yes, because now I am been helped by IHLH mission. I must succeed.
What do want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a judge, to defend the children's rights, who are suffering like I did.
Doh Erica, sewing school graduate who's now helping in the sewing school
How was your life different before Jesus and how is it now?
I am an orphan without either parent. (Note: Erica, at age 16, lost her mother, father and a younger
sister to AIDS.) My life changed after I met Jesus, and I thank the IHLH mission for that.
Giving my life to Jesus helped me to change from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.
Is there anything you have learned in the IHLH Center that has changed your life?
Yes, I learned how to sew beautiful dresses for kids and adults. Right now I am helping teaching others in the IHLH Center to learn how to sew.
Has coming to the IHLH Center given you more hope that you can become whatever you want to become?
Yes, I believe very much so.
What do want to be when you grow up?
When I was a kid I didn't have a dream to be someone, because where I was living did not allow kids
to have a dream. Today I am a dressmaker because of IHLH sewing school, but my dream is to become a
missionary like Barbara Lane or like Deborah in the Bible.
