A HOME AND A HOPE THROUGH SAT-7 KIDS

Through one family’s story of desperation, a special SAT-7 KIDS program raises awareness of the hardships of poverty and single parenting while teaching compassion, spreading hope, and encouraging young viewers to help those around them.

“We want to teach young people how to be empathetic and show them what youth can do in this economic crisis,” says Andrea El-Mounayer, SAT-7 KIDS Channel Manager. “I want to give the new generation ideas for how they can help their neighbors.”

“It felt like no one could have survived what we went through,” recalls Sabah, a widowed mother who lives with her 16-year-old daughter Angel. After Sabah’s husband died, she and Angel lived in dire poverty, without access to water, food, or other necessities. They fled to Turkey in search of a job for Sabah or education for Angel. But after many challenges, they returned to Lebanon.

“I tried to end my life, since I held a lot on my shoulders and no one was sharing this weight with me,” says Angel. “But God did not want me to give up.”

When SAT-7 KIDS learned of Sabah and Angel’s situation, Andrea knew the channel had to raise awareness while offering practical help.

Andrea gathered a group of young people, including several SAT-7 KIDS presenters. Together, they renovated an old apartment and fixed everything in it, making it suitable for living. They prepared the rooms and added details according to the family’s personal choice, ensuring all amenities in the apartment were provided, including heating. “Everything went very smoothly – it was God’s hand working with us,” said Petra Charabaty, the producer of the program.

Andrea shares that the teenagers who took part chose to share their own belongings with Sabah and Angel in a beautiful act of care. “The youth were truly working from their hearts,” says Andrea. “This is what brought such hope.”

The teens also shared their own experiences and stories with the family. “SAT-7’s message is always love, and Jesus is the origin of this love. So as your family, we want to offer you a new home and a new life, so that the Lord may move your life from glory to glory,” said Manessa Audi, presenter of the program.

Sabah and Angel see their newly renovated apartment

When the renovation of the apartment was finished, Sabah and Angel were happy with their new home and with all the surprises prepared by the youth, while expressing their gratefulness.

“Each day I used to stand in faith, believing that the Lord is with us and will not leave us, although we don’t know when He will send his blessings. And I thank the Lord; He sent you to us,” says Sabah.

The project does not end here. SAT-7 KIDS plans to follow up with Sabah and Angel over time, and the channel will also support a new family in this way each year in the aim of spreading hope and teaching children how they can be a source of hope to others.

“We are sowing God’s word through our programs, and we see that His Word never comes back empty,” says Marianne Awaraji, SAT-7’s Arabic Audience Relations Manager. “When we bring hope into people’s hearts, they change from the inside, and this brings them joy and peace, even when the conditions cannot change.”