Stefka's Story

Stefka Todorova can testify to how frighteningly easy it is to find yourself on the streets after a relationship breakdown. She and her husband Todor, together with their daughter Pamela,12, and son Kristian,11, were thrown out of their shared apartment by her stepdaughter. Stefka has tears in her eyes as she recalls their previous happy life. Todor worked in construction while Stefka looked after the children and prepared meals.

It’s very hard to live on the streets when you have children to look after. I want them to feel like other children – to have a room of their own, to simply be able to come home from school and have a shower.

Life is now very different, and home is an abandoned café in the suburbs with no running water. Pamela and Kristian’s clothes are shabby and dirty, provoking mocking taunts from classmates. As a result, they don’t like going to school.

Street Mercy has made all the difference. “Sometimes the meal we receive from Street Mercy is the only food we eat that day”, says Stefka. “We’ve also received shoes and clothes, backpacks and school supplies for the children. But… most precious of all is the friendship we’re been given – the care, love and hope that brings us closer to God.”

Stefka and Todor pray to God every day and believe the Lord will show them a way out of poverty and that the children will feel more secure. They are also teaching their children to believe, pray and to seek God. In the meantime, in the darkest days of their lives, they have found friends and a safe haven through Street Mercy.

The ministry here reaches out to all – young people from broken families, the unemployed, who came to the big city in search of a job, people who lost their homes because they could no longer pay utilities or rent and individuals with mental health issues.

While the Mission cannot directly provide housing solutions, we do provide warm clothing, shoes and blankets as well as support in accessing services such as health care and social benefits. Hygiene products such as soap, toothpaste, etc are also given out. Sharing God’s word is also a vital part of this ministry, offering prayer support and friendship, demonstrating the love of Christ, as well as reaching out with practical support.

Our Street Mercy programme depends entirely on donations from you – our friends and supporters. It costs £96 each week to feed, support and share God’s love with 12 vulnerable people living on the streets.

DONATE