One of the Fox stories: Struggling mother earns living for six through sewing pillows

Eight-year-old Tanya was blinded by her uncle with a piece of rebar in the Dominican Republic. No one knows why.
Then, when Tanya was 13, her father sexually assaulted her and a child was born.
John Fox said men are the providers in that culture and women take care of the babies.
Tanya’s mother, Marcia, went to the authorities and now her husband is serving 25 years in prison. She and her four children and one grandchild have no income and are among the poorest of the poor, John said.
John said it was very courageous of the mother to turn in her husband, knowing she and her children could starve without him. And, they did suffer.
John said people from his church in the Dominican Republic had met her and told her story. John said when he was at an eyeglass clinic he saw a young blind girl carrying a baby. They knew right away it was Tanya and they went to her home and started helping – first with food.
He said they wanted to help that family, but didn’t want to just provide for them. They wanted to help the family provide for itself.
The church got Marcia a brand-new Singer foot-pedal sewing machine. She now makes pillows that say “Restoration Ranch.” The pillows are sold and the money sent to Marcia to help support her family.
The electricity is regularly cut off to the poor area of the Dominican Republic when the plusher community at the north end needs more power, so a foot-powered machine is very important, John said.
— Rosemary K. Otzman, editor