Twelve-year-old Veronica* has suffered more than any child should have to. Her mother was murdered, and her father has been in jail her entire life. She visits him twice a month. Veronica lives with her grandmother in a small brick and tin house in a Central American town, where they share a room.

“I felt sad, and also felt that my life was going to end,” said Veronica about her losses. “I felt a lot of pain.”

Thanks to the Bible Society, when she was 8, she received her first Bible and welcomed Jesus into her heart. “Jesus is like a dad that protects me from bad things, and I love him like a father,” she said.

This small Central American country is plagued by violence and a high murder rate, and many children come from broken families or experience violence in their own homes. Bible Society programs here are helping change the lives of vulnerable children and youth, like Veronica. The Bible is their only dependable source of comfort, giving at-risk youth strength and hope for a better life.

Here’s how your gifts are helping other children who lived in fear and despair in this country, but now have the hope of God’s Word:

“I was sad, and I was given this book and realized that I could be a happy girl.” — Anna*, age 10

“The Bible helps me be better and behave well.” — Elian*, age 10

“Because of the Bible, I have learned things from God like not fighting with other children. I do not fight anymore.” — Raul*, age 7

This is the kind of difference the generosity of American Bible Society’s financial partners makes.

*Names changed to protect identities.