North Texas sisters Betty and Merveille Bajika faced hurdles after moving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo 13 years ago.
DENTON COUNTY, Texas — Looking back, it was easy to see a recipe for disaster. But North Texas sisters Betty and Merveille Bajika said when life dealt them a bitter blow, something sweet followed.
For example, the day they got the bag.
“It meant the whole world,” Betty said. “It was a great blessing.”
“It kind of gives you hope and encourages you to do the same thing for somebody else,” Merveille added.
Thirteen years ago, Betty and Merveille left the Democratic Republic of the Congo to come to America.
After arriving in North Texas, they moved in with their dad, who’d been living in the area for a while. It was not a good situation.
“I reported abuse to the school,” Merveille said.
“It was more like child neglection from my dad, so we got into foster care in 2019,” said Betty.
When children enter the foster care system, they’re often given a garbage bag to take everything they own with them. Likewise, when they turn 18 and graduate from high school, they leave the foster system with just that garbage bag to their name.
It’s a problem that bothered Hunter Beaton. Growing up, many of Beaton’s siblings were foster kids.
“I have luggage any time I travel, so it was really confusing to see,” Beaton said.
That’s why, a few years ago, Beaton started a nonprofit called Day 1 Bags to provide a bag filled with essentials to every kid entering the foster system.
He later expanded to giving graduating seniors leaving foster care a bag, too.
Betty, now a master’s student at the University of North Texas in Denton, received a laptop and all she needed to pursue a future as a nurse.
Merveille, a sophomore at UNT, got an even bigger bag, filled with more than she ever asked for.
“We just know that we need all the support we can get to make sure that actually happens,” Beaton said.
Day 1 would like to give bags to every foster graduate in the country.
Betty and Merveille say it’s well worth the investment.
“That one little act of kindness, you can multiply it for another person,” said Betty.
“Eventually we’ll end up with a lot of people feeling loved who haven’t felt it before and that just makes a better world,” Merveille added.
A better world, all thanks to a bag filled with hope.
To donate or learn more, visit Day 1 Bags’ website.