How We're Different
Child Sponsorship with family and long-term community support in mind.
Our Vision
Children are the future leaders of their country, they are best situated in stable families.
Our vision is Transformed people transforming communities through discipleship, asset-based community development, and a holistic approach toward addressing the complex issues of poverty. We believe that God has given each nation everything it needs to overcome the unique challenges it faces. Jesus enables us to partner with Him in bringing His kingdom to earth, restoring families, communities and nations.
We’re Fighting Big Problems
Why child sponsorship and family support matters.
The world shouldn’t need child sponsorship for children to have a chance at a safe, self-sustainable life. The reality is that the systematic way life operates is often working against resiliency and family development in many of the countries we serve. It’s not always intentional shifts that create diverging problems. As countries modernize, subsistence farming is looked down upon in favor of big city lifestyle. An abundance of cheap imported goods destroys cottage industry work in tailoring clothing, furniture manufacturing, maintenance and more. People become increasingly dependent on outsourced goods that steadily increase in cost without adequate increases in wage or availability for work. In the communities we serve, this cycle is made dramatically worse by long term effects of poverty, which often creates a broken view of self. Some communities also have little to no access to technology, skills training, or other resources. In Eswatini, these issues are multiplied by the HIV/AIDs crisis that decimated the adult population leaving a nationwide vacuum of leadership and parental figures.
A tipping point exists in communities where families begin to no longer believe that their community is capable of supporting their needs.
Without a reason to hope, many disadvantaged families don't see a way they can change the situation so they give up or give in. We believe that the countries we serve have been given everything they need to one day become self sufficient. As followers of Christ, we believe that He is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. Jesus is capable of transforming communities, mindsets, attitudes, and outcomes. We fix our eyes only on the long-term transformation of communities to reflect Christ. We focus on training to build a holy movement, not only for beneficiaries to become successful. Our programs sow deep to address some of these complex issues surrounding poverty and to target its root causes in holistic ways. These problems are getting bigger, we need your help to affect change.
Bringing Change
Benefits of Our Sponsorship Programs
Our programs are about so much more than providing food and letters to children.
$45 per month meets immediate tangible needs by providing nutritious food and clean water. It also sustains long-term transformation by providing discipleship and opportunities to engage in programming to strengthen families as a whole that will ripple into the community for generations to come!
Sponsoring a child has the potential to transform and strengthen a family. The family will have the opportunity to be part of our programs, as we walk alongside them on the path helping them move out from being a "disadvantaged benefactor" to an empowered contributor who helps bring their dreams for the community to life.
The Power of Community
Community to Community Partnerships
Child sponsorship shouldn’t be an end product, it should be the first step toward safe self-sustainability. Children are best situated in healthy families inside thriving communities. Achieving change is the driving goal of our sponsorship programs.
In modern culture, it’s common to view western travellers visiting disadvantaged communities “on a mission” as a negative. While there have been issues in the past, there are also positives that are hard to ignore. When young adults and children see people who they deem successful taking an interest in their communities it encourages them that they are worth investing in and helps them believe in their own potential. When we show them the unrealized possibilities in their own communities, they begin to see them as places they want to stay and invest in. Community to community models can have the power of helping people transform their surroundings from a place to “escape from” to a “peaceful haven to escape to”.
Protecting Innocence
Protecting Children from Abuse and Exploitation
Child exploitation, abuse, and harmful voluntourism are emerging issues that we’re committed to preventing as much as we’re able. Our staff undergo leadership training including sensitivity training. Our policies around promises, marketing, program entry are all intended to uplift and maintain dignity at every level. When we have visitors come into our program locations, they are supervised by staff and we always require cultural awareness and child protection training to protect our partnerships with communities and maintain healthy boundaries for children.
We also have organization wide child protection policies that are required for any position or work rendered. Our media policies guide how we frame our perception, framing, and storytelling so that hope and human dignity are prioritized. We take care to ensure that we're always working for the best outcomes for the communities we serve.
