Extreme Poverty Archives - Page 13 of 15 - Humanitarian Aid & Relief

Pond scum mustaches

Kenyan boys at pond. — Young boys drink from a murky pond in Kenya.

I will always think of the little boys with the pond scum mustaches when I consider the developing world’s water crisis. I met them in Kenya this week as the World Concern team was surveying an extremely remote village where we are planning further development.

We drove to a water pan – essentially a man-made pond for water collection. Water pans are usually reserved for livestock, but in this case, a couple of water pans were the community’s source of drinking water. After slipping through a fence made of gnarled branches and walking toward the muddy pond, I saw the water. It was green with algae, and moving with life. Over the surface of the water was a film of muck, essentially – pond scum.

As I was getting video and photos of this water pan, reality set in, as a group of five friends – thin and quiet little boys around 10 years old – came with filthy jugs, out to get a drink. They lined up alongside the pond, dipped their jugs in the water, brought the water to their mouths, and tipped the jugs back.

I knew at that moment that the boys were being infected, as they had been many times before, with parasites and bacteria that would make them sick. We scooped up some of this water in a clean, clear bottle – and with the naked eye could see worms and other creatures flex and swim through the opaque mess.

Dirty water from a pond in Kenya. — Filthy water is all that's available to drink in this Kenyan village. It doesn't have to be this way.

I could not believe the heartbreaking scene that I was witnessing. But for these little boys, there is no other source of water nearby. As they drank I noticed that around their small mouths was green pond scum.

In many cultures where World Concern works, there is a sense of fatalism. The tragic circumstances dealt to people are their fate, and they just need to accept them. Part of it is religious, part of it is cultural, part of it is just the fact that they haven’t seen anything better. Why would they hope for something they had not seen or heard about?

Here is the truth: God aches for these boys, as do we. What we know that the little boys don’t is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Working together, we are can bring the love of Christ in tangible ways to relieve the suffering that families have endured for generations. It just doesn’t have to be this way.

In communities where we have worked in a more significant way – communities that have seen the benefits of clean water, of sanitation, of education for children, of opportunities to work and save money – we have seen something happen. A spark of realization in the minds of hopeless people that the misery they’ve endured is not the final word. When they get it, mountains move. Children grow. Goals are set. Communities change – long term.

Water is one of the most important ways we can begin the process of this transformation, to show the light of Christ to people who have suffered for so long.

To learn more about World Concern’s water programs, or to help bring clean water to communities like this, visit www.worldconcern.org/water

Starting over: One family’s story

World Concern supporter Kurt Campbell is in Sri Lanka visiting some of our programs. The following is an excerpt from his personal blog.

Chris, Teri and Dori. — Chris, Teri and Dori are grateful to be earning income from the cow they received from World Concern.

Boy meets girl. They wed and soon have a baby. A typical story that can be found around the world, but when it is played out in the middle of a violent war it often takes a turn for the worse. Such was the case of Chris and Teri and their daughter Dori (not their real names), who live in northern Sri Lanka.

Government soldiers one day came to their village and took Chris away to a military prison on suspicion of aiding the enemy. This left Teri and their young daughter alone in the middle of a war. It wouldn’t be long before they both joined several hundred thousand others in one of the war refugee camps.

When the war came to a close this family was reunited, but much had changed. Chris returned paralyzed from the waist down. To compound their problems they had no livelihood with the disappearance of their 16 cows. Yet despite all this they did not lose hope.

Recently World Concern began meeting with people from the area to develop a livelihood program that would help the community sustain itself in the future. It was agreed upon that creating a milk chilling station co-op would be a great place to start. The co-op started by selecting 10 of the most vulnerable people in the community that could benefit from a gifted milking cow from World Concern. One of those selected by the community was Teri.

Teri and her cow. — Teri and her cow, which now helps feed her family and earns them income.

Teri attended a five-day workshop led by World Concern that helped train the community on best practices in dairy farming.

Today Chris, Teri and their 8-year-old daughter have access to a balanced diet and a source of income that will help them build on a brighter future. Their community will soon have a milk chilling station as well, which will allow every dairy farmer an opportunity to sell their milk.

For more information on World Concern’s work in Sri Lanka, please visit www.worldconcern.org/srilanka

Garden = better test scores and more in rural Kenya

Students hard at work at Naado Primary School in Kenya.

Kathryn Sciba is visiting some of our programs in Kenya this week. The following excerpt is from her blog about her trip.

We began our eventful journey to a primary school near Narok. This is the kind of land where safari animals roam wild. The children and teachers at this school blew my mind with how well they welcomed us. The people here are Maasai, nomadic herdsmen. This school has changed their lives since World Concern started working with them in 2008.

The school has a 28-acre garden that World Concern built a fence around so the elephants wouldn’t destroy it. The lack of farming means the families have had to follow the herds and lack a balanced diet.

In the past three years World Concern has not only built a solar powered electric fence around the school’s garden but they’ve also trained the community about farming. Now the families can stay put if they want to. Now the community has wheat and corn fields. The school produces more than enough food for their enrollment and is able to sell the rest. They grow passion fruit, mango, bananas, and vegetables, including basics like beans, corn and wheat.

They do have a water catchment system, which catches rain from the roof and carries it through pipes to the garden, but they need rain to sustain it. Please pray for a great rainy season which was supposed to begin this month but has been lousy so far.

Students in Kenya. — About 800 students receive education and nutritious meals at Naado Primary School in Narok, Kenya.

The garden has provided essential nutrition and that’s helped the student’s test schools improve dramatically. In 2007, 191 children graduated with a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (a national standardized test required to pass primary school). In 2008, 216 students graduated and in 2009 the number was 261.

Enrollment has been increasing because the community is sending their children there to be well fed and educated instead of having them roam with the herds. The school provides boarding to 150 girls who would otherwise roam with their families. By having girls live at the school, their families may feel less urgency to marry them off at a young age in exchange for a 20 cow dowry.

There are currently about 400 boys and 400 girls enrolled in the school.

A Change of Heart

Kurt Campbell remembers the moment God melted his heart for the people of Sri Lanka. It was on Easter Sunday, 2009. Sitting in his comfortable, warm church, singing worship songs, he started to cry.

Several weeks earlier, he and his wife Cari had prayed and felt led to donate their entire savings account to aid in the crisis in Sri Lanka. They’d heard the details of how the end to the 26-year-long civil war had killed thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Knowing World Concern was responding and rescuing war victims, Kurt and Cari wanted to help.

“I’ve often said, your pocket book follows your heart, but sometimes it works the other way. It was after that financial investment that we felt more connected to Sri Lanka,” recalls Kurt.

As he sat in church that Easter, tears running down his cheeks, he realized they probably weren’t singing worship songs in Northern Sri Lanka.

“I thought, here’s a group of people who don’t know the Lord as their Savior, and surely aren’t experiencing the love and compassion I’m used to on a daily basis. My heart just broke,” he said.

Kurt’s burden for the people of Sri Lanka grew over the next two years, especially as he’s had the opportunity to travel there several times. During his visits to the displacement camps, he saw first-hand the tremendous losses people have endured – loss of life, loss of limbs, and loss of loved ones.

Kurt Campbell with Sri Lankan children. — World Concern donor Kurt Campbell visits kids who were living in camps after Sri Lanka’s civil war.

“One of the hardest places to visit was a special camp where people went once they left the hospital … it was basically and old factory floor with cots lined up one after another,” said Kurt. “I came across two children – a girl about 4 years old, and a boy about 6. The boy had a bandaged leg and would obviously be crippled for the rest of his life. The girl had lost three fingers on one hand. I was looking right at her, but she had a completely blank look on her face.

“If God had used me for anything in those camps, it was to make the kids laugh. But this girl, nothing. A blank stare. What had she seen?” Kurt wondered. She was most likely an orphan and had seen the horrors of war.

That experience changed Kurt. He felt more compassion and more of a desire to help than ever before. “There’s something about the Sri Lankan people – something within them – an ability to persevere and to tackle life that is so beautiful. It’s not a hand-out society. These are people who are truly hard-working individuals who want to do things on their own. That really resonates with me.”

One of the most significant aspects of the work Kurt observed was how World Concern staff pays attention to individual people, walking with them through their struggles. “We’re affecting people’s lives and it’s wonderful,” he said.

Learn more about how Campbell Auto Group partners with World Concern to impact the lives of people in the poorest, hardest to reach places around the world.

Kurt Campbell is the owner of Campbell Nissan of Edmonds, Campbell Nissan of Everett, and Campbell Volkswagon of Edmonds.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven …” – Matthew 6:19-20

The freedom to make a living

Sitting at my desk on this International Women’s Day, I’m reminded of the opportunities I’ve been given to be educated and earn an income to support my family. I don’t take this for granted, especially when I read stories like that of Rashida Begum, who grew up in the overcrowded slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She never went to school and was forced into marriage at just 13 years old. By the time she was 18, she had five children.

Rashida working. — Rashida has a thriving business making and selling beaded and embroidered fabric.

Despite the odds against her, today, Rashida has a thriving business. She’s able to use the talents she learned as a child – embroidery and bead work – and has gained self-confidence from the growing list of customer orders she receives. Even though she’s illiterate and living in a male-dominated, oppressive society, Rashida is able to support her family with her income.

It all began with a small business loan, which she desperately needed. Unfortunately, in many countries, skill and incentive aren’t enough. The loan enabled her to buy materials and start selling things. It’s amazing to think how different her life is, simply because she’s able to work. She’s also able to pay for her kids to go to school, which means the benefits of her business will carry into the next generation.

Microlending is a simple concept that leads to independence for so many women around the world. In honor of International Women’s Day, take a minute to learn more about it. For a small investment, you could change a life in a developing country.

A living example of hope

Harun at a community meeting. — Harun (in teal) at a community meeting in Southern Sudan.

When he visits the families World Concern serves in Southern Sudan, Harun Ringera shares hope through words of encouragement and practical help. But he also shares hope through the example of his own life – one of how education and having someone believe in you can change everything.

The youngest of seven siblings who grew up in Eastern Kenya, Harun is the son of illiterate peasant farmers. None of his brothers and sisters were educated beyond primary school, but his father saw Harun’s passion for school and worked hard to pay his tuition for high school.

When he ran out of money while attending university in Nairobi, his father sold a piece of land to help him finish college. Now married and the father of two young children, Harun is working on his thesis to earn his master’s degree in October of this year.

His education, experience and skills are impacting others far beyond his own family. As program manager for World Concern Sudan, Harun spends his days overseeing vocational training programs, and working with families who are receiving food and agricultural training. Although he lives in a staff compound for 10 weeks at a time, and only travels back to Kenya to see his family for two weeks in between, he loves his job.

“I felt called to go to Sudan,” he said of his decision in 2006. At that time, Sudan was very unstable. There was no central government and no infrastructure. Schools had been destroyed and people had no way to earn income. He worked with traumatized child soldiers and homeless refugees.

Harun Ringera is CRISTA Ministries' Employee of the Year.

It was far from glamorous work, but Harun persevered, and now oversees thriving microfinance programs, including savings groups and village banks. People are saving and borrowing money, starting businesses and planting crops. Others are rebuilding schools and earning food for their work. Women are learning to read and write, and they’re obtaining business skills. Life is improving.

“It called for a lot of patience, sacrifice and prayers,” he said of the progress in Sudan. He also believes it has to do with how people are treated. “If you want to succeed in Southern Sudan and motivate people, learn to appreciate them. These people have never been appreciated, because they have been under oppression for a very long time. Give them an opportunity to work and tell them, you can make it. Give them hope.”

Harun’s dedication to his work earned him recognition as CRISTA Ministries’ Employee of the Year (World Concern is one of CRISTA’s seven ministries). He’s currently enjoying his first trip to the U.S. – and his first time outside of Africa – to be honored for his service at World Concern’s headquarters.

Seeing Christianity blossom in Kenya

Kenyan Pastor With A World Concern Staffer — A World Concern Kenya staff member translates a former witch doctor’s story.

World Concern Ministry Development Coordinator Mark Lamb recently returned from a trip to Kenya. Here are some reflections on his trip.

After traveling through rural Kenya for several hours on a road marked with potholes like Swiss cheese, we arrived in a village where World Concern is making an impact. One of the first people we met was a man who introduced himself to us as a former witch doctor who is now a Christian. As if this wasn’t enough to catch the attention of our group of jet lagged Americans, our new friend Joseph interrupted my associate as he was explaining the location of America using his head as a globe and said, “You mean the earth is round?”

Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore.

Although this may seem nearly unbelievable to those of us who have been blessed with an education, reality began to sink in as Joseph told us about the women in the village walking 12 hours round trip to bring back water, villagers carrying a sick person 10 miles on a sheet to the nearest clinic, and the children walking over six miles round trip to the nearest elementary school.

In such bleak circumstances, I was surprised to find hope. World Concern is currently constructing a water pan in this community to help provide a clean water source, but their hope was not in the water pan alone, or in World Concern. It was clear, as they discussed their faith in Jesus Christ, that there hope was in Him. They praised World Concern, and there was a clear love for our staff, but Joseph and the other villagers talked about the hope they have in Jesus for a better life.

Maasai women sing worship songs.

In another village we visited, I met a young pastor named Jackson who had taught himself to read so he could read and teach the Bible. He treasures his Bible, carrying it with him wrapped in two layers of protective plastic. I also witnessed spirited worship songs sung by the women in the church. I couldn’t understand the words, but I was told the song was from a verse in Exodus about God’s victory.

I was encouraged to see kitchen gardens in schoolyards producing healthy vegetables for the students who otherwise would be eating only grain and meat. I saw the hope of better health with pits for latrines being dug, and wells flowing with clean, fresh water. But I was most excited about the spiritual fruit I saw as a result of Christ’s light shining into these villages.

To learn more about church partnerships, please visit www.worldconcern.org/churches.

Contact Mark Lamb at MarkL@worldconcern.org.

Crafter turns passion into action

Here’s the truth: the work of World Concern will not happen without the support of others who get behind it. The more people engage with us and what we’re doing, the bigger difference we’re able to make. It’s that simple.

Minneapolis resident Diana Neidecker came up with a very cool idea. She’s donating a percentage of the February sales from her Etsy site to World Concern. Here’s why, in her own words:

After work, Blake and I spent over an hour on World Concern’s Facebook page, looking at all the incredible photos. We love the mission, the idea of empowerment and the way you are lifting all of these wonderful countries up.

Back in first grade, I had an assignment asking me my three wishes for the world. I answered with 1) enough money for the poor; 2) to save the environment; and 3) to have all kids be safe at night.
That paper is hung up in our craft room. I love it. Not much has changed in my since 1991. Blake and I are super conscious about the products, companies and practices that we use/utilize in our lives.

The day of the Haiti earthquake, the two of us were out to eat and couldn’t stop talking about the quake and what we could do to help. I immediately donated my paycheck, but still didn’t feel satisfied. A few days later, I just knew I had to be there. After talking and planning, we decided to spend the month of July there, helping to deconstruct a five-story boys’ home that fell.

Diana and Blake working in Haiti, July 2010.

I get chills just thinking about how this trip impacted us. We worked with a crew of 14 Haitian guys clearing rubble by bucket line. Blake and I live a pretty modest lifestyle, but showering with a bucket and eating two small meals a day really made us think. We were able to tour a tent city and so many people trusted us enough to answer tough and honest questions about money, lifestyle and what they really need.

We are very interested in making Haiti a part of our lives. We would love to go back at least once a year. Also, learning fluent Creole has been a goal of ours. In the next two to three years, we would actually like to start the adoption process and adopt one or two orphans.

I do photography and I also knit. In the past few months, I have realized that I am meant to create for a living. It’s been a hobby for years, but I am now ready to make a life of creating.

For the month of February, I have decided to give 35-40% of all earnings from my business to World Concern to use for microloans or goats in Haiti – I love the idea of giving goats! I know that the more ways I can reach people and help, everybody will benefit.”

Wow! Thanks Diana and Blake for all you’re doing for the people of Haiti.

Diana's knitting. — Diana wearing a few of her cozy, hand-knitted items.

Check out Diana’s Etsy at http://dianapantz.etsy.com

You can also read her blog post announcing this project at http://flytothewall.blogspot.com/2011/02/big-news.html

Thank you for making 2010 amazing!

Humanitarian-Haiti-Shipment-3 — Children in Haiti received "Kids' Healing Kits," one part of a large response that has helped more than 100,000 people after the earthquake.

This past year was a mixture of tragedy and triumph in the world of humanitarian aid. It began with one of the worst disasters of our time. As eyes were glued to the news coverage of the massive earthquake in Haiti, hearts were moved to help. Donations came pouring in. The response was overwhelming, and it renewed our faith in the amazing generosity of people.

World Concern, being on the front lines in Haiti, went to work. There was food and water to be distributed, tarps to be hung, and medical supplies to be delivered. Then, there were, and still are, lives to be rebuilt.

The response in Haiti was a huge part of 2010, both in terms of donations and accomplishments. But it wasn’t everything World Concern did with your help. There were projects completed in numerous impoverished countries, and new ones started. There were children educated and protected, wells dug, fields planted, houses built and jobs created. In all, we’ve reached nearly 6 million people with assistance.

We praise God for all that has been accomplished. As we reflect on 2010 and look ahead to 2011, we also want to thank you. Without our donors, none of this would be possible. You are truly partners in this work.

Here’s a look back at just a few of the amazing, creative ways people gave in 2010:

A kindergartner raised $3,641 for Haiti earthquake relief.
A group of inner-city children sold lemonade and cookies to build a house in Haiti.
A teenager gave up his birthday to help others in need.
Families decided to forego more “stuff” for Christmas and gave meaningful, life-changing gifts.
Bloggers dedicated space to making a difference in the world.
A young donor sends a beautiful letter with her donation, entrusting us to help others with it.

In all of this, please take joy in what you’ve done with us. You played an essential role in 2010, and we pray you join us in our quest to ease suffering in the coming year.

Thank you and happy New Year!

– The World Concern Team

Reaching 153,000 AIDS orphans

While it’s sometimes hard to quantify success, one thing is certain – the ripple effect and long-term effects of good development work impact more people for generations to come than any of us will know.

How many future generations will benefit from one child in a poor Kenyan village making her way to university because her high school tuition was paid?

How many lives will be saved from better nutrition resulting from improved farming methods and tools in rural Laos?

An AIDS orphan in Zambia — An AIDS orphan gets help putting on her new shoes, socks and uniform so she can attend school.

On the other hand, because of excellent tracking and reporting by our field staff, there are many occasions when we can quantify results, and they’re often quite amazing.

This week we received a report that details six years worth of work with AIDS orphans in Kenya, Zambia and Haiti. This work was accomplished through the support of numerous partner agencies and funding from donors and USAID/PEPFAR.

The numbers are pretty astonishing:

Awareness was raised to enable support for children affected by HIV and AIDS in 6,495,030 people.
Basic needs were met and support was strengthened for 153,663 orphans.
27,943 orphans received access to formal education or vocational training.
6,759 older children (ages 15-17) were equipped to meet their own needs.

It’s exciting and motivating to be a part of something so great, yet at the forefront of our minds are the individuals among these numbers – individuals like 16-year-old Jacqueline, who lost both her parents when she was in eighth grade. She was left in the care of her elderly grandmother, and had almost quit school when help came her way.

Jacqueline and her grandmother received resources to grow a garden and to raise pigs and chickens for income. They earned enough to keep Jacqueline in school, where she passed her basic exam, earning her a spot in high school. She plans to become a doctor and return to her village, pledging to support other AIDS orphans like herself.

Even if Jacqueline had been the only one, the work would be worth it. But we’re thankful, as we reflect on 2010 and look ahead to 2011 that there are thousands more lives being changed every day.

For more information on World Concern’s work around the world, visit www.worldconcern.org.