As I walked through a village ravaged by drought and famine, I saw women scavenging for scraps of firewood that they could barter for food to feed their families. I met a young mother who couldn’t have been more than 14 years old. She had two small children to feed and care for, and barely enough food to give them. She went hungry that day so that they could eat. Our eyes met and I reached out to squeeze her hand. In that moment I knew what sacrifice looks like.
In rural Kenya, I met a little girl named Zincia who was in sixth grade and was the only girl left in her class. All the other girls had dropped out of school by her age—some forced into early marriages. Others dropped out simply because there was no water source in their village. Their families needed them to fetch water. This duty consumed six hours of their day, round trip. It is a hard and dangerous chore that leaves no time to even consider school. But one brave little girl managed to grab onto a hope that education would provide for her a better life. I met her eyes and I was humbled by her dedication.
A mom in Haiti.
In Haiti, I had to force myself to look into the eyes of a mother who lost a child in the earthquake. The same day she buried her child she was out looking for work. She had three other children who needed her. There was no time for self-pity or even for grieving. Her children depended on her and so she got up and did what she needed to do so that they would eat that day. As our eyes met, I was no longer a humanitarian; I was just a mom who saw my sister’s suffering.
Through my work with World Concern, I have walked in some of the neediest places in the world. It’s hard to see some of the things I see … until I remember that God sees each of those that suffer and He knows them by name. Sometimes what I see makes my cry. Sometimes I want to look away… But I am always amazed by the resilience and strength I see too in the women I meet. And they—my sisters—are worthy of respect and dignity, not pity.
A woman in South Sudan.
March 8 is International Women’s Day. The first International Women’s Day was observed in 1911. Now, more than 100 years later, the need to see, recognize, and respond to the issues women face in developing nations remains great. They each have a story of sacrifice, resilience, hard work, and determination. And, I am committed to maintaining “eye contact” with them until they and their daughters are truly seen.
For the first time ever in its 40-year existence, the village of Maramara has clean water.
Life in Eastern Chad has been a constant struggle. Water is scarce in the parched Sahel desert. Most of the region was destroyed during the Darfur conflict, causing communities like Maramara to have to fight even harder to survive.
Up until last month, the nearest source of clean water is a three-hour walk—each way. Mothers often abandoned this burden and gathered dirty, contaminated water from a closer source. As a result, children were sick with diarrhea and diseases like dysentery.
Water gushes from the newly drilled well in Maramara, a village of about 200 families in Eastern Chad.
With the support of World Concern through a One Village Transformed partnership with Northridge Church, the community was empowered to contribute to the construction of their new well. Village members provided 500 bricks, sand, gravel and their own human resources. A drilling rig was brought in, and the result is fresh, safe drinking water, better health … and joy in the hearts of Maramara residents.
We invite you to share in the excitement of what clean water means to this community through their own words:
“To God who exposed water to dust! Now, I make as many trips as needed and plenty of water. Enough time to look for food for my children. Children take a bath every day. I now can make supplies of hay in good quantity for my cattle. May God reward love towards us.” – Amkhallah Souleymane
Ahmat Abbo Dahab
“Since I started drinking clean water from the pump, I wake up each morning energized. Kids have shining faces and clean clothes. There are no more worries about women delaying when fetching water. Thank you very much and may God bless you.” – Ahmat Abbo Dahab
Mustapha Mahamat
“The taste makes me want to drink without stopping! Pains that I often used to feel at certain times of the day have begun to disappear. The water well we use to drink from is now used by many to make bricks for housing. From the bottom of your heart you decided that we get water and I see the commitment you have to help us. May the Almighty bless you.” – Mustapha Mahamat
Hassani Moussa
“When I see how clean the water is in a container, I laugh. My body and clothes are clean since I started using this water. The millet I wash is clean. The food is well prepared because I have water and time. I am grateful to God and ask Him to protect and bless you in your activities.” – Hassani Moussa
Fatimé Zakaria
“I follow my mom with a small container. It makes me happy to see mom jump when pumping water. Thank you.” – Fatimé Zakaria
“I feel less pain in my body. I don’t have to borrow a donkey to fetch water. Invitations to fetch water are over. I’m thankful for the rest you allow me to have.” – Achta bireme
[The following is a conversation with World Concern’s new Africa Area Director, Peter Macharia.]
Peter Macharia, the new World Concern Africa Area Director, at the opening of a World Concern supported building in Embu, Kenya.
Good morning! Let’s start this off by having you tell me, who is Peter?
Well, my full name is Peter Macharia and I’ve just been appointed as the new Africa Area Director, a position I’m very excited about. I’m looking forward to what God is going to do through me and the other staff who work for World Concern Africa.
I’ve been working for World Concern for the last 10 years. It has been a very exciting time. Every day when I wake up in the morning I always look forward to what God is going to accomplish through us as a team.
Before I joined World Concern it was my prayer that I find a Christian organization that was committed to reaching out to the poorest people, the marginalized that are often forgotten; people that I know are in need of an organization whose mandate spans through both the physical and spiritual.
If you could have any super power, what would it be and how would you use it?
If I had magical powers I would extinguish all evils in the world!
I don’t understand why terrorists do what they do. If I had these powers, I would make bad people know that what they are doing is not good. I would work to change people’s minds so that they care about each other and the environment. But I know I’m limited.
Also, if I had all the powers and money in the world I’d fly to space and travel everywhere. It would be interesting, probably, to feel like I’m on top of the world.
One of the things Peter does best, laugh.
Tell me more about your history working with World Concern Africa.
I originally joined World Concern as a grant writer for Somalia projects. After less than a year I came to the Africa office in the same role but covering all of the countries where we work. Worked in that position for four years until I was promoted to be the Sudan Country Director. I served in this role for another four years. During my time in this role we saw great growth in staff, funding, and projects.
I then moved back to Kenya to be the World Concern Director of Disaster Response. Later I was asked to take on the role of Kenya Country Director, where I have been until being appointed to this position.
How do you feel taking on this new, very important role?
When I received the news that I’d been appointed I had a mixed reaction. For one, I was very excited, but I also knew that there was a huge challenge ahead of me. This is a sacred calling. I know God will be with me in the rough roads ahead and within the new expectations of this role.
What are two facts people may not know about you?
When I was young I almost drowned in the local river. From that day on I’ve never swam and now I don’t know how to swim at all. For the last five years I’ve been telling myself that I will teach myself to swim again. We will see.
I love birds. I love birds. I like sitting down under a tree and watching birds come. I especially like the small ones with very funny colors. I like to look at the way they were created, how they are walking. It makes me think, ‘This is so good. This is how nature should be.’
Peter shows off his dance moves at his initiation party in Nairobi, Kenya.
What do you think makes World Concern stand out from other organizations?
I would say that what makes World Concern different are our values – we are a Christian organization and we are serious about it.
We tend to go where other NGOs don’t go and reach very marginalized people groups, “the last, the lost, and the least.” Having worked for other NGOs in the past, I can say that World Concern really represents Christ. Every staff member that joins us joins a culture with Christ at the center, and this is what we take to the field with us.
We don’t just take food to people; we also take the love of God. Our desire is that we reach the people God has called us to reach, not who we believe should come first. And we do as much as possible to reach these people.
Another thing that makes us different is the passion with which we do our work. Every staff feels very called to work here.
Lastly, our projects are holistic – they take care of the entire community and ensure that the future is taken care of. We are careful about the environment and natural resources.
Peter looks at fertilizer during a World Concern farming training.
What are your hopes and vision for the future of World Concern Africa?
As I take over I really want to see our programs growing in two ways. One, I want to see us reaching to more people who are in need, that aren’t receiving benefits from other organizations like us.
Secondly, I want to see growth in terms of funding. Being in a sector that is nonprofit, we require others to come and support what we do. I want to champion the needs of Africa and establish a bridge between the needs and our partners. I want our partners to see themselves as a part of the work we do.
I also want us to continue to be smarter in the way we operate. In an ever-growing industry, I want our team to create solid standards for ourselves.
As we reach our beneficiaries we want to do it with dignity. We want them to feel like they are valued and that they have gotten more than they expected.I want us to improve on the quality of the work we do so that the impact that we cause is long-lasting.
I desire for every staff that works for World Concern to feel like he or she is a co-worker in Christ. My hope is that our staff feel like they are doing what they are called to do – that every day when he or she wakes up to come to work they think ‘This is the best thing I can be doing in this season.’
All of us enjoy what we do. We don’t do it because we are paid, but because this is what God has called us to do. Part of my work is to help the staff feel cared for and that they are serving Christ.
Peter walks with a World Concern beneficiary in Embu, Kenya.
Any words you would like to share with World Concern donors?
To all World Concern supporters, donors, and partners, I’d say a big thank you. We are where we are because of you. We know you give sacrificially – you give because you trust us and identify us as someone you want to work with. We want to ensure you that your support will reach the people we are called to reach. We want you to know you are part of the transformation of people’s lives.
When you support World Concern you are a part of transforming people’s lives – one village at a time, one family at a time, one individual at a time.
We urge you to continue to support us. We know this is a gift you have given us, thank you very much for your sacrifice.
Four years ago today the ground in and around Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, shook powerfully. Lasting approximately 30 seconds, the 7.0 magnitude earthquake would take the lives of approximately 220,000 people and change the lives of those who survived forever.
January 12, 2010 is a day that remains etched in the minds of many Haitians. It is hard to find someone who was not affected by the goudou goudou—the colloquial name for the earthquake in Haitian Creole, which refers to the sound the tremors made. As a colleague of mine in Haiti once said, “We were all victims of the earthquake.”
30 seconds of trembling was enough to pancake this school building
While this tragedy has obviously caused immense pain and suffering there are stories of fortitude, sacrifice and healing from the past four years. Although we cannot mention every one, here are three from the World Concern family that remind us that all is not lost.
Elias and Louis in the doorway of their house
Elias and Louis Elias and Louis are a couple in their late fifties who are both retired teachers and have a large family of twelve. Following the earthquake World Concern helped them rebuild their home. “It is a gift from God,” said Elias. “After the earthquake, first God saved us, then World Concern helped us. God bless you.” Read full story here.
Jonathan handing over the check to Dave Eller, World Concern President at the time
Jonathan’s compassion
After seeing the devastation caused by the earthquake on television, Jonathan, then a six year old in kindergarten, wanted to help. When his mom suggested donating money, he dumped out all $6.37 from his piggy bank to contribute to the relief effort. Then he and hundreds of classmates from school went on to raise an additional $3,641. “I hope this money goes to replace stuff to make new homes,” said Jonathan. Read full story here.
Jean Berlin and his contagious smile
Saved to serve people Former World Concern staff member Jean Berlin narrowly escaped the earthquake as the school building he was teaching in collapsed soon after he walked outside. He is convinced that he was spared for a reason. “Jesus saved me to serve people,” he said. Read full story here.
God has showed us that he is faithful and continues to heal and transform amidst an awful and incomprehensible disaster. Today we remember and honor the lives that were lost and those who survived and continue to move forward one day at a time.
The road ahead for Haiti is long and challenges remain. However Haiti has brighter days to come and World Concern is committed to walking on this road as long as it takes. Please continue to pray for Haiti in this new year and thank you for your partnership.
This is the last of five posts covering key principles in ministry with the poor intended to help churches move from transactional to transformational ministry. In the previous post, we discussed the fact that we are all created to be creative.
5. Transformation through Relationships
“The tasks we think are so critical are not more important than the people God has entrusted to us.” – Sherwood Lingenfelter
Are you like me at work and keep your “To-Do” list within arm’s reach? I’m probably a little weird, but I find it cathartic to scratch stuff off that list. Sometimes I keep scratching through it a little longer than I need to.
Unfortunately, I think we often treat ministry with the poor like a “To-Do” list. We make it more about crossing things off our list than we do about the people themselves. In your church, is it more common to see drives for shoeboxes and back packs full of schools supplies, or mentor programs that focus on being with people? Ask most outreach pastors and they’ll tell you that close to 100 people will sign up to provide a shoebox for every one person who agrees to volunteer for a weekly mentor program.
We forget that poverty is ultimately about people, and ministry is relational. We tend to focus on the material problems rather than the people themselves. “See a problem, Fix a problem.” If ministry with the poor is relational in nature like other types of ministry, shouldn’t it look more like small groups at our churches?
Community members and leaders in the village of Harako, Chad, meet with World Concern staff to share their needs and their goals for transforming their own village.
At World Concern, our community development process starts, in most cases, with several months of meeting with the community and its leaders. We want to hear the story of their village, ask them about their vision for the future and their struggles that keep them being where they want to be.
Then, we begin to work with them on the goals they’ve set by building on what they already do well. Seeing lives transformed in this way takes time and requires walking with people patiently through the ups and downs of life. It’s not a quick fix, but it is lasting.
In my next post, I’ll tell you about how World Concern pulls these five principles together in our community development process by telling you the story of one village.
This is the fourth of five posts covering key principles in ministry with the poor intended to help churches move from transactional to transformational ministry. In the previous post, we discussed the importance of building on God-given skills and abilities when we help the poor.
4. Created to Be Creative
“Like all good and satisfying work, the worker sees himself in it.” – Tim Keller
This woman in Bangladesh earns income by using her skills as a seamstress.
In the last post, we talked about the importance of starting with what people have not with what they lack when doing ministry with the poor. In this post, we’re going to continue that thought, but focusing on the God-given need we all have to use our skills and abilities.
From the outset of the Bible, we see God at work in creation, and throughout the Bible we see God continuing to work within creation. We also see God reflect back on His work with joy, for instance at the end of each day of creation. I think this is, in part, because His work bears His signature, it’s a reflection of who He is in some sense. Pslam 19 affirms this idea:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Tim Keller says, “Like all good and satisfying work, the worker sees himself in it.” This is not only true of God, but being made in His image, we’re also designed to use our unique skills and abilities. Keller also says:
“Work is as much a basic human need as food, beauty, rest, friendship, prayer, and sexuality; it is not simply medicine but food for our soul. Without meaningful work we sense significant inner loss and emptiness. People who are cut off from work because of physical or other reasons quickly discover how much they need work to thrive emotionally, physically, and spiritually.”
A young Haitian man uses his construction skills to rebuild homes in Haiti.
This video, “Eggs in Rwanda,” shows an example of how good intentions of helping actually undermined the God-given need for a person in that community to work.
Let’s be sure we’re equipping people use their God-given skills and abilities when we help the poor.
Asad could only mumble sounds as a child. Today, he teaches other hearing-impaired children in Bangladesh to communicate.
From the time Asad first learned to communicate, he dreamed of being a teacher so he could help other hearing impaired children speak, just like he had.
When Asad was born, his parents were hopeful their son would become a doctor someday. They were concerned when, at two years old, he still couldn’t speak and didn’t respond to sound.
The village doctor assured the family that he was normal. But an ear, nose, and throat doctor recommended a hearing test. The family traveled to Dhaka for the test in 1990, and young Asad was diagnosed as severely deaf. He was referred to a special school in Dhaka, but his family couldn’t afford it.
When they heard that World Concern was opening a Hear School for deaf children in Barisal, Asad’s parents took him there. Assessments showed profound hearing loss. The staff recommended hearing aids and orientation classes for his parents. The teachers were confident Asad could learn to communicate with treatment and special education.
Asad teaches a hearing impaired boy to speak at World Concern’s Hear School in Bangladesh. Asad learned to communicate at the same school as a child.
When he started at the Hear School, Asad could only say simple words, like “mom,” and communicate through gestures. But with compassionate training, Asad started speaking in complete sentences. Soon, he was also able to read English and solve math problems easily.
Asad eventually integrated into a mainstream primary school. He passed all ten classes with good grades, and in 2008 he was admitted to college.
Asad kept in contact with the Hear School even after graduating, talking with and encouraging parents and students with his story. He had become skilled in computers, and writing in both Bangla and English.
When one of the teachers at the Hear School resigned, Asad was hired, fulfilling his dream of becoming a teacher for deaf students.
Asad works with parents to help them understand their hearing-impaired children’s needs, and learn to communicate with them.
Now, he’s able to share his success and encourage children who are struggling to communicate, just like he was.
You can open up a world of sound to hearing impaired children in Bangladesh. Donate here.
This is the third in five posts covering key principles in ministry with the poor intended to help churches move from transactional to transformational ministry. In the previous post, we discussed the importance of maintaining dignity when we help the poor.
3. God Made the Glass Half Full
“What really works is defining a community by its strengths, resources, achievements and hopes—not by its degree of brokenness.” – Angela Blanchard
Not long ago, World Concern was interviewing people at a church about their partnership with our One Village Transformed program. I sat down with a little boy and asked him why he wanted to help people in the village where his church was partnering. Here’s what he told me:
“They don’t have a school. They don’t have a lot of silverware, and they don’t have a lot of food. They don’t have a very good well. They don’t have enough shelter. They don’t get very much rain. They don’t have very much grass to plant. They don’t have very much clothes. They don’t have very much stuff in their homes.”
Although I’m not sure about the silverware, he did what we all hope to do by responding with compassion to the brokenness of poverty we see in pictures and videos. Actually, his description wasn’t far off from the reality of that village.
In the first two blog posts I’ve been critical of the “See a problem, fix a problem” approach we commonly take in helping the poor. So, if we should respond with compassion to situations of brokenness, what am I suggesting?
When we directly address the problems we can see, like delivering a shipment of clothing, or … silverware, it reinforces the problems to the people and to ourselves. We (both them and us) begin to think of them in terms of what’s wrong. We forget about the God-given skills and abilities that each one possesses.
I recently watched a trailer for an upcoming documentary called “Landfill Harmonic.” The opening quote sums it up well. “The world sends us garbage. We send back music.” The documentary shows how one man is taking pieces of garbage from the landfill and making musical instruments for kids. The kids in the village have tremendous musical ability, and the man making the instruments out of garbage seems like a genius to me.
What if we helped build on that skill by offering him a micro loan to expand that as a business? Of course, we wouldn’t break our first principle; we would start by listening to his vision for the future. But, there is so much ability there that could be built upon. And, the trickledown effect is that the people will begin to use their success to address areas they see as problems. It’s quite possible the changes you wanted to see will in fact happen, but they happen by building on what worked, not on what was broken.
This is the second in five posts covering key principles in ministry with the poor intended to help churches move from transactional to transformational ministry. In the previous post, we discussed the importance of listening to the poor before acting.
2. Dignity Matters
Consider the message when we try to fix what’s broken.
When I was a sophomore in college, some friends were talking about a spring break trip they were planning to Juarez, Mexico, to build houses. I was a fairly new Christian and was excited about the idea of an adventure with a great cause attached to it. Other kids were headed off to beaches in every direction, but I felt like this was an opportunity to see the real world, and serve the Lord at the same time.
For my first “mission trip” it was just about as eye-opening and real as you could get. The part of Juarez that we worked in looked like an attempt to reclaim a garbage dump. As we dug up the ground to prepare a place to pour the foundation, we discovered little plastic bags that we jokingly called “goodie bags” because they had anything but goodies on the inside. For a kid that had grown up in the suburbs, this was extreme, and I honestly felt pretty good about my willingness to serve the Lord by digging up human feces in the hot sun of the desert.
More students signed up for the trip than the organizers were expecting, and we looked a little bit like stirred up ants on an ant hill. We had so many people that we didn’t even have enough jobs or space on the work site, so we had a team of people in the street prepping stucco and other materials for those working on the house.
One afternoon, the man who would be receiving the house came home from his day of labor. He picked up two trowels, one for each hand, and began applying stucco to his new home. There were five other college students working on the adjacent wall, but this man did his work faster and with a higher level of quality than all five of the students combined. This man was clearly a skilled construction worker by trade.
When the house was completed, we concluded with a ceremony where we presented this home to the family. We brought them into their home, waited for their reaction to this gift.
As a husband and a father myself, there are few things more important than having a family who is proud of you, as a person and as a provider. Being unable to give your family something as basic as a home tears at the fabric of who you are as a person. I can’t imagine the shame a dad must feel when his kids are asking for basic necessities he can’t provide.
I wonder how this man felt, having a lifetime of experience in construction, when 100 unskilled kids from America came to do what he was unable to do for his family. As a man with such expertise, could we have honored him in front of his family by at least putting him in charge of our efforts?
When we “see a problem, fix a problem,” the message we send often reinforces some of the unseen problems of poverty, like lack of dignity. Dignity matters.
