Christian Conscience
Our Commitment to Gender Equality
As we celebrate International Womenâs Day and reflect upon the theme of #EachforEqual, we think itâs important for us, as leaders, to affirm and reinforce our belief in full equality and inclusion of women at all levels of leadership, as well as to demonstrate the ways weâre working toward achieving this within our own organization.
We recognize the importance of transparency when it comes to these issues, so we wanted to take some time to share with you how World Relief is working hard toward a gender-equal world â both within our programs around the world and also right here at home within the walls of our offices.
This past year, we piloted a gender equality Bible study for our Rwandan staff designed to help them break free from damaging cultural norms and behaviors and empower women to take on more leadership roles within our programs. We train our staff first because we know that Godâs word canât be powerful through us until it is powerful within us.
In 2020, we have begun rolling out gender equality training to all of our staff, arming them with Godâs truth that both men and women are created in the image of God and are equally deserving of worth, dignity and respect. We saw the fruit of this effort at our recent meeting of international staff leaders where a full 50% of participants were women.
This year, we also welcomed three new women to our board, a 75% increase in female participation. Our Executive Committee also evolved to better reflect our stance on women in leadership across the organization. This group is now 45% female, and we have undoubtedly become a stronger team in this shift. Finally, we are excited to announce the appointment of WR Burundiâs first female Country Director, Cesalie Nicimpaye.
We believe that gender equality is a matter of both justice and stewardship, and we recognize that we are both more just and better equipped to fulfill our mission when we embrace the gifts, passions and experiences of women and men equally. For that reason, we will continue striving toward gender equality in everything we do. We, of course, recognize that we still have progress to make, but we are committed to this journey and to being #eachforequal, not just on IWD but every day.
Thank you for joining us on this important journey.
Blessings, Tim & Scott
Tim Breene served on the World Relief Board from 2010 to 2015 before assuming the role of CEO from 2016-2020. Timâs business career has spanned nearly 40 years with organizations like McKinsey, and Accenture where he was the Corporate Development Officer and Founder and Chief Executive of Accenture Interactive. Tim is the co-author of Jumping the S-Curve, published by Harvard Publishing. Tim and his wife Michele, a longtime supporter of World Relief, have a wealth of experience working with Christian leaders in the United States and around the world.
Voices From the Field: Future for Women
There are more than 3.5 billion women and girls in the world today â women and girls made in the image of God. At World Relief, we envision a world where women and girls are free from violence and oppression, and have the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential.
We asked World Relief female staff working around the globe to share their perspective on women in their nation. Here, they discuss the challenges they face, the opportunities they have, the potential they carry to shape culture and society and, finally, the hope they have in advancing issues of gender justice in their respective countries.
Below is a Q&A with five female staff from World Relief in Sudan, South Sudan and DR Congo â Muraa Rose, Reproductive Health Officer; Puru Jeska Mario, Roving Finance Officer; Suad Yuasif Ibrahim Idriss, Nutrition Coordinator; Esperance Ngondo, former SGBV & HIV/AIDS Program Officer
What is the biggest challenge women face in your country?
MURAA ROSE:
The challenges are many â social, economic, emotional and domestic violence against women. Women are often neglected and disrespected in the community and even their homes. They are often excluded from important decisions, under-valued in their families and in some places even deprived of rights such as attending school.
SUAD:
Women have no power or agency. They are expected to defer to their husbands or fathers in every single decision without question. This includes how finances are spent and resources such as crops and livestock are used.
PURU:Â
Young women in our country face early and forced marriages. Many parents rely on daughters to bring an income home so girls are restricted from attending school. When girls donât attend school, they are also more likely to be forced to marry early in order to fetch a bride price for their families.Â
ESPERANCE:
In the Congo, we live in a society which has become very violent â and where women are considered as prey. Women are the main victims of war because sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. This is likely a result of our culture, which considers women to be incompetent and restricts their rights to almost everything including inheritance, access to school and even their own bodies.
How do you see the influence of women shaping culture/society?
MURAA ROSE:Â
I am hopeful that we will see a power balance in workplaces as well as more equal employment opportunities for men and women. This would help to empower our women economically. I can see women playing a key role in the economic development of South Sudan. I hope one day womenâs rights will be practiced nationwide, particularly in decision making, professional spheres and even politics.
SUAD:Â
In the past, educating both boys and girls was not a priority. But now, families are investing in both boysâ and girlsâ education. Because of this, we are now beginning to see female community leaders and women supported by their families, attending school as adults and even husbands supporting their wives..
PURU:Â
Because of our ongoing health program, the maternal mortality rate has decreased in South Sudan. Another aspect of our health programming is education around family planning. More couples are practicing planning and having fewer children, which has resulted in more boys and girls able to attend school.
ESPERANCE:Â
Despite all the challenges that women are facing in our country, they are not staying silent. They are fighting to regain their rights with the support of churches, NGOs and the UN. Currently, there are many proceedings and legal processes beginning that are focused on promoting the rights of women.
How is your office empowering/providing opportunity for women?
MURAA ROSE:
We respect and honor the dignity of all women, practice equal opportunity employment regardless of gender, and we strongly encourage women to apply.
SUAD:
Our nutrition program depends on community volunteers from villages. 75% of those volunteers are female. The success of these programs significantly transforms communities as they see how successful women are in their roles. We also seek to empower mothers and other caretakers through different educational topics in order to improve health for her family.
PURU:
Our most effective way to provide opportunities empowering women is through trainings such as employment opportunities, health services and Bible studies.
ESPERANCE:
We have implemented support programs especially for women, many with the objective to reduce the instances of sexually based violence against women and promoting gender equality.
These programs include:
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SGBV & HIV Programming â medical, psychosocial and economic support to women survivors of sexual violence. The major objective is to reduce the incidence of sexual violence and HIV, and promote gender equality
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Trauma Healing
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Peace Building â Women are now members of local Village Peace Committees, chosen by community members.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Co-Authoring Godâs Story
Our world is full of stories. From ancient hieroglyphics to the stories in the Bible, to cultural fables and modern fiction â stories create understanding and give meaning to our world. They captivate and compel the human brain like nothing else can. They affect how we think, how we behave and how we respond to the world around us. Stories can empower and encourage us or take away our hope and our dignity. They can compel us to reach out in compassion or turn inwards and hide behind walls. In the words of Robert McKee, stories âare the currency of human contact.â
Itâs no wonder, then, that when people ask me about the World Relief story, I get excited because ours is a story of God at work. Itâs a story of solidarity with the suffering, the oppressed and the marginalized. Of people saying âyesâ to Godâs call and co-authoring his story of hope and transformation. Of a small ministry birthed in Park Street Church in Boston in 1944 that has grown to touch more than five million lives every year and has responded to disasters, extreme poverty, violence and oppression in more than 100 countries since it began.
For over 75 years, World Relief has sought to discern the movement of God and respond to it. Our identity and character of today have been molded by the recognition of our dependence upon God and in our belief that we, as believers, get to be co-authors in the story God is writing today. Throughout our history, we have been formed by the countless stories of individuals who have followed Godâs call and allowed him to use their lives and experiences to shape who we are and what we do.
Take Debbie, a young American nurse who was working in a mission hospital in Ghinda, Ethiopia, in 1974 when rebels armed with machine guns and grenades burst into the hospital where she was working. She and another missionary nurse named Anna were abducted and forced to run across the mountains of Northern Ethiopia in 104-degree heat. When Anna couldnât keep up, the rebels shot and killed her while Debbie looked on in horror. Debbie, who was pregnant at the time, was held in captivity for 26 agonizing days. Most of us, I think, would have turned our backs on Africa after such an ordeal. But not Debbie. She and her husband later settled in Nairobi, where she joined World Relief and found herself responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis that was beginning to engulf the continent.
Years later, Emmanuel, a humble, soft-spoken man of deep faith felt called to Rwanda and became one of our first staff members in the country. It was 1994, and the genocide had just ended. Christians around the world were grappling with the horrific reality that the church was complicit in many of the atrocities that stunned the world. I first met Emmanuel a few years ago and asked him what it was like when he first arrived in Kigali.
âThere werenât many people then,â he told me. âJust lots of bodies by the roadside, and dogs. Lots of wild starving dogs, feeding off the corpses.â
Nearly twenty-five years later, Emmanuelâs selfless, compassionate love and quiet, spirit-filled wisdom in those early years has built a reservoir of trust with local communities and churches that has paved the way for our work to flourish. The respect he commands within local communities, and his powerful ministry of presence has opened the doors to hundreds of churches and homes, allowing our staff to come alongside families and communities in transformative ways.
Meanwhile, a South African man named Dr. Pieter was working at World Relief in Mozambique, pondering the question, âhow can we address high levels of child mortality in very poor remote communities that donât have access to healthcare or clinics?â He piloted an innovative program to reach women and communities with education that encouraged healthy behaviors, ultimately resulting in the creation of our Care Group model. At the time, this use of peer group instruction was a complete paradigm shift in development work.
Of course, the stories that make up our organization donât just belong to our staff. Thousands of them come from the small stirrings and big leaps of faith of men and women like you. People like Jonathan, a software engineer from Massachusetts who identifies strongly with his Jewish family history. His father was on the last Red Cross train out of Germany during WWII, and his grandparents both perished in Auschwitz. Today, Jonathan gives faithfully to World Relief to fight back against the violence and oppression that so many, like his father and grandparents before him, experience on a daily basis, and to support them on their journey as refugees to find safety.
As I reflect upon these different stories of faithful commitment, I am struck by the fact that no amount of central planning, no government organization or think-tank could ever have assembled the people and the pieces that have contributed to the World Relief story, and make our approach to development and sustainable solutions so distinctive today.
These separate strands of commitment, curiosity and discovery were the yeast that gave rise to our theory of change and our model of church empowerment. Years later, our staff codified and professionalized these learnings, as we came to understand the uniquely powerful role the local church could play in poor – and especially remote – communities. We recognized the importance of trust and relationship building, and of allowing communities to take ownership of their own destinies rather than depending on outside interventions.
Our theory of change did not emerge in a classroom or research laboratory, but on the margins, âin the dust of the communities and the heat of the huts, where we recognized the storehouses of [preexisting] wisdom,â as Debbie puts it. Only the hand of God, the movement of his spirit and the faithful obedience of people like Emmanuel, Debbie, Dr. Pieter and Jonathan could write such a beautiful and unexpected story.
Today, these experiences and more have led to the adoption of our Care Group model by more than 25 different NGOs in over 28 countries with beneficiaries now numbering in the millions. Similarly, our innovative Savings Group model and our grassroots Village Peacekeeping Committees are creating incomes, building independence and preventing the outbreak and spread of violence in places like Congo and South Sudan.
At World Relief, our fluid approach to the changing world reflects what New Testament scholar, N.T. Wright, has described as âobedient improvisationâ â faithful to scriptural authority and tradition, but alive to our time, open to new learning and discoveries and constantly seeking out what story God might be writing on the margins and responding to it.
I thank God that World Relief has brought help and hope to over five million vulnerable people around the world this last year. But what amazes me most, and what I am most grateful for, is the commitment of the 1,500 staff, 6,000 churches and 95,000 volunteers who have joined us as co-authors in this story. I thank God for the thousands of you who make this work possible by choosing to engage, pray for and give to this work. Your commitment, courage and faith is an inspiration to us every day. Thank you for co-authoring this story of restoration and hope that God has so graciously entrusted us with.
Tim Breene served on the World Relief Board from 2010 to 2015 before assuming the role of CEO from 2016-2020. Timâs business career has spanned nearly 40 years with organizations like McKinsey, and Accenture where he was the Corporate Development Officer and Founder and Chief Executive of Accenture Interactive. Tim is the co-author of Jumping the S-Curve, published by Harvard Publishing. Tim and his wife Michele, a longtime supporter of World Relief, have a wealth of experience working with Christian leaders in the United States and around the world.
Renewed Hope: An Interview with Pastor Orr
Pastor Orr is the Senior Pastor at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. In July 2019, he traveled to Rwanda with a group of pastors to learn from World Reliefâs peacebuilding and racial reconciliation efforts in Rwanda.Â
Q: Tell us about your trip. How did it compare to your expectations?
Iâve always been impressed with the way World Relief helps our church accomplish its mission by bringing the world to our backyard. We believe Jesusâ mandate in Acts 1:8 is not optional. Any church can accomplish this mission by partnering with organizations like World Relief. Brown Baptist has always been a big advocate for racial reconciliation in Memphis, and I was expectant for what I might learn from the reconciliation efforts in Rwanda.Â
I was also eager to get away with other pastors and hopeful that the trip would be a good spiritual reset for me. It must have worked because one of my members came to me after the trip and asked me when I was going to go back out. He said when I returned, my preaching was so much better!
Q: What was the most memorable part of the trip?
Two things stood out to me. First, was the community Savings Group. Twenty or so people worked together to save about $63 U.S. dollars. They used those funds to build homes and better their community. It would have been easy for any of us on that trip to reach into our pockets and give them that small amount. But sometimes itâs not about using money to solve an issue; itâs about empowering people to be the change in their own communities. Often, we take our Western mindset and try to solve everybody’s problems the way we think they should be solved. World Relief has a great model for empowering communities to identify their problems and equipping them to make change. Â
Second, was the reconciliation efforts in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. We were told that even church leaders of different denominations were at odds with one another during the conflict. But through grassroots peace efforts, victims and perpetrators of the genocide came together and found forgiveness. We read about that kind of forgiveness in the Bible, but these people are actually living it out. Thatâs powerful.
Q: Did anything about the trip make you think about church or community differently?Â
Most definitely. Every community and every country has its own set of problems. Yet when people come together, in unity, itâs possible to find solutions. If Rwanda can experience the change theyâve seen in the last 25 years, I have hope that we can see something similar in America. This trip gave me a greater determination to continue working with other churches and leaders in the Memphis area to better our community. Recently, 400 pastors from Memphis came together around an initiative to see every school in the area adopted by a faith community. Our goal is to see our faith community supporting students through mentorship and tutoring, and resourcing teachers with the things they need to give their kids the best classroom experience they can have.Â
Q: Did anything shift in your own life because of something you experienced on the trip?Â
The Lord spoke to my heart that maintenance is mandatory for ministry. If we are going to be the best we can be and do what God has called us to do, we have to shut down at times in order for that to take place. We must close our eyes to get rest; we must close our ears to get receptive; we must close our mouth to get refocused, and we must close our door to get reconnected.Â
Q: Whatâs something from the trip you brought back to your own congregation?
In addition to rest, The Lord gave me a sermon series from the book of Ephesians about how everyone matters to the Lord. I am more convinced than ever that we need to stay the course and strive for reconciliation within our church and our community. I believe the church can be a catalyst in bringing about revival in our land. The spiritual renewal God gave me personally on the trip has given me new hope for the renewal He can bring to our nation.Â
Hear more from Pastor Orr:
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and childrenâs ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
An Extraordinary Yes
Extraordinary. Itâs not a word many of us use often. We reserve it for people, times and places that are so exquisite, so set apart, that no other descriptor can carry their weight. As people, thereâs nothing we love more than an extraordinary story. Ordinary people who rise up to become champions, superheroes or world leaders. Stories of strength, courage, hope and perseverance. Stories that allow us to dream about the possibilities of the seemingly impossible. Television, theater and books are full of these stories. But what does extraordinary look like in real life? And is it only reserved for the special few; the born-to-be-leaders, the trailblazers, the uniquely gifted?Â
Perhaps nowhere are these questions better answered than in Bugesera, Rwanda, where a small group of ordinary people are leading extraordinary lives, and where the power of their âYesâ is transforming their community.
Four years ago, 25 men and women in Bugesera said âYesâ to becoming outreach volunteers as part of World Reliefâs new Outreach Group Initiative. Their mission? To take messages theyâd learned at church out to the most vulnerable families in their community by visiting 10 households a week with scripturally based lessons on health, nutrition, savings and more. These selfless men and women dedicated their time to visiting suffering community members and broken families with messages of love, healing and hope. Little did they know that their example would transform the way World Relief works across much of Sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti, and pave the way for our programmatic impact to multiply in ways we never dreamed possible.
Today, the power and potential of our Outreach Group Initiative is unlike anything weâve seen in nearly 75 years of our work around the world. Reaching hundreds of thousands of people across five countries, their impact is unmatched and their sustainability incomparable. Through mass mobilization, Outreach Groups have become inexpensive, self-sustaining vehicles for transformation, galvanizing a multiplication effect that costs just US $40â50 per life transformed.
In 2018 alone, we saw our outreach volunteer force increase by thousands, catalyzing holistic transformation across entire villages. What makes these groups, and these people, truly extraordinary is that they are not highly specialized social workers or health professionalsâthey are simply people saying âYesâ to God and reaching out in love to their neighbors. Because of their faith in Christ, they commit their lives daily to a love, patience and perseverance that astounds and transforms. They say âYesâ to acting as teachers, but more importantly, as friends, entering into a deep relational commitment with the lonely, most vulnerable and least loved in their communities. They donât do this for a paycheck or for reputation, but because of their conviction and deep sense of calling. For some, they do it because they themselves were transformed by an outreach volunteer and because they know itâs through love and in relationship that lives are saved.
Outreach volunteers are ordinary people, doing extraordinary things in the name of Jesus.
Over the last few years, we have seen church volunteers say âYesâ to walking hours each week to come alongside families as they repair broken relationships. We have seen beneficiaries say âYesâ to opening their homes and hearts to church volunteers as they witness change in the lives of their friends and neighbors, and yearn to experience that same transformation. We have seen churches say âYesâ to joining together in unity to expand their ministry of volunteers, reclaiming their roles as true agents of change and engaging with their communities in ways theyâve never done before. And in response to their faith, we have seen God move in extraordinary ways.Â
In Bugesera, Rwanda, 84% of households reported they had made changes in their spousal relationships as a result of the church volunteer visits, 96% reported changes in their relationships with their children, 91% purchased health insurance, 90% planted kitchen gardens to improve nutrition, and 100% adopted regular (4x weekly) washing and bathing practices for their children. Extraordinary, indeed.
Extraordinary stories begin with ordinary people like these Outreach Group volunteers in Bugesera. As we move into a new year, weâre taking our cue from them because theyâre exactly the type of people we aim to be â ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the name of Jesus.
Extraordinary stories begin with a leap of faith, a journey into the unknown, a deep resolve and quiet courage. They begin when we open ourselves up to Godâs leading and ask him to reveal a path. They begin with a small next step, and they begin with âYes.â
What will your extraordinary yes be in 2020?
Francesca Albano currently serves as Director of Branded Content at World Relief. With a background in Cultural Anthropology and a graduate degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, she connects her interests in societal studies and global cultures with her training in brand strategy and storytelling. Francesca is especially passionate about grassroots community development and the treatment and advancement of women and girls around the world.
Love Grows Greater
âThe world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places. But there is still much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps the greater.â
â J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
The world is indeed full of peril, and there are many dark places within it. We find this to be true every time we turn on the news. Stories of displaced people, violence and natural disasters pepper our screens in a staggering display of devastation and loss.
Ebola has, once again, threatened the health of thousands throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last spring, Cyclone Idai wreaked havoc across Malawi, and in the fall, Hurricane Dorian killed thousands more in the Bahamas. Ongoing conflict in South Sudan has forced millions to seek protection in camps encircled by barbed wire, with little hope of returning home. Yemen has become the worldâs worst humanitarian crisis according to the U.N., with three-quarters of the population requiring basic assistance and protection. Renewed fighting in Syria has left 140,000 men, women and children displaced, and hundreds of thousands of the Rohingya people have fled violence in Myanmar to nearby Bangladesh, where they are still living in tent cities under leaking tarps and battling rampant disease.
The magnitude of this darkness, pain and loss can feel overwhelming. We weep at the suffering, injustice and pain felt by so many â the hatred, dehumanization and abuses of power that keep so many from achieving their God-given potential. We lament recent developments within our own country that have made it harder for those seeking refuge to find it.
Yet, we still have hope because there is still so much to hope for. One of the many miracles of this life is that what seem to be mutually exclusive states of being, actually mingle together to create an intricate web of human experience: joy and sorrow, light and darkness, hope and despair. Out of the greatest tragedies rise stories of love that defy all hatred. Despite all odds, hope still flourishes and love endures.
Together, we are bringing the love of Christ to suffering families around the world. We are witnessing love grow greater through the joy and hope provided by the thousands of World Relief partners, local church leaders and volunteers giving of themselves every single day.Â
Love is growing greater in South Sudan as tens of thousands of displaced children receive medical care, education and relief from malnutrition.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, volunteer trainings on health and hygiene are helping prevent the spread of disease in areas affected by Ebola.
In Turkana, Kenya, where one of the most hostile climates in the world exposes people to repeated droughts and famine, lessons in raising drought-resistant livestock and crops are enabling families to break the cycle of poverty and dependence in their community.
In Yemen, where millions of people are at risk of illness and disease due to ongoing conflict, thousands of vulnerable families are receiving lifesaving emergency provisions of clean drinking water and learning about cholera prevention and treatment, sanitation and hygiene promotion.
In Malawi, 650 families received livestock and farming materials and are now rebuilding their farms after Cyclone Idaiâs devastation.
And in the United States, Godâs people are fighting back against the rising tide of fear and division in our nation, building welcoming communities of love and refuge where vulnerable immigrants can begin rebuilding their lives and homes.
Love grows greater when we respond to Godâs leading. It grows greater when we share stories of faith, endurance and sacrifice and stories of God doing impossible things. For every story of darkness we hear, a story of faith, hope and love springs up beside it. This is Godâs tender mercy at work â His light dispelling the darkness. In the midst of disasters, injustice and conflict, âthese three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.â
Possibility in the Face of Complexity
Naomiâs Story
Naomi, her husband and three daughters were living in Mahowe, a small village in Malawi, when Naomiâs husband died. That day forever changed her life. Not only was her husband gone, but so too was her familyâs source of income and daily security. Naomi and her daughters tried to rebuild their lives, but Naomiâs physical condition made things difficult. Partially blind in one eye, she struggled to earn enough money to send her oldest daughter to school, let alone meet basic needs for her and her daughters.
Sadly, Naomiâs story is not unique. In fact, more than 735 million people around the world â around 10% of the worldâs population â live on less than $1.90 per day, making it difficult for them to earn a living, buy food, access health care or send their children to school. The consequences of such extreme poverty extend far beyond one generation, as uneducated children struggle to earn a living as adults, in turn making it difficult for them to send their children to school and ultimately trapping them in a vicious cycle of generational poverty.
Yet economic poverty isnât the only kind of poverty that affects people around the world.
A Complex Problem
Hourt Rous is one of the 80% of Cambodians living in a rural area where women are taught that their sole role in life is to be a housewife and to raise children. Because of this belief, women like Hourt never have the opportunity to go to school or the chance to learn basic health practices and important lessons in child development. Hourt grew up in a home where she was taught health and nutrition were important only once children reached school age.
âI never knew nutritious food affected [a young] childâs development. In our culture, we are taught that our childrenâs physical appearance, health and food intake is [only] important when they reach school age.âÂ
In Cambodia, much of rural childcare is based on cultural beliefs. Therefore, when Hourt became a mom, she began raising her children in the same way she had been raised, setting the stage for her children to do the same and continuing the cycle of poor health and education from generation to generation to generation.Â
These two stories have a great deal in common. Naomi, a physically disabled widow, was left as the sole caretaker for her girls, unable to provide basic needs for her family. Hourt, a female in rural Cambodia, wasnât given the same access to education as the men in her community, which ultimately prohibited her from learning how to create a future for her children. Both these women were trapped in a multi-faceted cycle of poverty that is perpetuated by lack of access to education and healthcare and often determined by social status, age and gender, geography and ethnicity.
Complex but not Impossible
Solving poverty is complex. But complex does not mean impossible. Â
Understanding the full complexity of poverty is at the very core of our work at World Relief. In places most impacted by poverty, well-intentioned NGOs frequently struggle to create lasting change because they either fail to address the root causes of poverty â gender discrimination, conflict and inequitable access to education, to name a few â or fail to acknowledge that poverty is multifaceted.
Rarely is a community only struggling with physical poverty, economic poverty or geographical poverty. Rather, they are often struggling under the weight of more than one type of poverty. When organizations address poverty as a single issue and fail to acknowledge root causes, they create quick fixes and partial solutions that fail to produce holistic, long-term transformation.
But it doesnât have to be this way. At World Relief, we believe God gave us a plan to save our broken world, and it begins with his church, and his people, leading the way.
As we engage in communities around the world, we harness and amplify the influence of the local church â the largest, most influential network on the planet â to model Jesusâ holistic method of addressing and alleviating poverty. By empowering pastors, local leaders and volunteers, the church moves as the hands and feet of Jesus. People are seen, loved and given opportunity for new life. Through him everything changes.
Jesus and Holistic Change
In Luke 4, Jesus begins his ministry by declaring,
âThe Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.â
Lukeâs gospel is filled with stories of Jesus seeking out the poor in body, in community and in spirit. He heals a man of leprosy and a woman from her issues of blood, invites a tax collector into his inner circle and gives life to a widowâs dead son. He even heals a Jewish oppressorâs beloved servant.
To the leper and woman with the issue of blood, Jesus brought physical healing; to the tax collector, Jesus provided acceptance; to the dead son Jesus gave life; to the Jewish oppressor an example that no one is outside the love and care of God.
Jesus saw the tax collector, men, women and children, the sick, the oppressed, the lonely. He came toward them and provided for their needs, bringing restoration to the whole person, reversing life circumstances and breaking cycles. Over and over again, the gospel of Luke reveals Jesusâ love and care for the poor and the outcast, those marginalized by their economic status, gender and/or ethnicity.
Breaking Free and Moving Forward
Naomi began to break the cycle of generational poverty when she joined a savings group sponsored by World Relief. Through the group, Naomi has been able to invest in her familyâs future. A year later she says,
âI now have the opportunity to interact with my friends and to improve my life. I have also joined my colleagues in helping the vulnerable in our community through the groupâs social fund, a weekly fee which goes to the communityâs needy individuals.â
In the same way, Hourt changed her familyâs story when she joined a womenâs group through her church and learned about childrenâs health. She began to implement what she was learning, providing the nutritional support her children need as well as promoting and protecting their access to education.
âI know that if I want my children to be wise and have a good future, I have to play a role in supporting the process of development,â Hourt says.
Not only has she improved her childrenâs health, but Hourt is also sharing what sheâs learned with others.
âI take health lessons to teach households and improve everyoneâs health in my community,â she says.
Although Naomi couldnât see a future where her family had resources for food or education, her local church did. Although Hourt didnât understand the importance of proper nutrition during early childhood, her church did. And, although both women felt unseen, unnoticed and forgotten, they werenât.
Following Jesusâ examples, the church came as the hands and feet of Jesus with love, care and provision for Naomi and Hourtâs needs. The church came to lift them up and bring the restoration of Christ. It is in this restoration that Naomi, Hourt and thousands of others have been empowered to reverse their circumstances and break the cycles of poverty.
Now, they are one of the thousands around the world, coming with love, care and provision for others in need, breaking the cycle of poverty and propelling change that lasts.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
A Truth We Cannot Keep for Ourselves
Keeping a Secret
Theo was keeping a secret from Lydia, his faithful wife of four years. Heâs a good and decent man, an employee at World Relief Rwanda. Heâs a dynamic communicator, a man committed to his church, his work and his wife. So what was Theo hiding?
It wasnât an infidelity or even an indiscretion. He hadnât lost money gambling or stayed out too late with his friends. He hadnât disrespected his wife in any blatant sort of way, so what was this secret he was keeping? What couldnât he bear to share with his wife? Itâs likely not something you ever would have guessed.
You see, Theoâs secret was that he was attending a class â a training at work on gender equity â designed to help our Rwandan staff gain a biblical understanding of how men and women are created equally and can, and should, lead together. The training is one of the many tools we use in our work against violence and oppression across the world to emphasize the truth that all people are created in Godâs image.
Gender Equity and Biblical Truth
Even though gender equity is biblical, in the countries where we work, most people, like Theo, believe that women are not created equal to men and that only men are qualified to hold leadership positions. This makes it difficult to talk with local church leaders about the importance of including women in leadership roles, and even harder to encourage women to take on these roles in our programs given many of them hold this same view themselves.
Itâs for this very reason that we piloted the training on biblical gender equality with our Rwandan staff this year, and why in 2020 we are rolling out gender equity training to all of our staff. We train our staff first because we know that Godâs word canât be powerful through us until it is powerful within us. And we also know that if we are asking our staff to help people break free from damaging cultural norms and behaviors, we have to arm them with Godâs truth â the truth that all people are equally deserving of worth, dignity and respect.
For Theo, this truth led to a difficult realization as he began wrestling with the idea that his long-held cultural beliefs about women didnât hold up in the light of Godâs word, neither at work nor within his home.
Like most men in Rwanda, Theo believed that he was meant to be in charge at home and that his wife was meant to serve him. He controlled all of the money and made unilateral decisions. Lydia often had to beg Theo to give her money to buy propane for cooking, which was humiliating for her. On the few occasions she spoke up with an idea or questioned one of Theoâs decisions, he rebuked her for not being submissive to his leadership.
A Marriage Renewed
But after attending and reflecting upon the training, Theo decided to make some changes in his marriage. At first, he was too embarrassed to tell Lydia why he was making these changes. He felt ashamed of how he had been treating her and wasnât sure how to bring up these new ideas.
So, Theo started helping Lydia in the kitchen. He began asking her opinion about household matters and inviting her to make decisions with him. Theo even learned how to make tea for visitors and began cooking for their son. And while all of these changes surprised Lydia, nothing shocked her more than when Theo began to wash the dishes. Never in her life had she seen a man do dishes!
Thatâs when Theo knew he had to tell Lydia the reason for all of these changes. He told her about the training and about how God had opened his eyes to new truths and convicted him that the way he had been treating her wasnât how God intended a man to behave. Then Theo took a giant leap of faith â he invited Lydia to join him at the next training so she could learn this truth for herself.
âThe best thing Theo did was invite me to the training,â Lydia said. âI learned that we are equal and we have been created equally. This truth has liberated me.â
Jesus promised that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Thatâs why we use Godâs word as the basis for all of our programs at World Relief. We have seen time and time again what happens when the truth of Godâs word penetrates peopleâs hearts. Deep and lasting change occurs within individuals, it overflows into families and changes entire communities, just as it did with Theo and Lydia.
Both Theo and Lydia agree that they canât keep their newfound knowledge to themselves.
âI think we need to share our testimony and knowledge with other couples,â Lydia says. âIt is a truth that we cannot keep for ourselves.â
A Future of Flourishing
As the truth of biblical equity takes root in more peopleâs hearts and minds, more women are empowered to rise up within their communities and lead within our programs. And when women are able to take on leadership in areas like health and nutrition, savings, agriculture and church empowerment, holistic transformation begins.
Men stop beating their wives. Young girls stay in school and avoid early marriages. Women gain access to capital to start their own businesses and become self-sufficient. And survivors of rape receive help and support rather than being shunned by their communities.
Whatâs more, a generation of young girls sees a new way of existing, encounters role models and gains a vision for what their lives could mean. The cycle of oppression begins to break and women and girls are ushered into the fullness of life that God intended for them all along.
At World Relief, we know that this fullness of life is available to all people â regardless of their gender, skin color, country of origin, tribe or faith â when they are viewed as image-bearers of God.
Every day, we have the privilege of watching the radical concept of Imago Dei transform broken relationships and end violence & oppression in so many of the communities where we work. Individuals change. Marriages improve. Families stabilize. Peace descends. Communities thrive. Churches flourish. And through it all, God is glorified.
Mary Milano serves as the Director of Fundraising Content at World Relief.
Rebirth and Renewal
In the Path of the Storm
It was late May in 2004 when torrential rains hit Mapou, a small village nestled within the La Selle mountain range in southeastern Haiti. This nameless storm dumped water on Mapou for three consecutive days, killing over 432 people in Mapou and another 800 in other villages throughout Haiti. Mapou, among several other villages, was left under a lake of water, and more than 31,000 people across Haiti were left without homes.
Nicole Eliassaint, a local resident in Mapou, recalled the terror that consumed her village.
âNo one could go out to see their relatives or ask for information,â she said. âWe faced a situation of helplessness⊠some of us had to cling to trees or stay on our roofs for days to avoid being swept away by the waves.â
The storm hit outside the regular storm season, the devastation highlighting how vulnerable Haiti is to natural disasters. The country sits in the middle of an aggressive pathway for tropical storms and hurricanes and also straddles a major faultline. Geography, however, isnât the only factor that has left Haiti vulnerable to natural disasters.
A Complex History
In 1804, Haiti proudly became the first black republic in history after a successful, slave-led revolution. The war for independence, unfortunately, also destroyed many Haitian plantations, leaving the economy in a fragile state. As a result, Haitian leaders were forced to purchase the recognition of Haiti as a legitimate sovereign nation. In exchange for access to trade markets, they took on massive debt, further crippling the nation’s economy and leaving it prone to political hardship throughout the mid-20th century. This storied history of exploitation and corruption has left the country with a feeble infrastructure and weak economy, making it difficult for Haiti to rebuild the foundation needed to defend against disasters.
Consequently, Haiti has remained locked in a cycle of unhealthy dependence on foreign aid each time disaster strikes. Even with these aid efforts, international relief often struggles to reach the remote areas like Mapou, and little to no system has been developed for warning residents of coming storms.
In 2016, many communities, including Mapou, were still recovering from previous storms when Hurricane Matthew hit. The storm killed 546 people and caused $2.8 billion in destruction. Farms and livestock were destroyed, leaving many Haitians without a source for food or an income.
Catalyst for Change
In his book, The Upside of Down, author Thomas Homer Dixon writes that even the worst catastrophes can be a catalyst for change.
âCatastrophe,â he says, âcan create space for [the kind of] creativity that helps build a better world for our children [and] our grandchildrenâŠâ
âBreakdown,â he adds, âcan shatter the forces standing in the way of change.â
Such is the case when disasters strike, leaving gaping holes in the vulnerable communities that endure them. Buildings crumble, lives are lost and a deep chasm is left in the foundation of the affected society. But what if, as Dixon writes, this catastrophe could make way for creativity that leads to change, and what if this change could be generated by the local church?
Dixonâs words truly come to life in the example of the church in Haiti. In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, church leaders in the Sud, Grand Anse and Nippes regions came together with World Relief to bring aid to people in their communities. Initially, each pastor involved thought they were coming to World Relief to receive food and aid only for themselves, their families and their church members. But after attending a World Relief training, they began to see the bigger picture of what God was calling them to â to come together as a whole church in order to serve the most vulnerable people impacted by the storm.
Church leaders were trained on how to identify problems, mobilize volunteers, write proposals and submit requests for aid. After their requests were approved, churches in Haiti came together with more frequency than ever before, and through their collective efforts, more than 6,000 people received immediate aid in the form of food, water and sanitation supplies. Thousands more received seeds, farming equipment and thorough agriculture training to rebuild their farms and restore their livelihoods. While World Relief Haiti provided the resources for this project, church leaders were co-managers of the project, ensuring equitable distribution as well as a number of volunteers who made the scaling of the project possible.
Local Solutions
In Mapou, World Relief worked alongside church leaders from Bell-Anse, which included pastors from more than 75 churches in the Pichon & Mapou villages. The group came together to brainstorm ways to build resilience and better prepare their communities for natural disasters. Historically, people living in the mountains would try to warn people living in the plains of coming storms by blowing into conch shells â a method that was often too little, too late.
After some deliberation, leaders came away with a plan to implement an Early Warning System using appropriate technology (a system not reliant on electricity that can work no matter what the weather).
Over the next two years, World Relief worked alongside community leaders to implement a system of warning flags and hand crank sirens. Pastors and local leaders trained their congregations and communities on the systemâs procedure so they could be ready to act should disaster strike. Country Director, Joseph Bataille, believes that with a little more coaching, the community will be ready to carry the program on their own.
In addition to the community-wide warning system, World Relief also helped families develop Household Emergency Plans, partnered with the Haitian Red Cross to train 25 community members in First Aid and assisted farmers in reducing erosion and planting cyclone-resistant crops.
Nicole said that the training she and her team received along with the implementation of the early warning system has âcompletely transformed the way they prepare for natural disasters. Information flows better⊠[and] everyone knows what to do in advance to protect themselves in the event of a flood.â She added that people feel more confident when cyclones and natural disasters hit because they know how to better protect themselves.
Lasting Change in Haiti
The increased frequency in storms and natural disasters in Haiti and other similar nations makes it clear that immediate relief alone wonât solve the disaster problem. But bolstering local churches and community leaders with the tools they need to cope with disasters can. Investing in warning systems and resiliency training can reduce the impact of natural disasters before they ever occur and make way for the strength and beauty that has historically defined these nations to be restored.
The most beautiful part of this story is that in the wake of disaster, local churches in Haiti have become a catalyst for restoration and renewal. Led by trusted community leaders who have the ability, authority and permanency to do far more than any government institution or non-profit organization ever could, local churches have become the hands and feet of Jesus in their communities. Not only that, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, these churches are restoring hope and igniting spiritual renewal right alongside the physical rebirth happening as their communities rebuild. Several congregations reported growth as a result of the relief and resilience work they have done in their communities.
Restoration and renewal are possible, even in the darkest of circumstances. As Christians, that truth is at the very core of everything we believe, and at World Relief, we believe that it is through the church, and Godâs people, that weâre able to bring holistic healing and create lasting change, even in the path of a storm.
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and childrenâs ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
Friendly Soil
ââŠThese victims of war and oppression look hopefully to the democratic countries to help them rebuild their lives and provide for the future of their children. We must not destroy their hope. The only civilized course is to enable these people to take new roots in friendly soil. â – Harry Truman, 1947
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A National Crisis
243 years ago, a vision for America was penned in our founding documents, couched in the truth that all are created equal and deserving of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These values have been reinstilled and affirmed time and time again throughout our history, and though our nation has never perfectly reflected these ideals, at our best moments weâve proudly lived up to, and drawn strength from them.
Today, our world is facing the worst displacement crisis since WWII, with over 26 million men, women and children fleeing violence, poverty and oppression. And yet, this year, our nation will admit less than half of 1% of those searching for a place to rebuild their homes. Contrast our history with these realities and itâs hard not to conclude that America is facing an identity crisisâone which threatens to undermine an identity painstakingly forged over hundreds of years as America became a haven of hope for those seeking a safer, more promising place to build a future.
We wish it were different. This crisis is heartbreaking. Itâs exhausting. And itâs painful. But we cannot, and must not lose heart.
The Less Told Story
Thatâs why this holiday season, we want to tell you a different story. Itâs a story of love, hope and perseverance. A story of flourishing communities and biblical welcome. A story that may not be making headlines, but which moves as a powerful undercurrent, creating lasting change in small pockets across our country. It starts with the profound conviction that we are all made equal in the eyes of God, and with the belief that beneath the weary faces of those fleeing violence and oppression, hope springs eternal. Most importantly, it starts with the knowledge that love is the catalyst that makes all things possible.
This season, we chose to celebrate this story. And while we mourn the state of our nation, we choose to press on with joy, and in faith, because this is a story worth rejoicing in. One which has the power to overcome the narrative of fear in our nation and heal our deepening divisions.
This is not a singular story. It is one made up of hundreds of moments, milestones and achievements. It begins in English language classes in Chicago, legal services in Atlanta and job readiness training in Memphis. It gathers strength in community gardening projects in Seattle, trauma counseling in Winston-Salem and womenâs sewing clubs in Spokane. And it overcomes all odds at college graduations in Durham, job promotions in Sacramento and citizenship ceremonies in D.C. It rewrites futures, rebuilds homes and restores belonging.
The Paradise Parking Lots
Perhaps nowhere is this story better manifested than in Kent, Washington, where a once small partnership between World Relief Seattle and Hillside Church has exploded into a transformational, citywide movement. Originally partnering with World Relief to provide space and volunteers to teach English language classes to immigrants, today the parking lot of Hillside Church, newly dubbed the Paradise Parking Plots, boasts a blossoming, 1-acre community garden.
Its community is made up of 47 families spanning 22 nations, over 1,400 volunteers, and a handful of local businesses, schools and government groups. Beyond the gardenâs initial goal of providing refugees and other immigrants in vulnerable situations with a place to grow familiar foods, cultivate community and connect with the earth in their new urban environment, the Paradise Parking Plots are leading the way in Green initiatives, using rainwater cisterns to provide irrigation and addressing local flooding issues. Innovation around this project has won the Green Globe Award from King County, and provides environmental internship opportunities for local refugee high school students who then go on to mentor other youth in environmental science at World Reliefâs Summer Camp. Whatâs more, Hillside church will soon open a commercial kitchen space for micro-enterprise cooking activities to take place, expanding opportunities and increasing the impact that the garden lots provide.
Perhaps most importantly, this project is providing a place for people from all walks of life to come together, fostering friendships between both new and long-term community members from every tribe, tongue and creed. Here, immigrants and native-born Americans are growing and flourishing together. They are finding a sense of unity, family and belonging. They are finding the community that makes âhomeâ feel like home.
A Vision for Lasting Change
The story of the Paradise Parking Plots is just one of the many parts that make up the story of what weâre doing together across the U.S., and itâs one you should feel proud to be a part of. It is a story of hope overcoming despair. Of unity over division. And of peace over fear. Above all, it is a story of love triumphing over hate. Though itâs quiet, and too often lost amidst the dominant political narratives, this story inspires us with vision and with hope. And it stands as a powerful reminder of what could be when we come together to create lasting change in our communities.
Lasting change starts with a shared vision of what could be possible, and calls people to that vision. It requires commitment and perseverance, but often the results exceed even our own expectations. This is what we hope and pray for as we work together to transform lives and communities across the U.S.
For over 40 years, weâve welcomed and helped integrate over 300,000 refugees and other vulnerable immigrants to communities all across our nation, rebuilding lives and creating communities of love and welcome that we all feel proud to be a part of. We do so not only because we believe in this nation of immigrants, and the strength and power of America as a land of hope and opportunity for all, but because we believe it is our calling as Christians to welcome the orphan, the widow and the least of these.
Today, this calling faces more hurdles than perhaps ever before. Yet these hurdles gives us all the more reason to fight. And to fight harder. Because we believe we are called to such a time as this â to stand as light amidst the darkness, and to be the voice of compassion, justice and above all, love.
Francesca Albano currently serves as Director of Branded Content at World Relief. With a background in Cultural Anthropology and a graduate degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, she connects her interests in societal studies and global cultures with her training in brand strategy and storytelling. Francesca is especially passionate about grassroots community development and the treatment and advancement of women and girls around the world.