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Moses, a Peacemaker in South Sudan
Some of the most unnecessary conflicts happen when we forget our common humanity. “Us” and “Them” become not just terms of distinction, but of violent division. In South Sudan, divisions along ethnic lines have become a key element of the conflict, as leaders appeal to tribal loyalty by belittling other groups. Tragically, people have been injured or killed solely on the basis of which ethnic group they identify with, or are suspected of identifying with. The increased tension that has come in the past year has left many believing that only their people will listen to, represent, and protect them: whether that be Dinka or Nuer, or one of the other dozens of people groups in South Sudan. But World Relief’s staff member Moses Kenyi has refused to allow ethnic differences to become a catalyst for conflict in his interactions with others. Moses has served as World Relief’s Food Security Officer in South Sudan for three years. His work saves lives and dignifies the labor of farmers; and as South Sudan faces an increased threat of famine, his work has become even more important.
Recently, he visited Unity State to do a food security assessment as a part of World Relief’s response to the acute crisis in the region. Despite the risk this posed to his own well-being and his family’s concern for his safety, he understood the importance of his work. Moses believes that all South Sudanese deserve compassion and a chance to survive and thrive, regardless of their ethnic differences.
Moses is from Central Equatoria – a state that has largely stayed out of the current conflict, after the initial disruption. He lacks the traditional facial markers that are generally identified with specific ethnic groups, but is tall and lean, unlike many Equatorians, so people often try to determine if he is Dinka or Nuer although he is neither. His unique position allows him to see past the ethnic divisions that have caused so much conflict and suffering. During his trip to Unity State, Moses was often asked, “Are you for us, or for the enemy?” His response has always been, “I’m not for one or the other. I’m South Sudanese, so I’m for all people.”
Moses continues to be a beacon of unity and peace in a place torn by conflict. He matter-of-factly confronts the false differences based on ethnic identity that have perpetuated the violence in South Sudan and continues to care for the most vulnerable, irrespective of which tribe they profess allegiance to.
To learn more about how we Wage Peace in South Sudan and other countries, visit https://worldrelief.org/wagepeace.
Savings is _______
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
– Proverbs 24:3-4
Savings is more than just money – it’s freedom, empowerment, and community.
And for Lana Sitole, a Kenyan mother of ten, Savings for Life also marks the start of changed lives.
Savings for Life groups open doors of economic opportunity that are too often closed to the most vulnerable, especially women living in rural areas. At weekly meetings, groups of neighbors pool their existing resources – a few dollars at a time – into a group fund. Then they build their savings, broker small loans and study God’s word in community.
In every corner of the world today, savings and loan groups aren’t hard to find – there are an estimated 250,000 savings groups throughout sub-Saharan Africa alone! Lana has tried out several different groups near her home, but she believes Savings for Life stands out from the rest.
Feb 2 blog pic_Lana
At Savings for Life, all of the money exchanged comes only from the pockets of the group members – not outside lenders. To Lana, this is a key difference. It means that the members themselves are casting the vision for transformation in their communities.
Savings for Life members borrow small sums from their group to start businesses or invest in their farms – then use the profit to send their children to school or regularly provide them with protein-rich food. Some groups even set aside some of their savings to care for widows, orphans and neighbors who are sick in their communities.
When Lana borrowed a loan from her neighbors to build a new house, her family changed in the process too. As she moved from a house made of mud and grass into a strong, iron-walled home, Lana saw a new side of her husband. Although she typically earns her own money from selling milk or jewelry, he now looks forward to lending to her. He trusts that she’ll bring the money back from the savings group with added interest. Other men in the community are so impressed by their wives’ financial wisdom that they’re joining savings groups of their own!
One shilling, one home, one family at a time, change – powered by community members – is sweeping through Lana’s village. It starts at Savings for Life.
This month, we’re discovering what Savings for Life means to women and men in some of the most vulnerable places on earth. Check back with us to hear their stories of hope – and stand with us today as we pursue lasting change through economic development.
Families for Life: Reconciling Relationships in India
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
It’s estimated that more than 2.1 million people in India live with HIV. Focusing on a key cause of HIV/AIDS – broken relationships – World Relief in India works with local churches to prevent the disease from spreading while also protecting and strengthening marriages. In India, pastors are challenging couples in their churches to be more than just two people who pass through life together, but to be partners in ministry to the most vulnerable in their communities.
Pastor Abraham in India
“A family ministry – by a family to families is important and strategic”, said Pastor R.D. Abraham. He had taught the Families for Life course to a small group that included four married couples. He had prayed for a meeting like this to take place in his area for a long time when it finally began. During his training, Pastor Abraham was challenged to partner with his wife as he ministered to the people in his church through prayer, house visits, and sharing the gospel.
“We do not involve our wives as we should. The Lord said ‘when two of us agree together on the earth and pray, He is going to hear and answer our prayers’. But we ignore this. Two are better than one and we need to pray together and do the ministry as husband and wife together. Then we will see changes happening and fruits coming in,” Pastor Abraham said. He encourages husbands and wives to attend the meetings together, and those who come alone often decide to bring their spouse to the next meeting.
One couple traveled a long distance to attend the trainings, and now they are hoping to host similar meetings for pastors who live in his area. The lessons of the importance of teamwork in marriage are spreading through the church in India, and families are strengthened for the future.
Empower a Hero: Veng Bun in Cambodia
Veng Bun is a church leader, father, farmer – and a hero. He lives just outside the bustling city of Phnom Penh, a source and destination city for trafficked men, women and children in Cambodia. People of all ages are bought and sold in this city, then exploited for sex, labor and domestic work. In the past, Veng was also at risk of being sold into slavery. He wasn’t aware that traffickers preyed on migrant workers like himself.
Veng in Cambodia
Veng grows crops on a small plot of land outside his house, but that hasn’t always provided enough income to support his four children. To make up the difference, he often traveled for jobs as a construction worker or wood-cutter. On these routes, workers become vulnerable to traffickers. This is how many become enslaved for years, working without wages or a chance to go home.
Then, two years ago, Veng attended a trafficking prevention program hosted by World Relief. There, he realized his community’s vulnerability, as well as his own. As he learned about the tactics of traffickers, Veng knew he couldn’t keep this life-saving information to himself. Since he was a church leader, he was perfectly positioned to protect his village. Then World Relief staff equipped him with the tools he needed to educate his neighbors about the risk factors for human trafficking and ways they could prevent it together.
Since then, he’s watched his community grow in trafficking awareness. By shedding light on an injustice that is shrouded in secrecy and conducted under the cover of darkness, Veng is leading a movement that spreads from his church into the greater community. Now, his church and village stand together as a united force against human trafficking. This is what makes Veng a hero.
You can stand with church leaders like Veng as they empower others to confront the deep injustices impacting the most vulnerable. Join the movement today at EmpowerAHero.org!
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
– Acts 20:28
70 Years of Good
Auschwitz. A name that stands on its own. A place synonymous with death, terror and genocide. This death camp in southern Poland is a symbol of some of the worst crimes against humanity of the 20th Century. More than 1.1 million men, women and children were murdered here. And only a few hundred thousand people who had the misfortune of being interned here actually survived. How could anything good possibly come from this evil?
This week, as millions of people around the globe commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of this most infamous death camp, we gain hope from the good that is found time and time again in the midst of such extreme tragedy. The Nazis murdered millions, but the Corrie ten Booms, Martin Niemöllers and Dietrich Bonhoeffers looked evil in the face and responded to God’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22), no matter the consequence.
World Relief’s own history began at the same time concentration camps around Europe were being liberated and Europeans were emerging from the rubble of a devastating war. Christians around the world took notice and came alongside strangers across the ocean to show the tangible and spiritual hope of Jesus Christ. Churches in the US sacrificed their own comfort to send food and clothing to churches recovering from devastation in Europe. And here began the work of World Relief.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that good can be a reality during extreme instances of evil. We see this in our work now – mass rape and conflict in Congo, war and hunger in South Sudan or modern-day slavery in our own neighborhoods. But survivors, volunteers and churches are standing up in the midst of oppression to serve and empower the most vulnerable. By walking alongside survivors of these injustices and making sure they have enough, we are implementing good and realizing that God uses us, normal human beings, to be the peacemakers.
If you want to be a part of this modern movement of justice, visit worldrelief.org for more information about our work and how you can get involved.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Celebrating MLK’s Legacy
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
War. Poverty. Hunger. Disease. Slavery. The times have changed since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, but many of the same injustices remain. We read news headlines about conflict altering the lives of millions. More than 1 billion people in the world live on less than $1.25 a day. It’s estimated that 805 million don’t have enough to eat on a regular basis. 1.5 million children under the age of 5 died from vaccine-preventable diseases in 2008. And more than 20 million people are held in slavery today.
These statistics seem grim, but as we remember MLK’s legacy this month, we also shed light on the hope that is changing the atmosphere and are surrounded by stories of peace and brotherhood.
In word and deed, World Relief staff and volunteers work through local churches around the globe to make sure this hope is tangible. Whether it’s training local church leaders to peacefully resolve conflicts within their community in places like war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo or teaching farmers in Kenya new techniques that provide food and a sustainable income or helping survivors of human trafficking here in the US, we’re seeing justice spread like wildfire.
There is still much to be done, but unarmed truth and unconditional love are in our midst and the movement for justice that began long ago is carrying on to completion.
Empower a Hero: Jocelyn in Rwanda
“Before I joined the savings groups I was alone. I used to walk alone in the fields every day and I didn’t belong,” said Jocelyn, a business owner and mother from Rwanda. But since joining a Savings for Life group, Jocelyn has grown into a confident entrepreneur and member of a supportive community of women. Now, she goes to the market each day to sell her vegetables. The money she earns allows her to provide her eight children with medical insurance – and lend to other women who want to break free from poverty. In Rwanda, Savings for Life groups grow out of partnerships with the local church. Church leaders and volunteers create opportunities that help the most vulnerable develop economic stability in their families and communities. As pastors discover their church’s role in addressing the root causes of poverty, they are motivated to invite their most vulnerable neighbors into groups like Jocelyn’s.
Seventy-two percent of Rwanda’s 20,530 Savings for Life members are women, who are especially vulnerable to economic hardship. But in each meeting, women grow in independence and confidence as they accumulate savings and expand their financial knowledge. They encourage and celebrate one another with each new success.
Jocelyn’s first success came when she opened a produce shop with a loan from her savings group. Now that she can sustainably support her children, she is working to pay it back while lending money to others. “When we come together, we pray, then we open the box which has the money…and collect the social fund for loans,” Jocelyn said. The social fund protects the members from the shock of emergency costs. Small grants are given to cover unexpected medical procedures or home repairs.
Women in Savings for Life grow in deep friendship with one another. As they come out of isolation, they are welcomed into compassionate communities. “This savings group has united us because we pull together and solve problems as one group,” Jocelyn said. Today, Jocelyn is empowered to not only support her own family, but the economic growth and welfare of her entire community.
Check back with us throughout January to meet more heroes like Jocelyn. They’re leading their families and neighbors in the work of justice in some of the most vulnerable countries on earth. You can join the movement today at EmpowerAHero.org!
Why We Empower Heroes
Madeline Holler is our Communications and Marketing Specialist. She studied International Studies at Baylor University and has volunteered with Christian organizations in Kenya, Uganda as well as locally in the US. As we focus on empowering heroes this month, we want to give you personal glimpses from our staff who are deeply invested in this life-giving movement. This is Madeline’s…
I feel insignificant.
The other evening, I was sitting on my couch in my tiny apartment in a small neighborhood of a city of millions. I checked my phone to potentially find a glimpse of significance on social media or looked to my husband for a word of affirmation or two. Checking the news, I read about a man who was stabbed while defending innocent individuals…on a corner I had just walked by.
Why? How can this happen? Why is it that I have food on my table and clean water to drink and others don’t? Why do I have a comfortable life and others face danger every day? It pains me to think about those who are freezing to death in this brutal winter weather, for those who come home to an empty house, for those who have to defend themselves daily amidst war, hate and persecution.
I feel small. What could I possibly do to make this world better?
I see the significance in my work, but in the midst of so much negative news and circumstances, I sometimes struggle to understand the bigger picture – seeing the great things God has planned for me and others. I want to change the world, but I know I can’t do it all, nor was I charged with the call to change every heart and solve every problem.
At World Relief, I have the great opportunity to share stories of what others are doing and spread the word about how local churches around the world are being empowered to serve the most vulnerable. What a radically wonderful call that is.
It wasn’t until recently that I had that overwhelming feeling of understanding what it truly means to empower another human. Someone who has significant need and has devoted their life to changing this world – sustainably forming communities of individuals who spread the love of Christ by providing a meal, growing crops, or helping single mothers raise a family, just to name a few of the ways these heroes are impacting their communities. These individuals give all they have, even when it seems like they might not have much, and we get to journey alongside them and be transformed along the way ourselves.
Because of programs like Empower a Hero, I now understand transformation better. I want to empower heroes throughout the world. I want to be a hero in my community. And World Relief has made it simple for this to happen.
Something is stirring and I don’t want it to stop.
A movement of genuine empowerment is growing and WE can be a part of it.
Join us at empowerahero.org.
Empower a Hero: Emily in Kenya
Emily Seteyio is dedicated to reducing the high infant mortality rate in Kenya, and she’s going the distance to make it happen. She used to regularly walk six miles to protect just one baby from HIV. More than 1.6 million Kenyans are living with HIV, but pregnant women and their babies are especially vulnerable to the disease. Prenatal care and hospital births reduce the chances of mother-to-child transmission. But neither of those are common practice for women living in remote areas.
Because doctors and nurses are out of reach, rural women often turn to traditional birth attendants to assist them during labor. Unfortunately, many attendants don’t have the proper equipment or training to prevent HIV transmission between the mothers and infants under their care.
Emily in Kenya
So Emily stands with the vulnerable women of Kajiado, Kenya. She empowers them with the resources they need to have safe deliveries and healthy babies – even when the mothers are HIV positive. Since 2012, she’s served as a community health worker after training from World Relief Kenya. Emily volunteered for the role because she was concerned about the mothers in remote areas who were without access to quality care.
Emily visits mothers in their homes and counsels them about the benefits of giving birth in health centers. “In the hospital, there are gloves and equipment that prevent the spread of HIV from the health caregivers to the mother and child,” Emily said.
Pastors often serve as vital links between community health workers and vulnerable mothers. Through collaboration with a local pastor, Emily was able to make sure one high-risk woman had transportation to the health facility for the birth.
But during her pregnancy, Emily would regularly walk six miles from the health facility to the woman’s remote village. Since she was HIV positive, Emily encouraged her to give birth in a health center so her baby could live free from the virus.
Eventually, the woman delivered a healthy baby boy in the health facility, despite her high-risk pregnancy. This wouldn’t have been possible without Emily’s dedication – and the support of the local church.
Check back each week in January to meet more heroes like Emily – women and men standing for justice in the most vulnerable places around the world. Join the movement at EmpowerAHero.org today!
The Greatest Recovery Effort Yet
Joseph Bataille serves as World Relief’s Haiti Country Director. Born in Port-au-Prince and raised in the US, he moved back to his native country after college to work with NGOs and churches as they assisted the vulnerable. The following is his personal account of the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti to its core 5 years ago today as well as the hope he sees in his homeland.
I was in the bed of a truck when the ground started to shake. There was a magnitude 7 earthquake going on, yet I hardly noticed. This is partly because I was somewhat distant from the epicenter, but it is also because the “taptaps” that I commuted in to and from work always passed through numerous rough spots. Sometimes they cannot avoid the larger potholes strung along the road. I was used to bracing myself for a little bit of shaking. Aside from that, I had my headphones on and my eyes were closed as I was praying… for my workplace, for my church, for myself, and for the nation.
Then I noticed that the shaking lasted longer than I was accustomed to. I paused my prayer and I opened my eyes to see what was going on. That’s when I noticed that the taptap was actually stationary and I could see a cloud of dust all across the horizon. I had just been in an earthquake. My first reaction was to send a message home, but all communications had been cut off. All I could do is wait to see for myself how everyone fared.
I soon learned that everyone at home was fine. So was my workplace, so was my church, and so was I, but the nation, well, I was confident that God would help us to recover, and perhaps even build back better.
As I worked to lead my church’s relief effort, the days that followed passed like a blur. This was the first time that I had been in a place that was in a 24/7 state of emergency. Setting up emergency clinics, running logistics between several organizations on the ground, dispatching our local Scouts for rescue and clean up missions, organizing the transport of certain victims to a hospital on the Dominican frontier, translating for foreigners. I had my hands full at all times.
In those days I saw and heard of more tragedy than I cared to. Dealing with major injuries and amputations became normal, and I grew accustomed to the stench of cadavers hidden under piles of rubble that were yet to be removed. But perhaps the greatest tragedy that I witnessed was the sense of helplessness that I observed among many of my countrymen. I recall seeing several smaller camps with signs painted in broken English “We have no ting,” “We need help, plese!”
It was true. They needed help. They had lost everything. But the signs written on the walls and on everyone’s faces testified to the fact that we were looking mostly to the outside for help. We weren’t looking to each other. We weren’t looking to the local church. We weren’t looking toward the strength that God had deposited within our own hearts and minds.
While I can tell you many stories of local heroes, I was sad to see that of all of the people who could have given a hand to the relief effort by volunteering their time, their skills, or their knowledge, the vast majority of us “took our place” in tent camps, waiting for someone else to save them and their countrymen. It was almost as if we were used to this role-play from the many tragedies of the past. This, for me, was most tragic.
After the earthquake, World Relief responded rightly with food aid, temporary and permanent shelters, and with efforts to reach out to orphans and vulnerable children. We gave unnumbered thousands of people a much-needed boost back up onto their feet. After five years of recovery, most of the people that we have helped are now back to a sense of normalcy.
If you read the current news about the earthquake relief effort, most articles remind us of the vast amount of physical work that remains to be done. There are places where rubble still remains; there are tens of thousands still living in tent camps and sanitation remains an ongoing problem. However, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are still living with a spirit of helplessness and dependency. This is where World Relief has chosen to focus our efforts.
Tomorrow we will hand over the keys to twelve brand new houses to twelve families in our Orphan and Vulnerable Children program. This is the last official earthquake-related effort on our agenda. From here on out we will be building the hearts and the minds of the ones who God has called to transform this nation. By this, I am speaking of the Haitian people, a nation with thousands of heroes-in-waiting.
This year we will continue our efforts to help small farmers to build up their livelihoods in order to increase their self-sufficiency. We have also chosen to spearhead two new and exciting programs that will help to rebuild the foundations of two of the nation’s most fundamental institutions: the Church and the Family.
In some of World Relief’s other countries of intervention, the Church Empowerment Zone has proven to be effective in uniting churches across a region as they work together to accomplish God’s call to preach the gospel in word and in deed. Through this program, we hope to help churches across the nation to take their rightful place as agents of spiritual, social, cultural, and economic transformation. We want the Haitian community to look first to the church when they look for agents of sustainable development in the nation.
Finally, the family is the building block of a society, and it is the very first institution created by God. By transforming families, we can begin to touch all of the underlying issues in our society, changing the state and the inheritance of the next generation. This is what we hope to do through our Families for Life program. By working in collaboration with the thousands of churches in our network, by building on the successes of many of our former programs, and by working alongside a number of local partners, World Relief hopes to spark a nationwide movement that will transform the life of the Haitian family for the current and the next generation.
In 2010, I was in the back of a vehicle on the outskirts of the epicenter of a disaster. This year, with World Relief, I have the privilege of taking a front seat in the most important “recovery” effort yet: the recovery of Haitian dignity, hope and responsibility.
Haiti faces a great number of challenges, but we at World Relief are very hopeful. Not only do we see and affirm Haiti’s beauty, significance, and potential, but we have also witnessed and can testify that Haiti’s “light” is already here. The light that can dispel the darkness that covers this nation is in the Church of Jesus Christ, which is alive and well here.
The mission of World Relief in Haiti is to help the light of the church to shine brightly. We seek to support the Haitian church in such a way that its light takes its rightful place up high, for all to see, not hidden under the basket of our organization’s accomplishments. In this present darkness, the Church of Haiti will shine, and God will get the glory.
“…Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16