Posts Tagged ‘Church Empowerment Zones’
Transforming the Lives of Children Through Early Childhood Development Centers
In communities around the world, parents and caregivers dream about their childrenâs futures, hoping to see them grow and thrive. The first five years of a childâs life are an essential piece in realizing those dreams, providing critical building blocks for lifelong development.
However, for many parents and caregivers in Burundi, balancing the developmental needs of young children with the financial responsibilities of supporting a family can seem overwhelming. With few childcare options, families are often left with a daily, impossible choice: leave their children home alone or lose the earnings or harvest from that dayâs work.
This choice is even more unimaginable for children who have unique developmental needs that, if unmet, can leave them vulnerable to a life-time of challenges â children like Rita.
A Neighbor in Need
When Rita was only two, her mother was violently attacked and killed while carrying her daughter on her back. Rita was injured and left in a coma for three-weeks. When she woke up, she had lost her speech and struggled to socialize with other children, often showing aggressive behavior.
Ritaâs aunt took her in, but was overwhelmed by the daily demands of both caring and providing financially for her. She couldnât leave Rita home alone. She also couldnât stop working if she wanted to put food on their table.
In her familyâs time of need, Ritaâs aunt turned to the support of her local community for help. Thatâs when she connected with one of World Reliefâs Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers.
Caring for the Child and the Caregivers
In partnership with UNICEF Burundi and local communities, we have opened 11 ECD Centers throughout World Relief Burundiâs Church Empowerment Zones. Each center is run by members of the local community and serves up to 50 children ages two to five. Centers provide trusted care, a nutritious daily meal and plenty of opportunities to socialize and play with other children in a safe environment.
Not only do the centers give parents peace of mind, knowing their children are safe and well cared for while they work, but they are also helping reshape the care of children throughout the community â including back at home.
ECD Center volunteers, many of whom are parents themselves, are trained in positive parenting, child protection, child development and nutrition â lessons they apply and share at the centers, in their neighborhoods and in their own homes.
In a country where currently 56% of children suffer chronic malnutrition, 90% of children ages 1-14 experience physical punishment by caregivers and only 7% of children ages three to five attend early childhood development programs, World Relief Burundiâs ECD Centers are playing a critical role in helping local communities lay a foundation from which children can reach their full potential.
A Life Transformed
For Rita, enrolling in her communityâs ECD Center has transformed her life. When she first began attending, she struggled to connect with her classmates. However, through the sensitive social and emotional care sheâs received there, Rita has now regained her speech, shares toys and plays well with other children and shows positive behaviors at home and in the community!
While not all children will face the challenges Rita has, the same community-driven programming that helped her can help more families navigate lifeâs obstacles. By caring well for those experiencing vulnerability, we can uplift whole communities and help more children reach their full potential.
The Path to a Brighter Future
So far, with the support of UNICEF and other donors, World Relief Burundi has reached over 500 children under the age of five through their 11 pilot ECD Centers. The program has garnered praise from parents, community leaders and even primary school teachers who note that children who have attended the centers outshine their peers in their first year of primary school.
Whatsmore, the child development tools developed during the pilot program have been so successful that the government of Burundi has approved them for national scale up. We will be starting seven more ECD Centers in Burundi before the end of the year, allowing even more families to thrive.
At World Relief, we want to see every child have every opportunity to reach their full potential, and we believe local communities are best positioned to help realize that dream. World Relief Burundiâs community-driven ECD Centers are playing an essential role in caring for both children and caregivers as, together, we move towards a brighter future.
Pave the path to lasting change for more families like Ritaâs. When you join The Path â World Reliefâs community of monthly givers â you partner with parents and churches around the world who are building a brighter future for their children. It takes all of us to pave the path to lasting change, and you have a role to play.
Dana Pair currently serves as Program Officer at World Relief. Prior to joining World Relief, she worked in adolescent girls programming in the Portland, Oregon area. She is passionate about empowering women and girls to bring sustainable change to their communities.
Early Childhood Development Centers Help Care for the Caregivers
The first five years of a childâs life provide critical building blocks for lifelong development. Young children thrive when they receive intentional early learning opportunities and have parents who are equipped to care for them through responsive and playful parenting. However, for many families facing adversity, their childâs development may be hindered when one or more of their core needs are unmet.
At World Relief, we believe that local communities can come together to support caregivers in child rearing so their children can reach their full potential â caregivers like Caritas.
Caritas is an elderly blind woman who lives in Burundi. She had never been married or had biological children of her own, but when her two-year-old nephew was abandoned by his parents, she didnât hesitate to welcome him into her small home.
However, her blindness made caring for her nephew a challenge. Caritas was always asking for help from her neighbors, and her church took notice.
Caritas lives in one of World Relief Burundiâs Church Empowerment Zones (CEZ). World Reliefâs CEZ model of community development is unique and powerful, focusing on existing community assets rather than deficits. Partnering with local churches around the world, we prioritize local partnership and ownership, leadership development and capacity building so that local churches like Caritasâ can be the initiators and drivers of transformation in their own communities.
After being trained by World Relief, Caritasâ church hosted a community mobilization meeting about early childhood development. Church members decided to create a community-based Early Childhood Development (ECD) Center to meet the needs of parents and young children in their community.
Since demand for early childhood programming was high and capacity at the center was limited, church members decided to prioritize the most vulnerable children. Caritas and her nephew were identified as a family with significant need, so her nephew was admitted to the center.
After struggling to care for her nephew on her own, Caritas felt relieved to have a place where her child could benefit from the care and support of good people that she could trust. At the ECD center, he would have the opportunity to learn and grow through play.
“My child is not only protected, but he is more educated and surprises me in his development,â said Caritas. âHe is no longer the poor child abandoned by his parents, but he has got a big family.”
Through community-based ECD centers like these, Caritas and hundreds of caregivers are seeing their children grow and flourish as they come together to ensure the most vulnerable children in their communities are given opportunities to develop and grow in safe spaces, full of joy, learning and playing!
Dana Pair currently serves as Program Officer at World Relief. Prior to joining World Relief, she worked in adolescent girls programming in the Portland, Oregon area. She is passionate about empowering women and girls to bring sustainable change to their communities.
Share the Gift Pt. 2: Paying it Forward to Empower Women in Turkana
Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. We invite you to share-the-gift by paying it forward alongside women in Turkana County. Earlier this month you heard about a powerful share-the-gift project in Karebur Village, Turkana.
500 miles north, in Kachoba Village, another share-the-gift project is also taking root. This time, itâs combating malnutrition while empowering women to take on new and important roles within their families and community.
Sharing the Gift in Kachoba
Turkana has predominantly been a patriarchal society. Men are the leaders and the heads of the household and are responsible for making decisions concerning family wealth including slaughtering livestock for food and/or choosing which livestock gets sold or traded.
In this pastoralist community, it is common for the men to leave the home weeks at a time, taking the livestock out to graze where they can find food. In better times, households would have food in the reserve. They would slaughter an animal, cut the meat into thin strips like spaghetti then hang it out in the sun to dry completely. Then, theyâd salt the meat and keep it above the fireplace which is always smoking, thus preventing the meat from rotting.
If one household was running low on food, a neighbor might put some of their meat in a pot to make some broth and offer it to others. Again, hands meeting in the pot!Â
Today, however, climate change and drought is threatening their very way of life. As the livestock is dying off, there is less meat for people to eat, and the remaining livestock struggle to produce milk. Malnutrition is rampant and is affecting children under five at increasingly high rates.
As the primary caregivers of the home and children, women have valuable insights into their familyâs needs. And yet, they are not consulted on decisions that affect livelihoods, livestock or daily food intake. In order to combat malnutrition in Kachoba, women need to weigh in.
Care Groups and Creative Problem Solving
Many of the women in Kochoba are involved in World Reliefâs Care Group program, where together they began brainstorming new food options to improve household nutrition.Â
Initially, the mothers proposed milking goats, but concluded they would have a hard time finding adequate feed for their goats. The cyclic drought caused by climate change has made foliage â a goatâs source of food â hard to come by. Underfed goats cannot produce an adequate amount of milk to feed their families.
As the women talked further, they proposed the idea of chickens. Chickens are smaller animals so they are easier to feed. And while men typically control decisions related to livestock, they see chickens as too small for them to worry about.
In 2021, World Relief gifted 50 participating women with four chickens and one cockerel. The women agreed that once their chickens reproduce, they will give away a similar number â three chickens and one cockerel â to another lady in her community.
Because men don’t care for chickens, women are able to have an asset in their hands that they can control, and which can significantly improve nutrition at the household level.
They’re also able to make decisions about whether or not they want to sell one of the cocks or chicks to purchase something they need such as medication for a sick child. Although the project is less than a year old, we are seeing improvements in the way families relate to one another. It has helped women a great deal.
Moving Together Toward Lasting Change
The share-the-gift project is just one part of an expansive community development project in Turkana. The local church networks in the area continue to supervise these projects, ensuring that the seed of love first planted by World Relief will saturate the entire community so that every household has the chance to receive and improve their livestock.
That’s where the whole joy today is. We are not just creating solutions for people to have food to be stronger. We are creating solutions that are wholesome, uprooting the community from poverty, to a place of holistic transformation, where they are able to take charge of their destiny.God loves his people and is infinitely interested in their welfare. That statement is true whether someone is a project coordinator or implementer (like our staff) or a project beneficiary. We are moving together, growing and learning together as we seek to create lasting change in our communities and around the world.
Share your gift this Giving Tuesday by paying it forward on behalf of a friend or family member. When you give today, youâll receive a digital card to send to your loved one, letting them know about the lasting change their gift is creating.
Elias Kamau serves as Country Director at World Relief Kenya. He has over 20 years of experience in humanitarian and development work in various countries including South Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, Kenya and Sudan. He started his career as a schoolteacher rising to the position of Director of External Studies and Continuing Education and successfully trained teachers in and out of Kenya. Exposure to the plight of refugees while serving as an education and training consultant in the sprawling Dadaab Refugee camps in Northern Kenya marked a turning point in his life. He resigned his position with the government feeling called to those vulnerable people. He went on to serve them in some of the poorest parts of the Horn of Africa where he held various positions with reputable International organizations including CARE, Norwegian Church Aid, International AID Services and World Concern among others before joining World Relief. Elias lives in Nairobi with his family including his wife Phelista and two children; a girl and a boy. He enjoys making friends and sharing the love of Jesus.
Oliver Otsimi serves as the Turkana Program Manager at World Relief. He holds a Bachelorâs degree in Environmental Studies (Community Development) and post graduate trainings in Horticultural Crop Production and Post-Harvest Technology, Agribusiness and Marketing. Oliver is studying for a Masters degree in Project Planning and Management at Maseno University. Oliverâs ambition is to positively transform poor households achieve food security and prosperity to enable them live a life of dignity as intended by God. He is married to Pamela and they have two children.
Share the Gift Pt. 1: How One Community in Turkana Is Paying it Forward
Hands Meeting in the Pot
Turkana County, Kenya, is not an easy place to live. Some have even referred to it as the oven of the world. High temperatures hover at an average of 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The air is dry, and rainfall is scarce.
Many residents have lost all their livestock due to persistent drought, and malnutrition is rampant â especially among children whose mothers struggle to produce enough milk to feed them due to their own dietary deficiencies. And yet, a culture of generosity and creativity is giving way to hope and innovation in partnership with World Relief.
Because of the sheer hardness of life in Turkana, community members have developed strong relationships and social capital with one another, depending on each other greatly. You may often hear stories of Turkanans moving to the United States or Australia to work. The money they make is sent home, often supporting several households.
Turkanans even have a saying, which goes, âIt is best for your hands to meet in the pot, licking fingers with nothing, than it is for you to have a big meal in front of you to eat all alone.â
This idea of giving to your relatives and neighbors is an ingrained way of life in Turkana. And it is this way of life that has led to a new program called Share the Gift in the Karebur and Kachoba communities.
Introducing the Galla Goat
World Relief began working in Turkana in 2011 in response to a drought-induced food crisis. At the time, one-third of the population suffered from malnutrition. We collaborated with local churches and community members to seek solutions to these issues, and together, we developed robust programming around the issues of food and water security â including introducing a new breed of goats to the region, the Galla goat. Galla goats are a specialized, drought-resistant breed of goats. News outlets like NPR have called them âsuper goatsâ because of their ability to withstand high heat.
Initially, many Turkanans were skeptical about the new breed. Their goats were red, and the Galla goats were white. These pastoralist men were proud of their livestock and treasured their red goats. Likewise, they feared the white goats would be easier to spot leaving them prone to conflict or theft.
But as they came to see that the Galla goats were superior â they produced more milk, matured faster and fetched higher prices at the markets â they became more willing to give the goats a try.
Sharing the Gift in Karebur
While the Galla goats are, themselves, a gift and a miracle, in 2019 World Relief worked with local churches in the Karebur Village to take things a step further. Together, they designed the first share-the-gift project.
Under the guidelines of this initiative, 20 women were each gifted a Galla goat and each committed to gifting the first female offspring from their goat to another, equally needy person in the community. From there, the chain reaction would begin, until everyone had access to a Galla goat.
Akiru was one of the first 20 women to receive a goat.
âI love Karebur Community because of the unity and love [we] have for each other⊠Life has always been a struggle in our community. The drought has always been with us and our goat breeds had been deteriorating as their body sizes had been diminishing and so was their production. The gift of an improved goat was indeed a blessing to us.
I remember during the first lactation the goat produced a lot of milk which was enough for my (own) familyâs use and there was surplus milk, which we could share with my neighbor. The gifted goat was such a blessing.â
In early 2021, after the initial 20 goats had produced offspring, the goatsâ owners stayed true to their commitment and gifted their first female offspring to others in the community. Women like Anna received the tangible provision of sustenance as well as a renewed sense of connectedness with her friend and neighbor.
âThe goat from [my]neighbor has improved our relations for the better. My neighbor now is like a very close relative as a result of the bond of caring resulting from this valuable gift of love,â she said.
The share-the-gift project is just one part of an expansive community development project in Turkana that is made possible when we move together. The local church networks in the area continue to supervise these projects, ensuring that the seed of love first planted by World Relief will saturate the entire community so that every household has the chance to receive and improve their livestock.
You, too, can share the gift this season. Your gift of $60 can make a huge difference in the lives of the most vulnerable around the world, including supplying a goat to a family in Turkana!
Will you give the gift of hope and lasting change this season?
Elias Kamau serves as Country Director at World Relief Kenya. He has over 20 years of experience in humanitarian and development work in various countries including South Sudan, Somalia, Haiti, Kenya and Sudan. He started his career as a schoolteacher rising to the position of Director of External Studies and Continuing Education and successfully trained teachers in and out of Kenya. Exposure to the plight of refugees while serving as an education and training consultant in the sprawling Dadaab Refugee camps in Northern Kenya marked a turning point in his life. He resigned his position with the government feeling called to those vulnerable people. He went on to serve them in some of the poorest parts of the Horn of Africa where he held various positions with reputable International organizations including CARE, Norwegian Church Aid, International AID Services and World Concern among others before joining World Relief. Elias lives in Nairobi with his family including his wife Phelista and two children; a girl and a boy. He enjoys making friends and sharing the love of Jesus.
Oliver Otsimi serves as the Turkana Program Manager at World Relief. He holds a Bachelorâs degree in Environmental Studies (Community Development) and post graduate trainings in Horticultural Crop Production and Post-Harvest Technology, Agribusiness and Marketing. Oliver is studying for a Masters degree in Project Planning and Management at Maseno University. Oliverâs ambition is to positively transform poor households achieve food security and prosperity to enable them live a life of dignity as intended by God. He is married to Pamela and they have two children.
No Longer Alone: How Mothers in Rwanda are Working Together To Care for Children
Every day, parents around the world, make the difficult choice between staying home with young children or leaving them home alone in order to work and provide for their families. Eunice is one of these parents.
Eunice is a farmer and mother in Rwanda. For her and many women like her, farming is not only a way to earn income, but to also grow food to feed her family. When her children were infants, she could tie them to her back while she worked. But once they became toddlers, it was no longer safe for them to accompany her to the fields.
Like many other mothers in her community, Eunice had to make the difficult choice every day to leave her children home alone. For families in situations like Euniceâs, itâs routine for two- and three-year-olds to be left home alone or in the care of siblings who are just a few years older.
Unfortunately, this impossible choice between providing and being present can impede early childhood development. Young children thrive when they feel safe, receive responsive and playful parenting and are provided with early learning opportunities through play. But without these, children miss out on building an essential developmental foundation that will help them reach their full potential into adulthood.Â
For Eunice, she knew her situation was not ideal â she worried about her children every time she had to be away in the fields. She hoped they didnât get hit by a car or abused because they were home alone.
Sadly, her fears were realized. She learned that her children were crying all day and that the food she left out for them was being eaten by older children who were sneaking into her home.
And yet, hope was on the way.Â
Thanks to support from people like you, a group of local pastors had been trained by World Relief and felt convicted about the need to work together to care for vulnerable people within their community. When they heard about the challenges Eunice and other families were facing, they decided to come together and discuss how they could help.
The pastors visited Eunice and invited her to a training held at a local church. There, church leaders helped Eunice and a group of other mothers work together and develop a plan to provide safe care for their children.
Collectively, the mothers had 20 children between them. They selected one womanâs home as the place where they would send their children to be cared for. Each day, four mothers stay behind with the children while the others go to the fields. The mothers rotate between these responsibilities, each covering childcare one day a week.
For the first time, Eunice and the other mothers knew their children would be safe.
In addition to solving their childcare problem at the training, the mothers received valuable lessons on child development and nutrition. Euniceâs children are now receiving quality childcare as well as balanced nutritious meals. She said she and the other mothers are rejoicing and their kids are happy again.
Currently, 17 Home-Based Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers like Euniceâs are being piloted in World Reliefâs Ngoma Church Empowerment Zone in Rwanda. One of the local pastors has been so impressed by the Centers already that he has written to government officials to share what the moms have been doing, urging them to implement similar systems in all rural communities.
The ECD Centers are meeting a pressing need and creating lasting, sustainable change for families, even in the most remote village. Not only do they bring peace-of-mind to mothers, but they provide children with the foundational care and learning opportunities theyâll need to reach their full potential long into the future.
Dana Pair currently serves as Program Officer at World Relief. Prior to joining World Relief, she worked in adolescent girls programming in the Portland, Oregon area. She is passionate about empowering women and girls to bring sustainable change to their communities.
Get to Know Our Staff: Haiti
In 2021, weâre giving you the inside scoop on the work World Relief is doing in communities around the world through a new series called, Get to Know Our Staff.
Today, weâre excited to introduce you to Esther Pyram, World Relief Haitiâs Integral Mission and Church Empowerment Zone Manager. Esther is a writer, a wife, a sister and a friend. Her prayerful spirit and joyful work ethic are contagious, and today sheâs sharing more about her role at World Relief and the transformation sheâs personally experienced while leading alongside others in Haiti.
What is your name?
My name is Esther Phtama Pyram Louissaint, a Christian believer. I am a wife, a sister, a friend and a beloved daughter.
What is your role at World Relief?
I have been with World Relief since February 2016. I joined as a field coordinator. Currently, I work as the Integral Mission and Church Empowerment Zone Manager.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
There is nothing more exciting than doing what you know you were called to do. It is a complete joy to serve, to participate in this holistic transformation we are looking for in our community. Therefore, in the past five years, I have always considered myself a servitor rather than an employee.
Can you share some stories that excite you?
I had the privilege of witnessing churches’ growth and seeing them proudly standing up for the most vulnerable. I saw children going to school for the first time in communities where there was no school before and where State Institutions are absent. I have observed church leaders contributing generously and with inexplicable joy to organize community weddings regardless of religious or denominational backgrounds. I saw widowsâ homes restored, gardens planted, and crops at their feet to face the new season. I have seen life blooming, and hope being restored for many brothers and sisters.
Yet, the most wonderful part of it all is to witness my own transformation through this process. I have become stronger, more confident, empowered and impacted. I am working with more tact, joy, love and a constant quest for excellence in all areas of my life.
How have you grown in this role?
My relationships with God, with myself, with my family and others have been transformed beyond belief. Areas of my life which I struggled with in the past have been restored, including my finances, my ministries and my dreams.
My increased mental strength allows me to face nasty critics with steadiness and an unwavering attitude. Such critics can no longer put me down. In short, I know who I am: a loved, gifted and blessed girl, and all the assets in the world cannot compensate for such newly built confidence in myself and in Our Loving Father.
What are your hopes for the communities where you live and work?
Like World Relief, I want to see local churches empowered to serve the most vulnerable. I diligently pray, and I long to see women in our communities, and especially those in our local churches, rise to their talents, gifts and abilities so they may answer their divine call and enter their destiny.
I want to see our youth plan their future with more hope, certainty and dignity. I want to see my community rise and move forward on the road to progress, success and development. I want to see families becoming stronger by the days and despite the challenges. I long to see respectable citizens taking the lead in their communities in this new generation. In short, I want to continue witnessing blooming life and daily revival of hope for all.
What do you like to do when youâre not working?
I work with a wonderful, competent, and dynamic team under the supervision of Athanase Ndayisaba (World Relief Haiti Country Director). In my spare time I read, sing, pray and write beautiful novels that one day may be published. I inspire others to stay motivated and confident.
It was a pleasure to share a little of me with you.
Do you want to create holistic transformation in communities around the globe? World Relief is growing our team to meet the increased needs of our world, and weâre looking for people like you to join us.
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.
Get to Know Our Staff: Kenya
In 2021, weâre giving you the inside scoop on the work that World Relief is doing in communities around the world through a new series called, Get to Know Our Staff. Each month, youâll hear from a different staff member from across the World Relief network. Through videos, stories and interviews youâll learn more about who they are, the communities where they work, what they do and why they love what they do.
On deck this month is Noah Sankale Pesi, our Church Empowerment Zone Coordinator in Kajiado, Kenya. Noah has been working at World Relief Kenya since 2018 and is passionate about seeing churches mobilized to serve the most vulnerable. Hear more from Noah in the video below!
Do you want to create lasting change alongside passionate, mission-driven coworkers like Noah? World Relief is growing our team to meet the increased needs of our world, and weâre looking for people like you to join us.
Frontline Report: Democratic Republic of Congo
Frontline Reports is a monthly series that provides updates on the countries, contexts, and situations in which we work as they continue to evolve. The reports are written entirely by program experts and local staff on the ground.
A Complex Crisis
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Referred to affectionately as the Heart of Africa; rich in resource, culture and beauty. The nation has some of the greatest concentrations of valuable raw minerals in the world, and Eastern Congo, in particular, is fertile and ripe for agricultural development. And yet this nation and its people have been engaged in a cycle of conflict and violence which has stolen more than five million lives and kept millions more from being able to realize their full potential.
In 1994, the devastating effects of the Rwandan genocide spilled over borders into the DRC, Burundi, and Uganda. Since that time, Eastern Congo has suffered constant unrest and instability. Dozens of armed groups have operated in there, at the great expense of the local population. Cyclical conflict and political gridlock have exacerbated problems of underdevelopment in the region, and the most vulnerable still suffer from interrupted livelihoods, inadequate systems of justice and lack of physical and mental health careâparticularly for women and girl survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
The overwhelming nature of the ongoing conflict in Congo can oftentimes be discouraging, made harder by the fact that we cannot claim to have all the solutions to the complex problems facing the nation at this moment. But at World Relief, we see beyond these seemingly devastating challenges. And we have hope, because we know that the solutions to Congoâs challenges, as well as the capacities to implement them, are already inherent within the communities we serve. That is why, beyond addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable in Eastern Congo, we go a step further to work with and alongside churches and community members toward long-term sustainable change.
Sustainable Solutions
In our sexual and gender-based violence program, we not only provide immediate peer-to-peer psychosocial support and links to medical and legal services, but we also work to change community perceptions and stigmas surrounding SGBV survivors. In communities where survivors are often blamed for what happened to them, World Relief is mobilizing churches and communities to change hearts and minds and to speak out against SGBV to prevent future incidents, as well as to reintegrate survivors into their families and societies.
Similarly, our Peacebuilding work fills a crucial gap for community members seeking justice at the local level. Village Peace Committees (VPCs) do not just provide short-term solutions to disputes, but interrupt cycles of violence and revenge by focusing on reconciliation and forgiveness. Most importantly, families and community members form agreements to bury grievances, relationships are reconciled and potential tensions dissipate before they have the opportunity to spur conflict among wider groups.
In our Agricultural program, we not only equip farming households with improved seeds, tools and training to maximize yields, but we also train them on how to save seeds for future seasons and connect them to savings groups so they can save the income earned from selling their surplus produce and increase their household safety net.
In each of these solutions, World Relief comes alongside local churchesâ the widest and most influential social network in Congo. We currently work through more than 250 churches which are actively mobilizing more than 950 volunteers to reach the most vulnerable, both within and outside their congregations. It is these community members who will remainâlong outlasting World Reliefâs presence and ultimately catalyzing transformation in their communities.
Small Beginnings
These solutions, and ultimately their impact, may not grab headlines. Transformation will not be sudden. Yet at World Relief, we take heart in these small beginnings. Because we know that the Lord rejoices to see this work begin (Zechariah 4:10).
We are grateful for our partners who have had, and continue to have, the courage to embark on a journey of transformation one household, one church and one community at a time. As an old Swahili proverb reassures, âThe careful traveler goes far.â
Thank you for your continued support.
Heidi Dessecker joined World Relief in 2010 and has served in both the US and International Programs. She previously served as the Program Officer for Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. Heidi is passionate about gender issues and reaching women in some of todayâs most complex crises.
VIDEO: Roots of the Tree â Addressing Belief Systems
Elias Kamau is the World Relief Country Director for Kenya. In the video below, he discusses the World Relief approach to sustainable change.
We at World Relief often spend 2-3 years in a community before introducing technical programs, because we believe and recognize that transformation must happen from the inside-out. We know that in order for behaviors to change, belief and value change must first lead the way. And that that change must be rooted in local leaders, addressing local challenges, with local solutions.
Too often, Elias notes, the international community expects instant and easy solutions to massive challenges. But it is vital that we take our time in finding the right solutions, rooted in culturally appropriate lessons, in order to address causation, not just effect. We must come alongside communities, at the right times, with the right local voices, seeking not to solve, but to understand. We must understand the unique values that drive action. That spectrum of understanding, Elias says, is vital for success.
Single-focus, short-term interventions fail to ensure sustainability â in fact, they often breed dependency. Yet through a holistic, nuanced, roots-based approach, harmful beliefs and behaviors can be changed, driving sustainable life-giving results.
We believe the video above gives insight, and helps bring to life, how this kind of transformation happens. And at World Relief, we believe this approach is the only way to achieve lasting change in a community.
World Reliefâs Church Empowerment Zones: This Changes Everything
Picture a village. Remote, undeveloped, overwhelmed by poverty and characterized by broken relationships. Where malnutrition, illness, and a small number of positive role models oftentimes leave children extremely vulnerable. And where the perpetual cycle of poverty cripples entire generations, decade after decade.
Now picture that same village in community. A community characterized by thriving relationships, strengthened families, spiritual richness, economic sustainability, and good health. Picture community leaders and church pastors, once isolated and fragmented, sitting together, in conversation. Learning, talking, sharing, and envisioning. Eager to connect, encourage, and challenge one another. Eager to love and serve the most vulnerable, to fulfill the Great Commission, and see the next generation renewed, restored, and transformed in Christ.
What if I told you about a unique and innovative model, pioneered by World Relief, that fulfills this very vision? A beautifully biblical and thoughtful process by which communities are truly being sustainably changed from the inside out. Where the cycle of poverty is being broken, and communities are beginning to experience a fullness of life unlike anything theyâve ever experienced?
Here it is. Itâs called the Church Empowerment Zone (CEZ) Model. And it changes everything.
âWorld Relief helped us to understand we are many parts of one body, and that we have a responsibility to come together in unity and serve the most vulnerable. That we have to be the answer to our own problems. Now we share our communityâs burdens. we care for the poor and most vulnerable. We are creating love where the Devil was bringing hate and division. We are bringing the Kingdom of God down to Earth.
â Pastor Radolphoâ
Pioneered by World Relief in Rwanda over the last 7 years, our CEZ model is a powerful, unique model that adopts best-practice thinking on âmoving from [interventions] focused on community deficits and professional-client relationships to a model that empowers the community by building on local assets and professional community partnerships.â [1] We do so by establishing local ownership from the outset, focusing on leadership development and capacity building, and building upon our core tool: a transformative curriculum that works to eliminate the underlying causes of poverty and end the vicious cycle once and for all.
World Reliefâs âTransformation Tree Curriculumâ (TTC) focuses on better equipping local pastorsâinspiring and faithful servants of the Lord, who are genuinely called to serve with all their capacity and might. They are resourceful, and their strength and enduring spirit blesses their communities abundantly. And so we stand with and alongside them, sharing in our knowledge and resources.
Our TTC grounds these leaders in the scriptural calling to care for and shepherd all people. It addresses foundational beliefs concerning Godâs compassion for the poor, the root causes of poverty, and our call to love and serve one another. We teach pastors that in order for the vicious cycle of poverty to truly end, value systems, beliefs, and ultimately behaviors must change. We demonstrate that in order for holistic physical transformation to take place, spiritual transformation must first lead the way.
Impact is catalyzed as these leaders are brought together and equipped, not just as a distribution mechanism, but also as change makers and kingdom champions. They are developed as true leaders. They are inspired. They learn to shepherd and, in turn, teach others to be shepherds. They are equipped to transform their communities. And they themselves are transformedâas leaders, teachers, community activists, neighbors, wives, mothers, husbands, and fathers.
But it doesnât stop there.
ââWe used to see so many of our church members not living out their faith. Since the introduction of the World Relief trainings, their lives have changed. They are integrating word and deed. Helping one another, praying, and understanding the word of God.â
â Aurelie Uwinana, Volunteer Leader
â
Once foundational beliefs and values are in place, and World Relief staff have served as initial trainers and catalysts, we equip hundreds of âordinary peopleâ to take part in this great kingdom work. Through our Outreach Group Initiative, we use local church volunteers to reach their neighbors and communities, enabling us to address the deepest of issues that extend beyond the âfront doorâ of the home. Lessons begin with biblical teachings that provide spiritual building blocks for our technical interventions. Parents are taught about the obligation to care for their children as a blessing (Psalm 127:3; 1 Timothy 5:8), farmers about the honor and privilege of tending to land (Genesis 1:28, 2:15), families about the importance of saving and sharing money (1 Corinthians 16:2, Proverbs 13:22), couples about respect and support for one another (Hebrews 10:24, Ecclesiastes 4:9), and many more.
With the building blocks laid and beliefs and values instilled, technical interventions become rooted in powerful scriptural support, and adoption for long-term behavior change becomes possible. We then see the gospel work powerfully through the servants, initiating transformation in their communities because the gospel has become powerful in them and among them.
Evidence of change is not simply anecdotal. Not only did our most recent evaluation reveal significant progress in health behaviors and economic standing (the use of clean latrines up 55.4% from 4.4%, and the expansion of income generating activities up to 90% compared to 67% outside our intervention areas), but also in family strengthening and relationships. 84% of beneficiaries claimed their spousal relationships had improved significantly, and 96% reported better relationships with their children. 75% of couples responded that they now made joint decisions, as opposed to 47% in the comparison area, and attitudes toward domestic violence changed drastically, with less than 15% of respondents justifying wife beating as opposed to over 45% prior to intervention.[2] There is no doubt that these numbers showcase visible, tangible transformation in our targeted communities.
Troshaâs story is one example of the powerful narratives of transformation behind these statistics. As I sat with him in a small community in Bushenge, Rwanda, he told me his story:
âMy wife is HIV Positive. I am HIV negative. Three years ago, we were barely surviving. The conflict at home was unbearable. There was no peace. The issues of HIV in our home led to fighting so bad that we were close to killing one another. So the church came to us, and volunteers invited us into World Reliefâs Mobilizing for Life Program. I began to learn how to treat people with HIV/AIDS, how to support them and give them hope. I began to understand my responsibility for taking care of my wife, and began to care for her and help her with her medicine. After 11 years of pain, we began to live together in peace. Since then, weâve discovered many of our friends are facing similar issues, and weâve gone to over 6 homes to share our lessons and council friends. Now, we join together as happy homes, transformed through our churches and this program, and in community together.â
I met Trosha and his wife sitting on a small wooden bench under a tree, just down the road from their home. At the end of our time together, Trosha invited us to see his humble home before we began the long trip back to Kigali. As he led the way through a small opening in the trees, a clearing came into sight, upon which stood several buildings. On this once small, rented plot, he had created a beautiful, thriving home. A house for his family, a kitchen garden for their food, an animal paddock for their livestock, a clean latrine, an outdoors space for friends and family. This was a little slice of Godâs kingdom, here on earth, blessing Trosha and his family with riches, both spiritual & material, far greater than they could ever have imagined. Whatâs more? His neighborâs homes were beginning to look strangely similar⊠And it was a beautiful, inspiring picture.
Troshaâs story is one of hundreds coming out of our Church Empowerment Zones. The evidence of visible, tangible transformation occurring across multiple domains of intervention, and the corresponding change in belief and value systems, are contributing to truly transformative outcomes in the lives of leaders, volunteers, and beneficiaries alike. Our CEZ model is empowering hundreds of local churches to begin building a legacy of hope, generosity, and self-reliance that sustains progress long after we depart.
âJesus is the one that started the work we do, and we are told to do it. This is why I am doing it – because it is like Jesus.â â Outreach Volunteer
[1] J.P Kretzman and J.L. McKnight: Building Communities from the Inside Out: A path towards finding and mobilizing community assets. (Evanston IL: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, North Western University 1993.)
[2] Integral Mission Outreach Groups. Pilot Project Final Report Evaluation. Bugesera, Rwanda. May 2017. World Relief.
Francesca Albano currently serves as Product Development Lead at World Relief. With a background in strategic marketing communications, she connects her interests in brand strategy, audience engagement, and storytelling around her passionsâchildren, disaster and humanitarian relief, human rights, and poverty alleviation. Francesca best describes herself as a storyteller, writer, foodie, globetrotter, and humanitarian.