Moving people towards life

El Refugio partners with a women's rehab center, a migrant camp and local churches to share the gospel and meals with those in need. This provides a great opportunity for the girls from Casa Esther to serve alongside teams from Canada. This can look like devotions and a meal, VBS and food hampers, or hearing from a church that there is a family in need of a house and joining together to build them a home.

The Institute for Christian Holistic Training (ITCI) and Empowering Action aims to train pastors and community leaders in communities in the Dominican Republic. Through their programs, ITCI seeks to strengthen the godly character of servant leaders in the communities and to provide tools and abilities to increase the competences of local leaders.

These ministries, led by Carlos Pimental, developed a variety of curricula to provide training in small groups and communities to equip the local leaders and pastors, with a focus on the basics of Christianity, so that they can apply biblical principles in all aspects of life. ITCI also provides other resources to multiply mentors in the communities.

‍

In an effort to provide women with another source of income, a sewing program has been set up. Women in nearby areas have the opportunity to participate in a sewing course. They are trained to create the typical Indian dresses: salwar kurta, saree blouses and petticoats as well as frocks. Women gather together in village centres to learn together. Once they complete the course, they take an official government exam for certification. As villages complete these sessions, new sessions are set up in other villages.

‍

‍

In Addis Ababa, street kids, particularly young children, have recently become more prevalent. Young children flee rural hardship and, frequently, family dissolution by emigrating to the city. In many cases poverty, in combination with the economic crisis, natural disasters, the civil war, or family problems are the factors that have driven the children to the streets. 

Simple Acts of Kindness (SAK) has been working to support and empower street children with income generating activities and education so that they can become economically independent and self sufficient, thereby protecting them from being vulnerable and rescuing them from a life of living on the street. 

Another part of the program is to reconnect children with their family. Children often flee from their family because of extreme poverty and the hope for a better life in the city, but after a while they long to be reunited with their family. Simple Acts of Kindness wants to support the children who desire to go back to their rural communities to be with their family again.

There are many people that need medical attention but are unable to see a doctor. These medical issues often escalate, causing dire conditions for people. Strong Roots will continue to provide funds and transport the sick to get medical help that is beyond the scope of the medical clinic in the community center. Strong Roots also assists medical teams who arrange for clinics in the communities to provide extra resources and care.

‍

La escuela Jesus Vienne is a place of love and learning. It is a safe place for students to hear about the love of God and to experience it first hand through the teachers' encouraging words and the fellowship of the student body.

Public schools in San Raymundo are over-crowded and under staffed so, as a result, the quality of education is very poor.

Sponsorship of students allows the staff to be provided with a small salary and to help in the expenses of the supplies needed to keep classes running. Groups that sponsor children at the school are encouraged to make a trip, meet the students and create ties that encourage students to do well and show the visiting team the value of sponsorship.

The board at Jesus Vienne Church has a vision to build a new school that will equip children in the community with a strong, Christian-based education, especially for those students who are not currently attending school because of financial difficulties.

The building will be an extension of the church, with classrooms doubling as Sunday School space.

‍

Child sponsorship provides a child within a community with clean water, nutritious food, healthcare, education, spiritual nurture and more. In this child sponsorship program, the child receives school-related supplies, monthly hygiene kits, annual health check-ups, and educational tutorials.

The Arise and Shine Early Childhood Development (ECD) program was started by a compassionate woman named Beatrice who, like many of our partners, saw a need and wanted to do something to address it. After retiring from her position as a school teacher, she noticed that children in her community were not attending any ECD programs to prepare them for school, so she started a program in her home for less fortunate children.  

Shortly after that, Beatrice and her husband, Alex, decided to sell Beatrice's pension and use the funds to build a classroom for the children. They took in 45 children between the ages of 2-6! Many of these children do not have parents but are cared for by a guardian/family member.  

Thanks to donations from Voice of Hope the school has expanded to four classes, a kitchen/dining hall, a sturdy playground, clean latrines and wash houses, a fresh water well, stipends for teachers and up-to-date curriculum.  

Education is notoriously poor in the remote and impoverished regions of Haiti where Lemuel works to make a difference by providing a quality education.

In 2012, Lemuel ministries began construction of the only school in the entire area. Many children in the community were either not going to school at all or traveling long distances to get at least some education. About 150 children attend the K-7 school, and up until recently have been utilizing the non-completed school building.

Recent funding has made it possible for Lemuel to not only complete the elementary school building, but also construct an adjacent kindergarten to increase their capacity as demand continues to grow in the community!