This will be my second trip to Peru in a year as we continue our life-changing work on the ground through the exciting new partnership we established in 2012.

Before my first visit to Peru last year, I wasn’t expecting to see such suffering  . . . such need  . . . such hopelessness. I didn’t realize that generations of women were being physically and psychologically abused with nowhere to turn. I hadn’t seen the thousands of impoverished Peruvians forced to work hours in the treacherous salt mines for little pay . . . raising their children in caves on the side of a mountain. I wasn’t aware of the depth of spiritual confusion and despair experienced by those who have extensive special needs and are being shuffled to the outskirts of society. I didn’t know.

But I know now!

This is why I’m passionately committed to expanding our outreach projects in Peru like never before, and showing you how together, we can help bring restoration and renewal to a people who have endured centuries of oppression and poverty.

My team and I will be distributing food and survival necessities to families with starving children as we work alongside our feeding program, which is already operating at full capacity to reach these remote mountain communities.

We’ll be visiting new churches, distributing Bibles, and meeting with church planters and leaders to discuss strategies that promote spiritual engagement and offer hope to thousands.

Brand-new water projects will be finalized, providing clean water to hundreds and paving the way for better health and improved economies while freeing up time to pursue education and career opportunities.

Peruvians with the burden of immobility will be given the freedom and independence they’ve longed for through the gift of a wheelchair, a copy of God’s Word, and the ongoing support of a local church.

Women and girls who have been victimized by abuse will see the hope of a new beginning through our outreach at Grace Home. We will be looking for ways to further expand and support this incredible program, which will enable us to take in even more victims who have nowhere else to turn.

Every single day, our team will have the extraordinary privilege of being the hands and feet of Jesus on the ground to these hurting people. Every day we’ll be working together with our national partners to continue our vision for sustainability, efficiency, and dignity for those we serve.

Elie Wiesle, a survivor of the Holocaust once famously said, “Not to transmit an experience is to betray it.”

To not share with you the reality and depth of human need that I see is to betray the experience I’ve been given . . . and waste the opportunity you and I have to be the change the world is waiting for.

I hope you’ll join me next week for regular updates and reflections on what God is doing in Peru and how you can be a part of the transformation.

Subscribe to my blog to receive daily posts from the field sent right to your inbox. You can also follow me on Twitter (@vernonbrewer) and Facebook for up-to-the-minute trip photos and updates.

Please join me for this unforgettable experience!

Honoring one of our Operations managers, Chris Falwell, for 10 years of dedicated service to World Help.

Relay race time–this is more difficult than it looks!

Then the news of his tumor came. The small bump on his lower back had grown alarmingly large. She watched helplessly as it slowly began to paralyze his legs—each passing month bringing an increased level of agonizing pain.

But his parents are poor . . . they have nothing—they can barely put food on the table. How could they possibly afford surgery for him? His mother prayed for a miracle, but in the deepest place of her heart, she questioned whether she would lose the child that had changed her life.

By the time we met Jose, he was completely incapacitated. He could only sit in a slumped position and dragged himself across the dirty yard of his small home in the center of a dusty Guatemalan village.

Our team knew they had to act quickly if they wanted to save Jose from the cancer that was climbing his spinal cord. But it would take the highest level of skill . . . and it would be costly.

Our Medical Emergency Fund was created exactly for situations like these. The gifts of several generous supporters allowed specialists to immediately remove the 11-pound tumor from Jose’s back. For the first time since he was a baby, he was pain-free. His first laugh after the operation made Jose’s mother’s heart dance—she hadn’t heard it in so long.

Children, like Jose, should never have to endure debilitating pain as long as we’re able to do something about it. And that’s why the Medical Emergency Fund exists . . . so they don’t have to!

But the fund doesn’t just save lives; it helps restore hope to mothers by restoring their children.

This Mother’s Day, we want to share the chance to bring this kind of restoration. There’s no greater gift for a mother than knowing her children are healthy . . . that they have the strength to face life . . . that their futures are full of promise.

Watch “Jamison’s Story” from World Help on Vimeo.

When you give to help children through the Medical Emergency Fund, we encourage you to think of your own mother! Give this precious gift in her honor and then share it with her by sending one of our special e-cards.

This Sunday is all about appreciating the women who do so much for their children and families. And we can’t think of a better way to do that than by giving help and hope to mothers around the world. This year, let’s celebrate our moms in an unconventional, powerful, and liberating way—by giving a gift that will be lived out in a lifetime of health!

It’s about life and death, survival and suffering . . . and the bleak reality that if we don’t respond now, the future of an entire nation hangs in the balance.

The U.N estimates that 1.4 million refugees have already poured out of Syria, seeking asylum across neighboring borders. As many as 8,000 are fleeing the country every day.

Millions are still trying to escape, trapped in a nightmare of slaughter, mass rape, and destruction. Over 4 million have been displaced within Syria . . . half of them are children.

After more than two years of bloody conflict, a whole generation of children is now facing tremendous risk. Perpetual instability has toppled all nationalized medical care, causing hospitals to go underground. Routine immunizations, usually administered at a young age, are now scarcely available. As a result, thousands of children are being affected by outbreaks of measles and other deadly diseases.

Cramped living conditions in refugee camps and makeshift dwellings have become increasingly unsanitary, causing disease to spread throughout the population.

Mothers are struggling to keep their children alive, putting themselves in danger out of sheer desperation, trading their bodies for survival and protection.

An entire nation is on the brink of collapse, and millions of Syrians are wondering if anyone in the world cares enough to help . . . if anyone sees their suffering and hears their cries . . . if anyone is bold enough to say, “ENOUGH.”

This is not just a conflict, it’s an emergency . . . and I need your help today to bring relief and hope to thousands of displaced Syrians.

Watch “Restoring Hope to Syrian Refugees” from World Help on Vimeo.

World Help is strategically positioned to respond not only to the needs of refugees who have fled the nation, but also to internally-displaced families within Syria. Our network of aid and relief partners are working around the clock to distribute life-saving supplies like food, medicine, hygiene kits, blankets, and more to thousands in need.

I just received an update from one of our partners on the ground reporting delivery of aid to the very frontlines of the conflict in Syria:

I managed to organize a convoy of relief aid all bought in Turkey and hauled into Syria. We visited the refugee camps on the borderline, and a destroyed city called Azaz north of Aleppo. The trip was a good example of how devout Christians can make a difference. World Help gave me the motivation and tenacity to accomplish the unthinkable.

This is a window of opportunity that we cannot take for granted. Right now the response has been too little . . . but that doesn’t mean it’s too late.

Your gift today can make a remarkable difference for a Syrian refugee . . . it can save a life.

• A gift of $20 will provide food and medicine for a refugee child for one month.
• A gift of $100 will provide food and medicine for an entire refugee family for one month.
• A gift of $1,000 will provide food and medicine for 10 refugee families for one month.

Let us be the ones that say “Enough“ by giving our brothers and sisters in Syria the hope of a second chance. There’s no better time to act than now.

World Help is proud to work with our partners around the world who are committed to excellence in their pursuit of providing resources and restoring hope to millions worldwide. We are also grateful to our dedicated donors and passionate supporters who come alongside us to accomplish life-changing work that will outlive us and last for eternity.

Suresh Peter is just one of our partners in India who works with children in leper colonies, providing care and rebuilding futures. His childhood greatly affected his decision for the work he is doing in India today.

He lived in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India, and grew up in a leper colony on the outskirts of the city. Excluded from society, he and his family were considered less than human, outcasts, banished to India’s lowest social order . . . the “untouchables.”

Suresh’s mother suffered from leprosy and even lost some of her fingers due to the devastating disease. She was living in a critical situation and eventually passed away when Suresh was only 3 years old. After her death, Suresh was left in the care of his father who neglected his son and wasted their income on alcohol. Suresh’s situation was one of tragedy and desperation.

Staff from a nearby children’s home came to the colony where they found Suresh alone on the dirty streets, without anyone to care for him. He was taken in by the home where he received the love and attention he needed. At age 18, after Suresh left the children’s home, his father tragically killed himself leaving his son a total orphan.

Because of his heart-wrenching childhood, Suresh had an overwhelming passion to help other children who were experiencing the same desperate situations he found himself in as a small boy.

Those who suffer from leprosy face the stigma of not only the physical disease but social neglect and severe poverty. As a result of this disease, many children become orphans, but their families, neighbors, and governments are unwilling to help. Suresh refused to do nothing. Instead, he followed God’s call and pursued a ministry in the city of Indore, North India.

It was here that Suresh established two facilities—the Abundant Life Daycare Center and Abundant Life Children’s Home—where we partner to provide a refuge for children who have been affected by leprosy. Those who are part of these programs have their basic needs met, receive a quality education, and most important, they are given the opportunity to learn more about God’s compassionate love. Through sponsorship, these children are receiving the chance for a brighter future.

Where children were once left without any hope for a promising future, hope has now been restored.  They now have access to a quality education that will help build their futures and end the cycle of poverty.

Every child should have the ability to hope and deserves opportunities for success. More and more children are being given that chance through our supporters and partners, like Suresh. We encourage you to get involved too! You can begin to make an eternal investment by choosing to sponsor a child today.

Homeless and afraid, Dhuli sought refuge in a leper colony, which was nothing more than a pathetic series of dilapidated buildings on the outskirts of her village . . . a life sentence of pain and destitution.

The truth is, leprosy isn’t just an ancient condition dating back to Jesus’ day. It’s a deadly disease that is enslaving thousands of impoverished people in India . . . right at this very moment. Every single year, approximately 130,000 new cases of leprosy are reported in India alone, more than every other country put together.

Today, you can be a part of reaching some of the world’s most destitute people with help that can save lives and hope that can give freedom for years to come. Your generous gift will help heal lepers in India with life-saving medical care, preventative support, and critical necessities needed for survival.

It will also allow the lives of the children of lepers to be saved—releasing them from the pain of this terrible affliction through preventative actions. Along with helping meet the physical needs of these suffering individuals, our programs are committed to restoring hope by sharing the good news of the Gospel.

I just returned from India, a country I’ve visited many times before. But this time, I began to see the seriousness of the disease through new eyes . . . God’s eyes. People living there are suffering in the most deplorable conditions imaginable.

The disease has eaten away at their limbs, leaving many permanently disfigured, unable to stand, walk, or care for themselves. Children are more susceptible to the disease than adults. Once a child has contracted leprosy, they can expect a lifetime of belittlement and abuse . . . the miserable destiny of India’s lowest social order—the dalits, or “untouchables.”

As I took in the scene from God’s perspective, I understood the complete helplessness of those that surrounded me. I realized the burden of this terrible disease . . . the loneliness, the pain, the complete misery. Lepers are literally despised and abandoned by all, even their own people.

Yet Jesus intentionally sought after those the world had rejected. He touched the untouchables. I remember thinking . . . if Jesus was on earth today, He would probably be right here in India working among the lepers.

This is why World Help is committed to continue our efforts to strategically reach leper communities in central India with help and hope. But this is only the beginning.

Developing relationships create a foundation of trust and allow us to invest in long-term community and spiritual development. In order to prevent the spread of leprosy and offer a future of opportunity for their children, many lepers have allowed their sons and daughters to live at our children’s home in the area or attend the local World Help-supported school. Through these initiatives, the children’s basic needs are being met, they are educated in proper sanitation practices, and the love of Jesus is being shared with the next generation . . . allowing the cycle of leprosy to be broken.

At every stage, the hope of the Gospel is being planted in the hearts of hundreds. By providing the gift of God’s Word and other Christian literature to help nurture spiritual growth, we’ve seen countless numbers of lepers give their lives to Jesus Christ.

Forty years later, after enduring a lifetime of suffering, Dhuli finally found the healing and hope she had been searching for:

I had lost my hope and thought I was going to die. The leprosy mission staff came and they all prayed for me and took me to the hospital. And also they helped me in my hospital needs. Now I am completely healed and I realize that it is God’s love that makes me live in this world. Now I can say that His love is truth and it gives the life to people.

What an extraordinary reminder of what’s possible when we are willing to be used by God to help heal and restore. Hundreds of lepers, like Dhuli, are waiting right now for this same chance.

Funds are desperately needed for this incredible program—to heal suffering lepers who are desperate for help to come . . . and hope to arrive. You can transform the life of someone living with leprosy by sending your generous gift today.

• $50 can treat and support 10 lepers for one month
• $250 can treat and support 10 leper families for one month
• $1,000 can treat and support 40 leper families for one month
• $6,000 can treat and support 100 leper families for an entire year

Will you help me be the hands and feet of Jesus to these lepers and their children?

A gift of any amount can make a tremendous difference, making an immediate impact possible and laying the groundwork for the Gospel to be shared.

I encourage you to step out in compassion. Help us reach some of the most vulnerable people on earth. All it takes is a willing heart and a simple gift.

This Mother’s Day, we’re working to empower children with this kind of love . . . a love that transcends all understanding.

When he was just 15 days old, Jairo’s mother died from complications related to his birth. She was only 18-years-old—almost a child herself.

Devastated by his wife’s death and overwhelmed by the responsibilities of parenthood, Jairo’s father left him to be raised by his grandparents. They immediately noticed how malnourished he was, and without milk or formula, Jairo’s health plummeted. Severe diarrhea depleted his body of any fighting strength he had left . . . his grandparents came to accept that he would soon die.

He was barely over 4 pounds when our Operation Baby Rescue team found him in a dusty, remote Guatemalan village. His skin clung in wrinkles over his tiny protruding bones. His endless wails of pain and labored breathing indicated he was only hours away from death.

Jairo was immediately taken to our rescue center where he received life-saving nutrition and emergency medical care. He’s growing stronger every day . . . unrecognizable from the child he was just a few months ago!

Tragically, Jairo will never know his mother . . . but through rescue, he has already experienced the loving care she would have given him. Operation Baby Rescue not only offers the medical care these children need, but they are shown love as well.

Watch Jamison’s Story and learn how Rescue, medical attention, and child sponsorship transformed his life.

This Mother’s Day, we want to invite you to show this incredible love to a child in need . . . to those who have never known the love of a mother.

When you give to honor your mother through Operation Baby Rescue, you can send a special personalized Mother’s Day e-card! This is an incredible way to tell your mother how much of an impact her love had in your life.

Don’t miss this opportunity to spread your mother’s influence around the world . . . and change lives as you do.

Although modern medicine has enabled us to treat malaria successfully for years, access to treatment options and preventative programs are not equally available worldwide. Most victims live in sub-Saharan Africa where funding for simple, life-saving initiatives is severely lacking, and medical clinics are few and far between.

That’s why today—World Malaria Day—is so important. Thousands of children are still dangerously susceptible to this devastating disease, dying needlessly when sometimes all they needed were mosquito nets.

Together, we have the power to change this.

In partnership with our Child Sponsorship Programs throughout Africa, we are taking a stand against malaria . . . one child at a time.

We invest in three key areas of malarial care: education, prevention, and treatment. In the classroom, children are learning the proper preventative techniques for avoiding malaria and recognizing the symptoms early if they are infected. Through the help of our supporters, we are working to provide mosquito nets for children and their families, allowing them to sleep in peace and protection, perhaps for the very first time in their lives. We are also determined to fully supply each of our medical clinics with crucial resources needed to offer malaria patients the quality care they deserve.

Twelve-year-old Jersey is a bright, young student who participates in our Good Samaritan Child Sponsorship Program in Uganda. After experiencing some abnormal flu-like symptoms, Jersey saw a nurse from our medical team and was tested for malaria. The results were positive. This young man’s knowledge of the warning signs may have saved his life.

Stories like this show how our efforts are making a difference . . . but we need your help to continue protecting thousands of lives.

For $25, you can provide simple but reliable protection for a child, like Jersey, or even an entire family by supplying mosquito nets. You can also give a gift of any amount to the Medical Emergency Fund, which helps treat children with life-threatening cases of malaria and other diseases.

Ending the reign of deadly diseases, like malaria, is one of the United Nations’ Millennial Development Goals—an ongoing global effort to drastically reduce the effects of poverty by 2015. Together, we have the opportunity to make an immediate difference in the lives of those battling against malaria.

Join us today by making the decision to act. It’s a choice that could save a life . . . and make a difference for years to come.

Yet there are more than 150 million children in our world today that have never known this kind of love. Orphaned by AIDS . . . extreme poverty . . . the imprisonment of the sex-trade . . . natural disasters, there are millions of children without the empowering love of a mother.

This Mother’s Day, we want to give you a unique opportunity to tell your mother how much you love her by showing the same love she showed you . . . to a child in need. Our Child Sponsorship Program allows us to wrap our arms around orphaned children and tell them: You are loved.

Meet Jamison. His story shows how rescue, our medical emergency fund, and sponsorship work together to transform lives:

What better way to honor your mother than by sharing this kind of enveloping love with a child who so desperately needs it? This Mother’s Day, tell your mom how much you love her in a way that will last . . . a way that will leave behind a legacy of love.

Perhaps you wish to leave a gift in memory of your mother—sharing her love with a child is a meaningful way to honor her life!

When you give on behalf of your mother, you can also choose from one of our three exclusive e-cards to send. It’s an incredible way to go beyond the Hallmark sentiment and say “I love you” in a brand new way.

Tell your mom she means the world to you . . . by sharing your love around the world.

Homes are burned, assassinations are mainstay . . . but in the midst of the violence, World Help partners are working. Although popular mediums may never share about these ethnic clashes, compassionate men and women are risking their lives to bring aid to these refugees. Thanglal Haokip is one of those who has chosen to intervene.

Even though he lives several hours away from the violence, Thanglal travels to refugee camps to distribute clothing, medical supplies . . . and the love of Christ. He shared that his efforts have sparked curiosity from the refugees:

“They respond in saying, ‘Why only Christians are visiting us and helping us, whereas others are not seen?’”

Thanglal’s work is felt on an even deeper level by these victims, given the dangerous conditions he must travel to reach the refugee camps. His three-hour journey requires him to pass through miles of dangerous jungles and cross a swollen river with a current so strong, one misstep could prove fatal.

“But we do this because we love Jesus,” Thanglal told us.

This dedication to bring physical and eternal hope is inspiring, and World Help celebrates our international partners like Thanglal. Partners like these are not only our eyes as they help us identify urgent needs, but they are our hands and feet working on the ground all over the world. And they do so with passion, excellence, and a vision to make a lasting impact.

So often, their work takes a level of courage many would find rare today. In addition to the demanding responsibilities of their work, they must also care for their own families. Many face opposition, persecution, and the daily battle of disappointment.

Will you join World Help in praying for these faithful men and women? Pray for their protection, endurance, and encouragement.

“I want to thank World Help for giving me the opportunity to serve my people. Without your leading, training, and support all these might not be possible,” Thanglal said.

Our financial and prayer support for these partners is crucial, but it’s also a privilege! Thank you for helping us come alongside these individuals to bring hope to millions around the world.

Week after week, the children put their best efforts into their performances—all with smiles on their faces and incredible attitudes. Needless to say, every break and fun activity is well deserved and enjoyed by everyone.

Here are a few of the highlights from 2013:

The children at the White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Visiting the chilly but beautiful Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Thrilled at the sight of the Grand Canyon, an American landmark the children will never forget!

Getting some sun and sand at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California.

Learning and laughing at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina.

Thank you for opening your homes to these incredible children. Your love is a huge source of support and encouragement during their time away from home. Your continued interest in each of their lives is truly amazing, and we hope you will follow our Facebook page for regular Children of the World updates.

Thanks for following their journey!

After growing up in a strict religious family, Mannu made the decision to abandon her devout heritage and commit her life to God . . . but at a great cost. She was disowned by her family—abandoned by those she loved the most. Yet she emerged from this great loss and began living her life with a new objective.

Moved by the plight of women in India, Mannu began a ministry in the red-light district where sex trafficking is more prevalent and young girls are at risk of sexual abuse. Her vision for this ministry was sparked after counseling 97 girls who were rescued from a brothel. Listening to their stories gave her an ultimate challenge: She had to find a way to make a difference.

Today, she is doing just that through the Waasta Children’s Home. It strategically ministers to the daughters of women trapped in prostitution. Many of their mothers work in the sex industry simply as a last resort to overcome the crippling force of poverty. They sell themselves to provide for their children . . . out of pure desperation.

And since many of these women are also HIV/AIDS victims, they are frequently sick and unable to care for their children. Without protection, their daughters are at risk of sexual abuse and even of being trafficked into other big cities, such as New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai where the sex trade is more active. Life for these families is one perpetual cycle of fear and despair.

But through World Help’s partnership with the Waasta Children’s Home, hope is being restored. Sponsorship provides each young girl with essential provisions, spiritual nurturing, and the ability to attend school. They are also given the opportunity to undergo trauma counseling and develop specialized skills through arts and crafts, computer classes, and music.

And for their mothers, we can give no greater gift. Knowing that their children are cared for is a promise powerful enough to redeem them from their desperate lifestyles.

Together, Mannu, the Wastaa Children’s Home, and World Help are strategically altering futures by fighting the injustice of hopelessness characterized by the Indian sex trade. Join us as we work in the lives of innocent children by instilling the resounding power of hope.

Invest in the lives of Indian children like those at Waasta Children’s Home today.

After nearly two years of civil war and the senseless slaughter of almost 70,000 innocent civilians, the nation of Syria is collapsing . . . millions are fleeing for their lives.

I spoke with refugees who had literally lost everything and everyone. They told me about family members being tortured and shot . . . their friends humiliated and beaten . . . their homes and all their possessions burned to the ground.

Their voices began to break as they told me about the children—maimed, tortured, used as human shields, ripped from their mothers arms—stories that don’t seem important enough to make our news headlines. It’s time for this insanity to stop. We must respond with urgency today, while there’s still time.

Your gift of $20, $50, $100, $500, or more will help provide crucial relief for a refugee family by providing supplies like food, medicine, blankets, heaters, hygiene items, and much more. Without immediate funding, thousands of refugees will not be able to survive the brutal days ahead.

I visited a refugee camp along the Syrian-Jordanian border called Za’atari. Over 80,000 Syrian refugees are crammed into masses of flimsy tents that stretch as far as the eye can see. Proper sanitation is next to impossible; and the steady pounding of rain has caused latrines to overflow. Food and medicine shortages are causing tensions to mount. People are uneasy . . . fearful that a panic-induced riot could erupt at any second.

Restoring Hope to Syrian Refugees from World Help on Vimeo.

Not long after we had arrived, I saw a man hurrying toward me carrying a tiny baby. When he finally reached me, he began to push the baby into my arms, repeating the same words over and over.

I quickly learned that his wife had been killed, and he had been trying to keep his 3-month-old daughter alive by himself in the bitter cold temperatures. He was afraid the baby was dying, and he wanted me to take her so her life might be spared. He was trying to give me his own daughter.

I stood there, stunned. Dear God—This man has just lost his wife, and he’s about to lose his baby too.

He would rather give her to me—a total stranger—than risk having her die in his arms.

I took the man to one of our partners on the ground and promised him we would do all we could to help him and his daughter. And then, with tears in my eyes, I had to walk away as I tried to regain my composure . . . it was a moment I will never forget. I was staring into the face of hopelessness.

We cannot continue to let this crisis defeat the people of Syria any longer . . . not when the lives of millions are at stake. What is it going to take for us to respond? How many innocent Syrians have to die before we do something about this?

Fear is stealing away all hope for their future. It’s a kind of misery I’ll never fully understand, a sorrow I have not experienced. All I can do is give what I have—my time, my talents, my prayers, and my resources—to lift up my fellow man . . . our brothers and sisters who are begging for someone to reach them with help and hope. Will that person be you? Will you be the answer to a refugee’s prayer today?

• A gift of $20 will provide food and medicine for a refugee child for one month.
• A gift of $100 will provide these same necessities for an entire refugee family for one month.
• A gift of $1,000 will provide food and medicine for 10 refugee families for one month.

Please join me today by sending your most generous gift. The impact your gift makes will mean the difference between life and death for a family, hope and despair for a mother, a future of restoration, or no future at all for thousands of desperate children.

There’s still time to make an immediate difference . . . but we must act now.

It’s not often that sponsors have the opportunity to meet the children they care for, but when they do . . . the experience is unforgettable for both.

Stephen and Winnie Lewis are two of our sponsors who recently met Rashmi, one of their sponsored children from Nepal.

When they were informed she would be part of our 2012-13 Children of the World choir, they made plans to attend a concert where they could meet her face to face. Winnie even endured three hours of traffic for the chance to see Rashmi! Their visit was exciting, and they will always treasure the time they spent laughing with her, giving some special gifts, and watching her perform.

Stephen and Winnie enjoyed meeting Rashmi and capturing some pictures together.

Rashmi was thrilled as Stephen and Winnie gave her some special gifts.

Francis meets Tracy Hamilton, one of his sponsors from the Concord Baptist Church women’s group.

Many of the Children of the World choir members have had the opportunity of meeting their sponsors during their time in the United States. It’s an experience that both the children and their sponsors cherish—making their commitment to each other even more meaningful.

Child sponsorship impacts a child’s life on so many levels. Learn more by visiting worldhelp.net/sponsor.

Easter is the celebration of Jesus Christ—His compassion, our renewal . . . and eternal hope. It marks the promise of redemption. And it is the foundation for how we reach out to others.

This Easter, we want to reflect this promise with thousands in desperate need of hope . . . through Gifts of Hope. These unique gifts are strategic ways we can invest in lives by providing sustainable health and well-being to struggling communities.

In some cases, hope comes in an unpredictable form—Chickens. They’re a source of essential nutrition, income, fertilizer, and can be bred easily. They can help a village overcome hunger, weak agriculture, poor economy, and hopelessness.

In the rural community of Chegutu, Zimbabwe, dozens of families have fought the crushing effects of extreme poverty . . . decade after tiring decade.

But the seed of hope has been planted in this village. With the help of individuals like you, we had the opportunity to personally distribute chickens to families in Chegutu.

We watched as their faces lit up! Suddenly, the slumped shoulders of exhausted fathers straightened into proud postures. Mothers beamed with dignity and gratitude. The children laughed carefree as the chickens squawked around their feet.

These simple gifts were the start of a new kind of hope for Chegutu.

Easter represents the gift of hope. And we want to share this same generosity with those who need it most—like the people of Chegutu. It’s a promise that requires only a simple action. Will you join us?

This Easter, give the gift of hope. 

*Browse our spring 2013 catalog here to learn more about how you can bring sustainable hope. You’ll find chickens, rabbits, harvest-producing seeds, and so many more opportunities to leave a legacy of hope in the lives of those without it.