Today was our Global Fingerprints day where all the sponsored kids come and have fun. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend because a little mosquito decided to pass along a little illness to me and I needed to stay home and try to recover.
So what is Global Fingerprints, you ask? Let me tell you.
Global Fingerprints is ReachGlobals child sponsorship program. I know some people have some strong opinions about child sponsorship programs that out there but let me tell you a little about Haiti and how this program works here.
Here in Haiti, orphanages create orphans. What do I mean by that? Orphanages come in with the promise of a roof over the child’s head. Food. Education. Parents cant afford to care for all of their children so they send some to an orphanage. And this is becoming more and more socially acceptable. I cannot begin to imagine the desperation a mother and father face when they consider giving up their children.
I have heard the statistic that about 85% of the kids in orphanages in Haiti are not orphans in the true sense of the word. One or both of their parents are still alive. Their aunts, uncles, grandparents are still around.
This is one of the ways Global Fingerprints comes in. They are committed to keeping kids in their families. Each child in the program is living with his or her family.
GF has chosen to work through a local church called Source de la Grace in Port au Prince. Who knows the needs of their community better than those actually living there?! One of their desires was that this program wouldn't be just for their church. About 40% of the children in the program do not attend their church. What an incredible outreach to see the local church reaching out to its community and experiencing the love of Christ through that.
Through this program, the children will be provided with:
- education (tuition, uniforms, shoes, books and supplies),
- health care (preventative education, vaccines, clean water, diagnosis/treatment by doctors),
- nutrition education and supplementation,
- social development (healthy relationships, Biblical world view, character, boundaries), and
- spiritual teaching, training and love
About a month ago, I had the privilege of watching two children receive glasses for the first time as a result of the health care they received through the program. Now they dont have to struggle in school anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment