Child & Family Support programme to expand into Africa
Samaritans Purse has been supporting needy children and their families since 1998. Families in Romania, Ukraine and Portugal have been assisted by local churches that work in conjunction with Samaritans Purse, and who receive sponsorship from the UK to support their work with these families.
Through this partnership more than 5,400 children and their families have and continue to be supported!
Samaritan’s Purse now has the opportunity to take the Child & Family Support programme to Africa. We have identified that there are 2.5 million vulnerable children living in Uganda alone who could benefit greatly from the programme. Access to these children is enhanced by the presence of the Christian Church in Uganda, which allows ample opportunity for partnerships with a well established network of churches.
Our approach to the problem
Samaritan’s Purse’s is looking to extend the Child & Family Support programme in Africa by:
Partnering with the local church in Uganda. These churches will work to increase food security and improve livelihoods for families and make sure their children can and do attend school.
Training, undertaken by local churches, who will look to raise up 10 volunteers from within the church to get alongside families in need, supporting them and giving them hope.
Supporting of needy children and their families, with each volunteer supporting two families. That means 20 families per church will receive help. The model is designed to ensure that no church that participates is overloaded or unduly burdened.
This programme has vast potential to improve the lives of many families in Uganda and together we can meet the needs of families and help break the poverty cycle once and for all. In the future, we are looking to start programmes beyond Uganda in other African countries and the former Soviet Union.
To be able to partner with the local church in Uganda and set up a Child & Family Support programme, we need to raise £21,000 by the end of October 2010, which will be used to recruit a full-time worker, provide training materials and support volunteers.
Get Involved
1) Consider what you can do to help us reach our target – we need to raise £21,000. You can play a part in helping us reach our target by making a donation here.
2) Tell your friends and family, people at work, or those in your church or community about the need and opportunity to get involved in this programme.
3) Pray for us as we seek to meet the needs of children and families in Africa.
If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please register your interest by emailing our Child & Family Support Coordinator Fran Sutton-Smith (fran.sutton-smith@samaritans-purse.org.uk ). Payments of £18 a month will be collected by Direct Debit from January 2011.
For more information about the Child & Family Support programme, please download a copy of our recent newsletter. To read a story on the impact of the programme in Romania, click here.
