I am aware that this blog has been unusually quiet these past few weeks. It isn’t that there are not tragedies or emergencies to report or that there are no stories to tell or faces to share. Instead I have found myself overwhelmed with the amount of tragedies and injustices that so many around the world face on a daily basis. It only takes a brief pause on the news channel while surfing the tube, a quick click of a mouse on the CNN home page or the unfolding of the morning newspaper and scan of the headlines to be reminded of the reality that this world is full of injustice and need.
Do you ever do what I have done these past few weeks and get so overwhelmed by it all that you are paralyzed to silence? Do you ever sit and wonder how your $5, $10, $32 etc. could ever possibly help the millions that are dying of hunger? Or how prayers and letters to your sponsored child could affect their day to day life and change the course of their future? Does this paralysis ever push you to a point of inaction as it has me? As I was taking a walk today with my son I realized that by ignoring the injustices faced by those in the world around me I was only adding to them. My goal for this blog has always been that peoples voices around the world would be heard. That we could share the stories and faces of children and their families who are being impacted by sponsorship. In my silence I was communicating exactly what I have been trying to overcome.
So in light of what I have just shared I wish to bring attention to not only a need but an upcoming opportunity. So many times I imagine, we have each read that passage in James about true religion being caring for orphans and widows. Jesus did not view religion as sitting in the pews at church on a Sunday morning or lifting your hands in worship though these are beneficial in their own right. Instead Jesus was intent on sharing his life with “the least of these” while he spent his three years in public ministry. I have to imagine that there were many stories that were never told or instances that were never even seen because Jesus cared for these people in private.
Sunday November 8th has been claimed by many churches and organizations as “Orphan Sunday”. A day set aside to bring awareness to the need to minister to the millions of orphans worldwide, even some here in our own communities. These orphans don’ t just need our money thrown in their direction but more importantly they need the love of someone who cares and the love that only the true Father can provide. Not every church will be making a big deal of “Orphan Sunday” but I hope that it can be a day that we can at least lift our prayers up for the work that is being done by so many to impact the lives of these children. That they may grow up knowing that they are loved and they are not alone.
Food for the Hungry’s Child Sponsorship program does that in many communities around the world. The field staff spend time with these children that have lost so much because of war, disease or famine. These children are taught about the love of a Father and encouraged to study and learn that they may grow up to change their lives, their families lives and ultimately the future of their country. If you are overwhelmed by the injustices you see in our world and these realities paralyze you to inaction, I challenge you to overcome this paralysis by simply taking one step at a time. One easy way to do this is to sponsor a child for $32 a month. Not only will your funds be used to develop the community where your child lives, but you will also have an opportunity to write to your child and build a relationship. It is this relationship that will change the future for this child.
As HIV/AIDS and other fatal diseases have struck the continent of Africa and the rest of the world a new kind of family has been created. One that is virtually unheard of in the developing world because we understand the absolute chaos it would be. These families are what we call Child Headed Households meaning that when the parents pass away the oldest child becomes the surrogate parents to the younger children. More often than not though the oldest is still a child themself. Our West Coast Regional Manager of our Advocate Ministry, Wendy McMahan has an incredible passion for bringing light to the injustice that is happening around the world. She does so through her podcasts. She just recently focused one of these podcasts on these
” 100% of the families in Tibag and Curayao were affected on different levels. Some families lost all of their belongings (house and what they own), some have kept their house but there is nothing left inside. Some families kept their houses and belongings but they are no longer useful. Many CDP children neeed new school materials, bags, uniforms and sleepers. Some families have returned to their respective houses but some families continue to stay in relocation sites as they have no homes to return to. The entire community is full of mud, they don’t have clean water or electricity at this time. Classes are suspended until further notice because schools are currenty being used as evacuation centers. The need is great- food, clothing, drinking water, cleaning materials, rubber boots, school materials, utensils and stoves. Having a church within the community is a great encouragement for the families.
Although the church was also affected, the pastor and the church members continue to serve unselfishly. The church was opened for the families to do their laundry because the church has water from a deep well. About 7 families are staying in the church.”
Saturday brought hours and hours of rainfall to Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. This rain was a result of typhoon Ketsana that was not expected to have much affect on the islands of the Philippines. This storm was only expected to be a category 1 storm and yet the rain that was brought by this storm in just a matter of five hours was the same amount of rain that they usually receive in a months time. In just six hours, Manila received over 13 inches of rain, they average 15 inches for this whole month.
Our field staff in Kenya have alerted us to a problem that is also being reported by many news sources. There is a food crisis in Kenya that is affecting 3.8 million people and part of the reason for this is the drought that this country is experiencing. This drought has been blamed for a number of
There are so many success stories that come from our field offices. Children and their families who participate in Food for the Hungry programs and their lives are changed. I love to read these stories. There is nothing like reading about transformation. As sponsors here in the US we don’t get to see the incredible things that go on in the field and in these people’s lives. Hopefully sharing some of these stories on this blog will help us as sponsors get a brief glimpse of how God is working around the world.
Food for the Hungry has international internships through out the year. These college students get hands on experience in the field and work side by side with our field staff. The following report was sent to us by one of our interns. She shares of her experience out in the field while distributing packs of educational supplies in Bangladesh.
The Dominican Republic is a Latin American country that occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The other one-third of this island is the Republic of Haiti.

Uganda has had a tumultuous history to say the least. Most people over the age of 20 will recognize the name Idi Amin and whether or not they know exactly what he did, most will know that he was a cruel and corrupt man. Idi Amin led a coup against the Ugandan government and began a time in Uganda that was full of terror for everyone. It is reported that somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 people were murdered in just the seven years that Idi Amin was in power. I find it sad that there is such broad range in that number. How horrible that it is not known exactly how many people died.

Food for the Hungry began working in Peru in 1982. FH has worked in a number of regions since that time, but many of them the staff have had to pull out of due to seasons when there is an increase in acts of terrorism that make it unsafe for our programs to continue. Now, Peru works in the regions of Lima, Pucallpa and Chincha bringing programs such as Child Development, Health and Sanitation, Leadership Training, Church Development and Family Action Program which addresses family violence. FH Peru is also beginning a Disaster and Emergency Response Program to train their communities and to create a network of churches and NGO’s in Peru to respond in cases of disaster. FH Peru is currently attempting to increase their Scholarship Program to provide funds for vocational training to ex-sponsored children. Within the next year, FH plans to being training churches in the poorest areas of the Peruvian Highlands to reach out and serve their communities holistically.