Empowering the underprivileged

|PIC1|Today an estimated 40,000 children will die of hunger or hunger related disease. Within a year, malaria will claim the lives of one million children.

In view of this, helping the poor to survive is a reasonable aim, but Siloam Christian Ministries partnering together with Childcare Worldwide (CCW) also strives to help the poor to succeed.

Beginning with essentials, they counter the worst effects of poverty by providing food and safe drinking water. Then they proceed to empower the most underprivileged by enabling them to learn and acquire life skills

Feeding hungry children and their families is the first step in alleviating the suffering caused by poverty. After that, helping the children to obtain an education is the way forward for their future.

'Survival Packs' of staple food items are provided in developing countries. Critical care programmes fight disease such as malaria with basics like mosquito nets. Also, children are sponsored in order to learn trades or obtain a higher education leading to employment.

CCW Chairman of the Board, Dr David Nelson, explains that in places such as Kenya and Uganda many children have lost one or both parents to Aids.

"They may be from a very small village and, if they want to go to high school or vocational school, they must leave the village," he says.

Now they have the opportunity to do so through funding by Siloam and CCW.

Last year, Dr Nelson and his wife Lynne were in Kenya for the graduation of students benefiting from this programme. Among the alumni who attended was a woman who now works as a tailor for a non-profit organisation providing children with clothes. Also, there was a man who had been helped to achieve his life long dream of becoming a nurse. He then returned to his home village which lacked any medical facilities and opened a clinic.

"Within a month of the clinic opening, a man was brought in who had been mauled by a lion," says David Nelson. "The nurse was able to save this man's life. Without the clinic, he would have died."

In spite of overwhelming odds, Dr Nelson encourages to believe they can make a huge difference.

A significant difference is that as the most underprivileged are being empowered, they are able not only to succeed themselves, but also to help others.

"Just because a problem is huge, don't shy away from trying to make a difference. You can make a huge difference in the life of one person or even a few people."



On the web: www.siloam.org.uk