Opportunity to HOPE
Compassion for the poor is at the heart of Christ’s teaching and Opportunity to HOPE (Help Overcome Poverty through Empowerment), is our grant-giving organisation that gives to the poor and disadvantaged in all corners of the world.
We currently have active projects in more than 20 countries and giving a voice to the voiceless, demonstrating the compassion of God, is a central part of our mission.
Become a Member
O2H is essential in making this work possible and your commitment however small will have a big impact on the lives of those who benefit from your compassion.
Begin transforming lives and become a member today.
For those who are already O2H members and have been for six months, you can apply for a grant here.
£3,000 ($4,600) has been granted to the Restoration Bible Institute (RBI) in Burma. RBI is providing training for poor students (most are totally sponsored to attend the college), mainly from the Chin State in Burma. The Students get grounded in the Word and are also taught English and vocational skill such as computing.
The Chin State is one of the states with a relatively high density of Christians and which is oppressed by the national government because the government is against any attempt to have self-determination from any of the provinces in Burma. The net result of this is that the Christians have suffered brutal oppression in this part of Burma. The former facilities of the RBI were totally inadequate and the health and safety appalling, both in terms of the washing and toilet facilities and the small, mud floor kitchen.
Three years ago the college acquired a piece of land, and the plan now - which is underway - is to build a facility on it which will enable the students to study and live in a much better environment.
The RBI is seeking to raise up ministers of the gospel from such people, so that they can go back to their own state and seek to advance the Kingdom there. They would have no means of their own to benefit from such training and equipping. As the government is seemingly softening a bit towards the West and internally, now is a ‘Kairos’ moment to support such an initiative as this.
Children’s Outreach Books for Canada and China - £3,000 ($3,726)
These books were first used in Mongolia, as part of the project providing therapy and special education services to children with disabilities and considered to be “At Risk”.
These books address aspects of the emotional, spiritual and physical development of the child. There was an overwhelmingly positive response to these resources.
This new pilot program, “Keys to Joy Publishing” in Canada, seeks to produce 3 new books (in English) and offer them as a resource to three small charities in mainland China; the charities are (Loaves and Fishes International; The Bridge; and Evergreen
These prototypes will be produced in Canada. They will initially be produced in English and offered to local charities and churches in Canada who work with the disenfranchised; at risk children; and their families.
Books will be provided at no cost or low cost to disenfranchised children, those living in orphanages or disabled in China, with the intention of bringing truth and hope to the children, their caregivers, and teachers.
Children’s Outreach Books for Canada and China - £3,000 ($3,726)
These books were first used in Mongolia, as part of the project providing therapy and special education services to children with disabilities and considered to be “At Risk”.
These books address aspects of the emotional, spiritual and physical development of the child. There was an overwhelmingly positive response to these resources.
This new pilot program, “Keys to Joy Publishing” in Canada, seeks to produce 3 new books (in English) and offer them as a resource to three small charities in mainland China; the charities are (Loaves and Fishes International; The Bridge; and Evergreen
These prototypes will be produced in Canada. They will initially be produced in English and offered to local charities and churches in Canada who work with the disenfranchised; at risk children; and their families.
Books will be provided at no cost or low cost to disenfranchised children, those living in orphanages or disabled in China, with the intention of bringing truth and hope to the children, their caregivers, and teachers.
Grant For Cuban Poor and Needy $3,887 (£3,129)
Vasiliy Skoryhk, the president of “Answer In Jesus Mission” says, “Now is the time for Cuba. We could do a great work in a short amount of time. The Mission will continue to strengthen relationships with Cuban churches and assist with educational programs and seminars, and financial support of children’s hospitals and other institutions for children. It’s not possible to do this without friends and partners to financially support these good deeds. Thank you very much for joining in these labors.”
During the trip in December 2016, Answer in Jesus hopes to expand their work into other children’s hospitals in Cuba (there are eleven). They plan to take 3-5 missionaries and minister in churches and hospitals.
Their ministry efforts involve meeting material needs, including bicycles for pastors (for transportation), donations of medical supplies to hospitals, toiletry and personal care items to families of children in hospitals, as well as school supplies/stationary and toys for children in hospitals.
These things are often not only rare, but when they are available in stores, they are very expensive. The overwhelming majority of Cubans live in poverty (with the exception of workers in administrative positions in the government or in tourist services).
Most people are unable to afford everyday items like toothpaste and struggle with everyday needs like transportation. Providing these material goods opens up doors to share the love of Christ, and provides care to those who are truly in need of care.
In addition, the grant will provide 5 bicycles for pastors for their ministries but also provide to take their children to the doctor or school. These pastors could never afford a bicycle.
Osmanis Bicycle - Cuban Pastor from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
Emergency Grant Following Hurricane Matthew
Just after we received the Grant Request for Cuba, Hurricane Matthew devastated the Island. O2H responded with a grant of $1,500 for emergency aid. After Hurricane Matthew, Vasiliy Skoryhk head of Answer In Jesus Mission, traveled with partners over 1600 KM visiting the churches, friends, and pastors of Cuban churches.
The roofs of pastors’ and believers’ homes were partially or sometimes totally destroyed. They saw people … looking at them with despair-filled eyes…. They sat along the roadsides surrounded by their little children and just wept.
They were able to use donated finances to purchase more than a ton of food products, medical supplies, also provide finance.
Vasiliy stated, “My dear friends and partners of Answer in Jesus Ministries, I’d like to say thank you for every dollar sacrificially donated,”
Guatemala: Friends of Children Everywhere
Casa Bernabe, Guatemala - Orphanage O2H has funded towards materials and equipment to an orphanage to be used by children with Special Needs.
£3,000 ($3,878) was granted to the Christian Education Centre of My Special Treasure in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
In 2011 one of the Nicodemus Trust supported projects, My Special Treasure (restoration and care of abused girls), visited Chimaltenango rubbish dump with their girls. The girls began teaching children to read, write and do basic maths on the side of the rubbish dump!
In 2013 it became apparent that a formal school was necessary and the Education Centre started.
Over the following 2-3 years the number of children increased to 115 and the school was established in a property and formally registered and recognized by the Guatemalan Government who provide no financial support.
The Education Centre now has 20 staff and provides nursery, pre-school and primary education, spiritual support, psychological help, special needs, nutritional help and medical care to the children who attend the school and also to their families.
Lucia is one of our school children. Her life has changed beyond recognition since coming to the Education Centre.
Lucia lived next to Chimaltenango rubbish dump and worked with her mother foraging for anything they could find to sell to live. They had to pay the rubbish dump owner a fee to enter the dump to
forage! Lucia was unable to go to school as the minimal charge by Government schools was more than her Mum could afford and in any case Lucia was helping forage at the dump. The opportunity to go to school has meant that Lucia’s life and prospects are now completely different. Her appearance and character dramatically changed in 1 year.
Emergency Aid For Guatemalan Children
Grant for £4,000 ($5,155) A few weeks ago there was a fire in a Government Orphanage that was designed to house 400 children but had over 700 children and teens housed in it.
This orphanage consisted of orphaned children and former street children. This mix is not ideal as they are all on their own journeys and the mixture produced a harsh environment.
The number who died in the fire reached over 50 children. As a result, children ran away and in some cases ended up living in the streets.
Dealing with this has been extremely costly and unforeseen which has cost both projects significantly and will continue to do so.
The emergency aid went for added staff, transport, first aid supplies, general welfare needs, etc.
Salcette, Goa, India: A Vehicle For The Tender Heart Foundation
Tender Heart 2014 from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
£3,000 ($4,885 US) towards the costs of this vehicle. Francis and Alison Pidugu oversee the mission. To date they have been working in 4 different slums of Margoa, Goa through Hope Children’sclub which is catering for between 50 to 80 children. The children who come to the club are beggars, child labours, Street Children and Garbage collectors. We know that in the children’s
club we cannot focus on every child and we can’t teach everyone effectively. So we are focusing on a smaller group of children who are interested in learning.
They comment, ‘Thanks to O2H’s previous grant we have started a DAY CARE CENTER in April -2009 for the underprivileged children. The Grant from O2H was a big blessing and since then 35 children from four different slums are coming daily to the Day Care Centre’
These children are taught math, reading and writing. Once they have a grasp of the basics the aim of the project is to help them to enter into main stream school. So far two girls have been sent to main stream school and another eight children will be sent to main stream in June 2011.
The project is planning to extend its work to other slums and bring more children to the Day care centre so that more under privilege children will have the opportunity of an education. For this reason, Francis and Alison applied for funding to buy a new vehicle so that they can go around to different slums and bring the children to the Day Care Centre.
Also, a new vehicle will help with their tailoring school in Karnataka and Goa. They are working among young girls who have little or no education. These girls are from very poor backgrounds and are in a situation where their parents are considering sending them to be Davadasis, (Servant of God) that means to serve God by prostitution. They are working to prevent these young girls from going into prostitution by giving them six month tailoring and embroidery training. This is very important to them as it gives them another way of earning money to help their families.
At present the project has thirty six young girls going though the training. Most of them are ex- temple prostitutes, widows and girls who do not have any skills or education. With the same vehicle which O2H has contributed funding they will be able to bring the Girls to special workshops, such as: Health and Hygiene, cooking workshops and candle making.
Orissa, India: An Electric generator for Vocational and Career Development (VCD)
An Electric generator for Vocational and Career Development (VCD) in Orissa, India to use during the frequent power cuts. O2H has previously funded work with VCD in Orissa.
The project reports: By the grace of God we have 50 children who are being nurtured in the Jeevan Jyoti Ashram (Light of Life Home).
Most of these children are the victims of the violence against the Christians in Kandhamal and other places of Orissa.
They study in our English medium school with God centred education along with several employable skill training. In this academic year the school will be having up till standard 7.
These children are being provided with career education and guidance through various work experiences and employable skill training.
Besides this VCD imparts career education and guidance to students in formal schools & educational institutions.
Psychiatric patients are being treated with love, empathy & behavioural modification & psychotherapy. Thus there is no need of the toxic drugs for treatment of all the psychiatric cases.
Through primary dental care ( i.e. cleaning, filling and extraction) the children in the campus, staff and other community people around the villages are being served.
On the campus they have a small dairy, two fish ponds & a small kitchen garden to raise some support for the living cost of the children.
The VCD campus is situated in a village surrounded by few small industries. In the past years: 1994 to 2002 VCD worked among the community people in 14 villages. They have had much consultation with the people for formation of various committees for their development; training of employable skills, advocacy; awareness of the rights of tribal people etc. 14 SHG’ s (self help groups) were formed by the women.
During the national festivals the community people participate in various programmes that take place in the campus.
During the long hours of power cuts the local community people may access the water( from our open dug well) and electricity through their inverter for charging of cell phones.
VCD plans to provide training of the women, young people and unemployed with 5 key employable skills.“We will provide training in computer skills, making leaf plates by using the electric machine, food processing and preservation training (i.e. baking etc)
We will provide vocational training in electrical, mechanical , welding and fabrication training.
It will help the poor to find the suitable jobs as they upgrade themselves to become skilled workers.”
Orissa, India: Bore-well (sustainable water supplies)
Tamil Nadu, India: VIA Design grant for roof of the sewing project
Tamil Nadu, India: Crafts Project
Mahalir Aran Trust (MAT) in conjunction with VIA design a local Indian organization that works with disadvantaged children and women) - completion of the sewing room roof.
Kadavethu, Nagari, India Community Hall
Andhra Pradesh, India: Leper Project
Andhra Pradesh, India: Tsunami relief crisis fund for India
India: Project Hope
India: Orphanage
Two dormitories, toilets, a kitchen and an extra children’s room
VIA Design Sewing Machine Project
VIA Design: O2H has given £3000 [$4,885 US] for a semi industrial computerized embroidery sewing machine for Mahalir Aran Trust’s (MAT- a refuge for disadvantaged and marginalised women).
This is an income generating business initiative, Flowering Desert, (FD) which works in partnership with VIA Design. VIA design is a UK registered charitable company set up to empower disadvantaged and marginalized people (especially women) and to help build community.
The machine makes a big difference in building capacity for this small business which was set up in 2006 received funding from 02H (in December 2006) towards a purpose-built production unit. This is now providing paid employment on regular basis for 15-20 women (75% from the local community, 25% from within the refuge).
Mercy Abraham Imondi, the founder and managing trustee of Mahalir Aran Trust, is also the proprietor of Flowering Desert, which was established in 2006 to provide income-generating opportunities for young women who come from the surrounding community as well as the refuge.
Local people are involved in consultation and have been involved with discussions. Regular team meetings at FD provide a forum for ideas to develop their business and although hand embroidery will still be part of the range of skills developed and used for more specialized products, it has been recognized that there is much potential for commercial stability and viability through manufacturing higher volume/lower margin customised products for corporate businesses, organizations and conferences.
This provides more jobs locally and generates profits to reinvest into training and empowering others in the community.
Here is a letter from Mercy Abraham of VIA Design:
Dear O2H Friends,
We are very thankful to Opportunity to Hope (O2H) for your generous grant of £3000 and to friends who have provided an interest-free loan of £2000 through VIA Design to enable us to purchase a computerized embroidery machine to help Flowering Desert expand its customized product range.
This machine (an Amaya XT) is really useful for FDproduct-development. It will help us to offer more training for the ladies, at Flowering Desert, our business enterprise, so they can improve their talent and have better opportunities for themselves and their families. Through this machine, we hope to secure more orders and increase our turnover so that we can improve the rest of the campus and give work to more people from the surrounding area.
There is a Chinese proverb “instead of giving a man a fish, teach him how to fish, and he will have food for life.” With the same principle we want to help our ladies to learn more skills so they have the hope of a better future.
Once again we are very thankful for your kind help and the loan, which enabled us to buy this machine. You will get double the amount in heaven.
God bless you, Yours sincerely,
Mercy Abraham A Soldier of Jesus Christ
A Video Of VIA DESIGN
Primary Classroom in Orissa, India
£2,000 ($3,100) for Vocational and Career Development (VCD) in Orissa, India for Construction of Primary Classrooms along with a toilet block. (In addition, this grant was topped up by matching £2,000 donation to total grant of £4,000 [$6,300]).
O2H has previously funded work with VCD in Orissa including a bore-well, an electric generator, money for a vehicle, and construction of a multi-purpose area. 35-50 children are helped in this project. Most of these children are the victims of the violence against the Christians in Kandhamal and other places of Orissa.
This new construction is a result of the Child Welfare Committee requirements to move the children into better accommodation (away from asbestos roofed buildings) and the District Education Departments requirement to have proper classrooms along with the toilet block thus giving us proper recognitions of the English medium school.
The children study in the English medium school with God-centred education along with several employable skill training. In this academic year the school will be up to standard seven.
These children are being provided with career education and guidance through various work experiences and employable skill training. Besides this VCD imparts career education and guidance to students in formal schools & educational institutions.
Life Association in India
Life Association in India has been granted £2,500 ($3,790) for beds and equipment.
For 20 years, Life Association has been building schools and children’s homes in some of the poorest parts of India. Kolkata, where they have a school for slum children. Kolkata is notorious for allowing its residents to live and die on the streets. The principle purpose of Life Association is to build schools and children’s homes that provide a good quality education and the promotion of Christian values for some of the most vulnerable children in India. These children largely come from the Dalit community, formerly known as untouchables.
There are believed to be only 20,000 Government beds for the poor in a city of 14 million.
They will be starting a hospice where people can die with dignity and enjoy clean sheets and good food and hear about a God that loves them, in many cases for the first time. They will employ nurses to care for them and also basic medical care for those who cannot afford any.
The manager of our school, Amar and Sathi Khalid, has been caring for the sick and dying on the streets for some time, trying to take those they find to Government hospitals; but they are often turned away. Even then the patients will be two to a bed and in squalid conditions. We have been seeking local Government approval for the initiative and seeking appropriate premises.
It is hoped that with good care and food some may have health restored but for those whose life is at an end we believe the gift of dignity and Christian love is invaluable.
Emergency aid for Andhra Pradesh and Srinagar City India
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We gave £3,000 ($4,500) to bring emergency relief as a result of the massive cyclone that lashed the costal area of Andhra Pradesh 12th October 2014. The coastal cities were hit with 180km/hr winds as well as rain.
The government of India declared it the worst natural disaster in the last 50 years. I will take about 10 years to recover from this disaster.
Although the government is contributing to the relief, politics and prejudice have left out the Christians and Dalit Christians. Pastors and churches were not given support due to these politics and discrimination (and corruption). The only hope for these people is the church and we have come to the aid along side the church.
Around 50 Pastors and families of Christians Together Fellowship (Joel Onesimus who is in relationship with Global Horizons) suffered the loss of everything (including their houses and church buildings). Another 150 Pastors have also experienced damage.
Also affected were the children homes in Vizag and Srnagar.
Cyclone Roanu Disaster in Andhra Pradesh - £500 ($621)
Cyclone Roanu gained strength in the bay of Bengal bringing heavy showers and winds from 80 kph to110 kph per hour. 9,360 hectors of crops were damaged, 304 villages and were damaged, and 20 churches were blown away.
Many of the Christian families have become homeless and they do not have work to care for and feed their families. All of them are praying and waiting with hope for reconstruction of their houses.
Michael Congola said, “With your support we have supported our Christian families in their communities with rice, food material, blankets, medical care, and water.”
India Orphanage - Amritsar and Kashmir region £2,650 ($3,426)
India Orphanage - Amritsar and Kashmir region £2,650 ($3,426) was granted to build a roof top shelter and fencing for the children.
The Scheduled Castes are official designations given to various groups of historically poor and disadvantaged people India.
Located in the Amritsar and Kashmir region the orphanage was established in 2013 by Rev Stanley Joseph who continues to operate the project. The orphanage provides a home for 20 Dallit Christian children.
This year, Geoff Brown had visited the orphanage finding the building in some disrepair. Also, there were limited resources for the children including food. Some of these needs have been met.
The Church building is flat roofed, on top sits the children’s dormitories. The remaining open roof space is where the children study, eat and play. The roof is unfenced with a 12f drop and is completely unshaded, in May and June temperatures can exceed 50oc (122of).
Not only is the building used for the children who live at the orphanage, the centre is also a resource for local children from neighbouring communities and therefore there is considerable community participation and interest in the development and future sustainability of the church building and its community projects. I met up with the Church leaders and Christians from the neighbouring community to discuss the project.
Here Geoff Brown Reports On The Amazing Change Due To This Grant
Geoff Brown - Indian Orphanage O2H Gave A Grant from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
This project provides a safe and healthy environment for the poor and disadvantaged children. A building fit for purpose providing education and life skills to not only the children living at the orphanage but also to the wider community. Thank you to O2H for the grant for this project.
Fire Engines for Kenya
We granted an application of £2,500 ($3,854 US) to help build a fire service in Kenya.
A life-saving Kenya fire service was started by the simple donation of a single engine from Bedfordshire and now three more are being added to the original vehicle.
The President of Kenya has sent his thanks back to the people of Dunstable and to the Chief Fire Officer of Bedfordshire Paul Fuller.
The idea started with a Church related-charity: the Onset Trust and Pastor Douglas Richards of Dunstable Community Church. The church approached Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service to ask if it could purchase an old fire engine to send out to Meru in Kenya where no fire service existed and deaths from fires are common.
The Combined Fire Authority (CFA) members decided they would give a vehicle which was going out of commission.
22 firemen are on the ground in Kenya. The fire engines have reached each town and the training has begun.
In 14 days time Onset Trust, with your help we will have trained and raised up 200 African firemen, commissioned fire appliance two, three and four. Renovated and equipped the first Kenyan fire training centre in all of the country. In addition multiple 1,000’s of children in schools and people in slums are being taught fire safety by specially trained fire prevention officers that we have sent.
Many lives are being saved because of your help through Opportunity 2 Hope..
£2,465/$4,100 was granted to the Upendo Project in Kenya for The Home of Adaptive Life Skills Centre.
The purpose of the grant was to provide a water tank which is urgently needed so that the house can be occupied the children and those who will care for them.
The project seeks to meet the basic life needs of children who have been orphaned or whose those who come from single-parent homes that cannot properly provide.
Upendo Project Kenya
£2,465/$4,100 was granted to the Upendo Project in Kenya for The Home of Adaptive Life Skills Centre.
The purpose of the grant was to provide a water tank which is urgently needed so that the house can be occupied the children and those who will care for them.
The project seeks to meet the basic life needs of children who have been orphaned or whose those who come from single-parent homes that cannot properly provide.
Kenyan Poultry Project
£1,500/$2,500 was granted for a poultry project in Kenya (East Africa). The project is a micro-enterprise project run by the Ekitale Village Women’s Group (Deborah’s Palm Project).
This project supplies eggs to local colleges as well as selling egg and chickens in Bungoma, the nearest town.
This area of Kenya is suffering with loss of rain. As a result the children and families suffer. This grant will bring hope and sustenance to these poor families, allowing the children to go to school and get an education.
Helping A Needy Family With Proper Housing
O2H Granted £1,200 ($1,865 US) to improve the housing for a poor family In Latvia. This initiative worked with a local Latvian charity (Misija Pakapieni) to improve the decrepit housing provision for a single mother and her 7 children.
The house had rotten windows, no heating, limited electrics, no running hot water, no washing facilities and the majority of the living space was unusable due to the floor being dirt/sand.
A team of nine volunteers from the Wharfedale Vineyard, in Leeds traveled to Latvia on 4th July 2011 to complete the work on the house. A member of the team, Gunita King, is from Latvia and has a long standing relationship with the local Latvian charity through which this project has been established.
Thanks to all the amazing support received, the building team (with a little help from the locals!) was able to transform Agita and her children’s house in the 10 days the team were there:
- The rotten and cockroach infested flooring was ripped out and concrete flooring installed Where there was an old sink draining in to a bucket, a kitchen and oven were installed
- A shower room was created to act as their bathroom A new toilet installed that flushed!Wood burning central heating was fitted, helpful as it often reaches minus 30oC in Latvia
- Insulation was fitted in the roof
- Rewiring completed so the house electrics now work reliably and safely
- The roof was made watertight
- The chimney was repaired
- The upstairs was wallpapered and the doors painted New windows were fitted in place of the rotten old ones The garden swing was fixed
- Two bunk beds were bought so the children each have decent beds now
Arrangements were made for the legal transfer of ownership of the property to Agita from the imprisoned father to secure the family’s home for the future.
Agita and her children are now able to enjoy living in a warm, dry and functional home that they can feel safe in!
A massive thank you to O2H for the financial support of £1,500 towards this project.
Malawi Micro Enterprise Project.
£1,920 ($3,000) was granted to a Malawi Micro Enterprise project. The Malawi project in the rural area of Blantyre district, is made up of 11 people managed by a committee. The group focuses on empowering each other to work hard with the aim to eradicate poverty, and food insecurity through income generating activities such as animal farming, agricultural practices and crop irrigation.
The group meets once a week, to monitor progress and help one another through discussions and fellowship, but they also have a saving scheme. Each member of the group saves a bit of money at each meeting which the committee takes to the bank. The idea of the saving is to help with things like uniforms and other basic needs for the children.
Thanks to 02H for a grant which has made a difference to peoples’ lives, it was all smiles at the Inauguration on 06.06.13
Malawi £3,000 ($4,343.00) For Water
Malawi £3,000 ($4,343.00) was granted for treadle pumps/a utility motor vehicle for a small scale farming grouup of mainly single household mothers.
The people in this group meets twice a month to encourage and share ideas on seeds, business management and marketing.
The treadle pumps and vehicle will improve the quality of life for members and their families.
The country has been affected by drought so water has been unreliable. The pumps free up a new water supply. Up to now, they have been using buckets. This new water supply will increase their income because this will increase the amount of crops (and growing seasons).
These women have also faced a problem of getting their crops to market but with the vehicle, transportation costs are greatly reduced as well as more of the crops are fresh when they get to market.
Bertha says “Thank You” to all who gave to this project
Mission Mongolia from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
Mongolia: Micro-Enterprise development.
Our Micro Enterprise Programme training and selection of people for micro loans to start their own micro businesses starts in about two week’s time. Maybe some of those who received food today will receive loans tomorrow as we try to help people sustain their lives. We are also working to support those living below ground in the pipes of UB – but this is proving slightly more difficult as the local authorities do not recognise their existence – we do and we will succeed. Thank you for being part of our work here in Mongolia. Manley Bill.
Food (ingredients) for Work
It is a difficult time of year in Mongolia. Just a few weeks after Mongolian New Year celebrations, when everyone tries to demonstrate their affluence and generosity. The poorest folk in our local sub-district in UB are no different except they are dangerously close to having nothing to eat and no work. Our company (Mary & Martha Mongolia), along with funds from Lost Sheep Ministries (donations from our supporters and supporting churches) and the help of local social services are running a very simple Food for Work programme.
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Those in most need are identified by the local leaders. People are then asked to take part in cleaning up their local community for which they receive wages in the form of flour, rice and oil – three key staple ingredients in Mongolia to help keep body and soul together. As a company we believe that people should receive the equivalent of 1.5 – 2 times the minimum wage for their labours, so that what they earn can sustain a family. We cannot offer them employment but we can make a difference every so often. They work for about 3 hours and the food has a value of approximately 2 times the minimum wage per hour – 1 litre of oil, 1kg of rice and 1kg of flour.
The pictures show the work under way, the resulting clean community areas and the handing out of wages for the work done. What is difficult to pick up on camera are the smiles on the faces as people work and the broad grins as they are thanked for their labours. A great job was done and I was humbled by everyone’s work ethic.
THE GOAL OF MINA
The goal of Mina is to give poor and marginalized people, mainly women, more self-confidence and healthier families by providing appropriate training activities and financial services to improve their businesses and their lives.
MINA NGO ACTIVITIES IN BAYANZURKH DISTRICT
In Bayanzurkh district there were 24 clients attended Mina’s microfinance activities for 2 years. All clients were involved in running businesses. Their businesses were repairing shoes, selling meat, selling mobile, planting vegetable, running small grocery, selling second hand clothes, sewing uniforms, processing milk products and repair bike. Now there are 5 active clients getting loan. Their loan outstanding is 4,600,000 tugrigs.
The training about Vision, Household budget, Forgiveness, Generousness, Integrity and Values was hold successfully for clients.
Hope group consist by 7 members established on April 1st, 2009.
First time each of us borrowed USD$70. Our group members’ businesses are planting vegetable, running small grocery, selling second hand clothes, sewing uniforms, sewing car seat cover and processing milk products.
Our group member Dolgor has built a winter house by her loan and built a house for grocery store. Other group member Tsengel runs small grocery store and she is extending her store building. Other group member Urta processes milk products and has bought a cow. Other group member Gantsetseg sews uniforms and car seat covers. Now each member of group has borrowed 350$ and their all deposit is 500$. Our group goal is reach our goal with all together to increase our business income and improve our lives.
MINA PLAN
- To continune our microfinance activities in Zuunkhara as a sustainable manner, Mina needs to change our status to NBFI.
- Badma, Zuunkharaa staff is planning to study a college by business administration from October, 2012.
- To support the churches and their members, Mina is planning to implement CASH-II project to the churches. It is now on writing the project and finding out the funds. This project is called to “Financial ABC” and will start to implement begining of 2012. Also Mina is going to publish a workbook for bookkeeping a household expenses.
Mongolia: Emergency Relief
Reaching The Light Development Centre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
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We granted £3,000 ($4,500) to Reaching the Light Development Center” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to provide special education training and speech/language therapy training to Mongolians working with a wide range of special needs and developmentally disabled children in Mongolia.
The target group was teachers, therapists, orphanage workers, parents, student teachers and others. Since 2012 Gillian Parker has been training staff in an apprenticeship program at “Reaching the Light Development Center” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
However, there is a huge need to expand this work and develop a programme that can be taught to a larger group of Mongolian trainers who in turn can sustainably train others with current best practice methods.
Gillian K. Parker is a speech language therapy and special education trainer who worked in team with Suzanne Kolstad to implement the pilot special education training program with a group of Mongolian trainers.
They coordinated this effort with all local groups interested in this training; evaluated the program during training and upon completion made recommendations.
Specifically Gillian and Suzanne Kolstad both worked as trainers piloting a three month intensive interactive special education program for Mongolians; working with children with special needs. Gillian met all her own expenses from her existing support network. The grant helped meet Suzanne’s expenses.
The requests for training came from many different sources in the community during recent years. Recently the Mongolian government has requested assistance to start a special education training program for teachers. Training for staff has also been requested from the rehabilitation center, countryside clinics and hospitals and both government and nongovernment organizations.
Mongolians at “Reaching the Light Development Center” have participated in an apprentice program for two years and other local therapists have been invited to seminars days. Nurses, teachers and other workers have visited the Center for training days and bought children to receive consultation, implementation of home /school programs.
With new understanding about the value and purpose of education for these children; and new skills to develop the potential of the children, parents, families and workers were given increased hope and desire to teach and help childrem to develop their abilities holistically.
With increased dignity and respect, children were able to participate more fully in the home, community and society at large. The dignity of both the individual and those who reach out to help was expanded.
Genesis Project Awarded £3,000 ($3,726) For Curriculum
In the communist era in Mongolia there was a focus on good citizenship and working for the common good. However, the economic collapse of the 1990’s fostered an ‘every man for himself’ mentality, where values and consideration for others were abandoned in the struggle to survive.
In the 20 years since the economic collapse, families have predominantly been too busy struggling to make ends meet to take time to teach their children appropriate values.
As the country regains economic stability, many have become aware that an entire generation has grown up with no sense of consideration for others, personal integrity or ethical behaviour in business or private life. This has become a concern for many, including the nation’s leaders, government officials, teachers and family members.
History and current trends show that the development of any country is hindered by corruption and dishonesty. Mongolia has been developing economically, but much of the wealth has been siphoned off. Despite its impressive natural mineral resources, unless there is a change in basic values in society Mongolia is at risk of becoming like many other developing countries whose wealth is squandered through greed and corruption.
In response to this need, the Mongolian national education guidelines, laid down by the Ministry of Education, stipulate that ethics be a part of the national curriculum. However, no material or curriculum is provided to teachers to enable them to inculcate values in the children in their care. In 2013, the Upright Citizens Initiative was launched by the Mongolian Government; however, a lack of funding has seen the initiative flounder. O2H has given a grant to move this project forward.
The Life-skills material has been developed by Mongolian teachers to address the specific cultural issues that they see as most relevant for developing values in children. The character values are drawn from the Judeo-Christian ethic, and stories illustrating each characteristic are drawn from Scripture.
The Goal of the project over three years is: To assist 7,000 Mongolian children, aged 12 to 14, to develop good character and decision making skills through a weekly training programme; to supplement the Mongolian national education curriculum through providing ethics education in 30 schools in Ulaanbaatar city and Nalaikh town; and to transform Mongolian society through developing a generation of good citizens who will contribute to their country and the establishment of a functioning and prosperous society.
The project consists of a number of activities: Weekly life-skills lessons, clubs, teacher training, and parenting training.
Topics to be covered in the new curriculum include: Virtue, sincerity, the power of the tongue, fulfilling your dreams, and truthfulness.
Preventive Healthcare Advocacy Training in Nepal
£1,000 ($1,500) was granted to Preventive Healthcare Advocacy Training in Nepal: Active in schools and two hospitals, adult volunteers and school children were trained in hygiene. Most people lack health awareness and when they come to hospital with ailments occurring from poor hygiene, their illnesses would be at an advanced stage. All of this can be prevented through
advocacy and training.
Many poor people don’t use toilet paper because of the cost. Due to their lack of hygienic awareness, they use water but don’t wash their hands with soap after using the toilet. This program teaches people to use soap after using the toilet and thus prevent diseases.
Also, most people use hands to eat and don’t wash their hands with soap before and after eating. Training them how to wash hands with soap before after meal and gargling prevents many other diseases.
Children are a strong advocates teaching their parents on the importance of preventive health care measures.
Most of the water is contaminated and water-borne diseases are common. Training people on the use of boiled water helps prevent water borne diseases.
Two Emergency Aid Grants for Nepal
Nepal Emergency aid grant of £750 at the end of 2015 and another £730 in 2016 for Udaya Sharma to purchase and distribute blankets and quilts to the very poor that need to equip to face the harsh winter and demonstrate the love of Christ. The hope is that some will turn to Christ.
The unusual rare and difficult circumstances and the ongoing crisis in Nepal are caused by the two massive earthquakes of April 25 and May 12, 2015 and continued aftershocks and followed by Indian blockade imposed in 2015.
We were able to distribute the blankets and quilts to 42 very poor victims of the earthquake and Indian blockade in the community who would otherwise would have died with no source of livelihood and no one reaching out to them . The electricity power outage is about 16 hrs a day . No heating no fuel and shortage of food and other essentials.
Here Udaya Sharma shares how the money was used:
Warmth and Water For Children in Nepal £3,000 ($3,982)
O2H has agreed to a grant of £3,000 ($3,982) to help the poor in Birched Village in the Dhading district in Northwest Nepal.
The poor in that village cannot afford to buy blankets and the families’ children are suffering. The children have diseases brought on by the cold weather.
Some of the children are dying because they can’t keep warm. Therefore we are supplying blankets for 80 families. We are also supplying 80 families with drinking water filters because they are suffering very much from contaminated water.
Boys dormitory in Mindanao, Philippines - £3,000 ($3,726)
Pastor Vic Virtudazo is based on the south island of Mindanao, in a coastal city called Bislig. The area of Bislig City is extremely poor, with rural subsistence farming.
Pastor Vic has pioneered a church in the city among rural tribal people groups. Currently there are 15 satellite churches in rural village communities within its network. He and his wife Gloria also run an orphanage and a bible school, which are closely linked.
Christians Alive Church is partnering with Pastor Vic and the church in Bislig to complete the building of the girl’s orphanage and sponsoring the children to provide food and essential clothing and resources for school.
Peter Collins (from Christians Alive Church) visited the partnership in the Philippines on two occasions now and on his visit last year, was moved with compassion when he saw the condition of the boy’s dormitory.
Teen Challenge Coffee House, Szczecin, Poland £3,000 ($4,071)
The Teen Challenge Coffee House project has been operating in Szczecin, Poland since 2009. The purpose is to meet with those with addiction problems and to offer support and encouragement towards changing their situations, and to see them becoming free from addictions. Since 2009 they have rented very small spaces with no adequate heating in the winter, and an outside toilet.
Many of the people they have met were at some point or continue to be homeless. For several years they prepared a sandwich supper for the weekly evening meeting, and through one winter they served a soup lunch on another day.
The Teen Challenge Coffee House project works in partnership with Street Church in Szczecin, which has been operating on the streets for the last 5 years. Each week, the gospel is preached with testimonies, people are prayed for and soup is given to those who are hungry.
In July 2017 they gained a new space, provided by the City Council, where they pay a reasonably low rent. The whole ground floor needs renovating. They are specifically seeking funding to set up a kitchen in a room where there are no facilities at present.
Nova Zena (New Woman) Ministry, Serbia
£1,920 ($3,000) was granted to New Woman Ministry in Serbia.
Nova Zena (New Woman): Setting Women Free From Abuse and Prostitution in Novi Sad, Serbia from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
There is a real need in Serbia because of the abuse of women. This grant will help women who are not able to help themselves including prostitutes, addicts, and abused women. New Woman recognizes the pivotal role that women play in Serbian society and works through counseling, teaching, protection (eventually with an abused women’s shelter), to transform individual families to become whole.
Ivana Pejcic (on the right), she grew up in an orphanage, has some experience in reach out to prostitutes in Norway (she attended Bible College there), good English skills, married 3 years, Christian for 12 years. I played a small role when she became a Christian. She has a big heart for the girls growing up without parents, with those who turn to street life and dysfunctional behaviors.
Timea Amidzic (on the left), she is Hungarian, married, finished DTS (Youth with the Mission), has a huge heart for homeless people. She is completely committed to our work. She and I used to go every week in the red district praying for the girls and men who use them before our ministry began official.
Gordana Radeka, (centre) has been a Christian for 18 years and God put it on her heart to work with abused and mistreated women. She is a part of European Freedom Network and has finished training in working with victims of domestic violence in a secular organization. She does all the administration work and organizes outreaches. The grant is to help for 6 months of startup costs for an office, which will be the hub of the new project.
A Testimony
Beautiful Day
Jelena’s father died when she was 15 years old. At the same time her mother threw her out of the house. With nowhere to go and in need of money, she turned to prostitution.
Over the course of the past 15 years she has been a throw-away. Unloved, used, abused, and all but forgotten. She has lost count as to how many men have paid for her services. She can’t remember how many times she used alcohol or drugs to kill the pain. She might remember the faces of the four children she bore, but were taken from her.
She is a non-person, unrecognized by society. She is barely a statistic. The only nights she spends in any kind of safety are those spent in jail. There are stray dogs who get better treatment.
In the midst of the darkness and despair came the tiniest flicker of light and love. A few months ago some women met Jelena at street-level. They didn’t come to arrest or berate her. They came with coffee and cookies.
Week after week they brought coffee and cookies. No preaching about the immorality of the girls’ lives. No threats of arrests. No condemnation, just coffee and cookies.
Figuring there was a hook and the coffee and cookies were just bait, the street girls knew it would soon change for the worse. Wouldn’t you think that way? If everyone in your life has lied, manipulated, and used you. But they were so wrong. Now came sandwiches, blankets, warm clothes, and offers to talk. Now came hugs, tears, and offers of prayer.
For months the coffee and cookies still kept coming, but now with invitations for hot showers, healthy meals, and an opportunity for a Spa Day. Someone was finally treating her with some respect. Someone cared. But why? Why were they being so nice? Why were they so different? She built up the courage to ask.
The flicker is about to go super nova.
Jelena got her answer. She learned she is a King’s daughter. She discovered she has a Saviour. She was freed from decades of shame and lies. She now knows she has an eternal heavenly future. She finally knows True Love.
Through the work of one of our most amazing Serbian partners, Nova Zena (New Woman), Jelena has a new future in Jesus. But she didn’t take this trip on her own. She brought another young lady with her, and Sladjana is a new creation.
The story doesn’t end here. There is a long way yet to go. Nova Zena has helped them choose the right path. Now it is time to find ways to help them stay on it.
Who will help feed them?
Who will help them get an education?
Who will help them find jobs?
Who wants to help us rewrite their futures?
Who is ready to start today?
Projects Around Cape Town, SA
Bizweni Disabled Children’s Home, Cape Town, SA
O2H Contributed £3,000 ($4,660 US) towards putting on the roof of this building.
Bizweni Centre for Disabled Children, Cape Town, SA from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
A Jungle Gym For Soweto, SA
We granted £2,500 ($3,854 US) for an AIDs/HIV clinic and orphanage called Emthonjeni, located in an informal settlement near to Soweto, South Africa. Specifically, we helped to build a ‘jungle gym’ (outside play equipment) at Emthonjeni for children who live in the surrounding settlement.
We became aware of this project through an O2H member of Wharfedale Vineyard, in Leeds. This past summer a family from the church traveled to Emthonjeni to build the gym.
Emthonjeni was established in 2001 and is central to the local neighbourhood where there are no other facilities of this type to benefit the community.
Emthonjeni provides medical and nutritional support to people in the local area, distributing medicines for AIDs related illnesses as well as sending out workers to people in their own homes when they are too ill to get to the clinic. In a country where at least 15 – 18% of the population has HIV/AIDs, Emthonjeni is providing a vital service to the community it supports.
Thousands of children live in the surrounding area and around 100 -150 children attend Emthonjeni each day to get a meal and receive help with their school homework. They also have access to the medical facilities at the clinic. The jungle gym provides a good quality, safe and fun environment for these children to play on when they visit Emthonjeni.
The surrounding neighbourhood is characterised by poverty, high unemployment and a large proportion of child headed households. It would make a huge difference to the children living in this area if their visits to Emthonjeni not only met the basic need for a meal and help with school work but could provide a safe place for them to simply enjoy themselves and have fun.
Syria: Project for young people
Breaking down barriers of discrimination through media and arts
Leadership Training In Syria
£3,000/$5,000 was granted to the Awareness Foundation for leadership training among young people in Syria. This will help support a five day leadership training programme in Lattakia, Syria in October 2014.
The Arab Spring promised so much for the people of the Middle East. Tragically, it has delivered chaos and fear rather than freedom and hope. Diverse communities that lived peacefully together for centuries are now polarised by politics and faith.
For Christians, the choice can seem to be very simple: to stay andsuffer, or leave. We want to demonstrate to the Christians of the Middle East that there is another choice: to stay and thrive as full members of the wider community.
To achieve this, we want to build a Middle East-wide network of young Christian Leaders to be catalysts for peace, building bridges of mutual respect and understanding in their diverse communities. In this way we can contribute to the healing and strengthening of the fabric of society in the Middle East; this will benefit everyone, whatever their faith!
We propose to run a Leadership Training Programme for five days in Lattakia-Syria for young Christians to enable them to become catalysts for peace in their own communities, supported by a long-term mentoring programme. This group of 100 people will help and guide their communities on the path to peace and reconciliation.
Lattakia is on the Mediterranean coast and this region has been spared much of the conflict that has ravaged Syria, making it an ideal place to begin our new programme: a place of relative safety and a sanctuary for Syrians from across the country. This will be the first of many such Leadership Training Programmes across the Middle East.
The Programme equips young Leaders to be catalysts for peace in their community:
To support Christian presence in the Middle East by encouraging Christians to play a full role in
the wider community as an indigenous part of society;
To build bridges between denominations and to encourage cooperation; and to build bridges with neighbours of other faiths, repairing relationships and rebuilding trust.
Participants, male and female, will be between the ages of 18 and 35. The Awareness Foundation will work with Christian leaders and clergy to select the participants.
The Bethany Project helps the most underprivileged, deprived and vulnerable members of Tanzanian society, especially orphaned children, providing education where possible. It carries out this work with love, commitment and compassion.
They had an emergency need to
replace two broken water pumps. One of them was powered by the main utility and the other was solar powered.
The villagers come for miles to use the purified water (they use a UV filtration system) rather than the dirty water from the Lake (Victoria); but since the pump lost it’s power we have only been able to supply the children’s home (and a few nearby villagers). Both pumps had failed to work and people had to fetch water by bucket from the Lake.
Your donations have changed this. We have granted £2,929.40 ($4,603.00 USD). This will give the children at the Bethany childrens’ home and the local villagers clean drinking water which will stop disease and illness’s which often occur through dirty water (diarrhoea, dehydration, cholera and typhoid etc).
To see more about this project, you can go to http://www.bethanyfamily.net/
Emergency Accommodation House, Uganda - £1,988.84 ($2,470)
This grant is to furnish a newly built emergency accommodation house in Uganda and creating a small kitchen garden beside it. The house is for children who were living on the streets, their siblings and their caregivers when they arrive in a state of crisis because of sickness, death or family breakdown.
Children on the streets are some of the most marginalised children in the world. They are treated like criminals by their local communities; and face hunger, abuse (physical, mental and sexual) and imprisonment on a daily basis.
For most of them, all they really want is to be loved, listened to and to get an appropriate education so that they can create a future full of opportunities for themselves and their families.
S.A.L.V.E. has a small team of Ugandan Social Workers who work tirelessly to enable these children to change their lives. They currently run a street outreach service in Jinja town which is accessed daily by up to 40 of the 200-300 children on the streets.
This allows their staff to build trusting relationships with these young people and assist them to take the first steps in accessing their services towards their eventual move home. They work with the children to find out what they want from their services and try to incorporate this into their programmes where feasible.
Chester, UK - Options Pregnancy Crisis Service - equipment and furniture
Glastonbury, UK - Crisis pregnancy service
Dunstable, UK - Twinkle Nursery equipment for center for Pre-school children.
Lancaster, UK - Debt Counseling
Longton Kitchen Project
We have granted £1,250 ($1,943 US) for the Longton Community Kitchen (Stoke-on-Trent, UK).
Dunstable Food Bank
The Dunstable foodbank is run in partnership with churches in Dunstable UK and surrounding villages. O2H gave a grant of £1,500 ($2,357.00 USD) to help them establish this new foodbank.
The Dunstable Food Bank from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
The foodbank network is part of The Trussell Trust, a Christian UK charity committed to community action against poverty and marginalisation in the UK and Bulgaria. Figures released by The Trussell Trust show that the
current economic climate is seeing many more people struggle to put food on the table, including families who are in work. Over 45,000 children were fed by foodbanks in 2011-12.
Growing Stronger
O2H granted £3,000 ($4,714.00 USD) funding to help establish the charitable trust Growing stronger in the UK. There has not been a UK charitable body specifically funding medical research into therapeutic treatments for achondroplasia (dwarfism).
Growing Stronger in the USA has been established by parents of children who daily face this issue.
This grant helped establish a UK charity to continue fundraising and support their ground-breaking efforts in the USA. In order to get charitable status in the UK had to show evidence of an initial £5,000 of funds in the bank.
Before the grant was given, they had raised £2,000 and with our grant of £3,000 they have been able to achieve charitable status and now they are enabled to galvanise more funding support from individuals and charitable trusts. This initiative has the potential to make a life- changing difference to a minority population around the world.
The history of dwarfism has often meant that individuals have been marginalised in society, treated as ‘freaks’ and often institutionalised. In some societies today they are hidden and still placed in institutions because of their difference. Yet a person with dwarfism has the same mental capacity as you and me, their only difference is their disability.
Growing Stronger UK will not only impact medical research that will potentially improve the health and well-being of people with dwarfism, it will also seek to raise awareness and educate society that people with dwarfism deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They are doctors, teachers, researchers, and have many other professions. It is surprising the ignorance that still exists in the UK and the world around this condition. Growing Stronger UK is committed to education and advocacy.
Both Andrew and Kristina Gray who are in New Life Church, Rugby, are trustees for Growing Stronger UK.
CITY HEARTS
£1,600 ($2,500) was granted to City Hearts, Liverpool: City Hearts aims to help and support and motivate vulnerable women to reach a turning point in life. They have started numerous projects with a view to fulfilling this aim. Projects include a 24-hour residential Recovery Programme and three houses across the UK offering support to the victims of Human Trafficking. Latest reports put the figure of those being held in slavery (human trafficking) at 27,000 world wide. This figure varies with sources, but is used by anti-human trafficking organisations in the USA. See http://enditmovement.com
Human Trafficking Interview
City Hearts - Rescuing And Restoring The Most Vulnerable People In Our Nation from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
The O2H grant was for purchase of IT equipment for use in the safe houses in Liverpool
and by the outreach team to help facilitate the recovery process. Specific use includes: access to the Internet, job hunting, learning diary management skills, learning budgeting and other computer courses and software packages. Because the computers are in house, it helps move people focus on gaining skills that would:
Empower them to take hold of their own futures
Train them how to take the next steps towards their dreams practically
Accelerate the pathway to their goals increasing their skills in targeted areas
Decrease the chances of being re-trafficked
Minimize the risk of homelessness
Increase confidence and self belief thus decreasing the risk of returning to poverty
Educate them on how to find information, services and help independently
For more information, go to http://www.city-hearts.co.uk
Child With Detachment Disorder
£1,000 ($1,500) was granted to help a child in with a severe attachment disorder in the UK. £2,000 ($3,000) more came from an anonymous gift for a total of £3,000 ($5,500). This will enable an in-depth multidisciplinary assessment by an organization which specialises in children with attachment disorder, based in London. Specialist organisations working with Attachment Disorder children are very hard to find and this organization has an impressive track record of improving outcomes for both children and caregivers.
This child was removed from the mother by Social Services two years ago, at age 7, because of abuse and neglect. The mother was an alcoholic, had been convicted of violent assault several times, was a victim of domestic violence and neglected to feed, clothe and bathe her children on a regular basis. In addition there was the danger of a convicted rapist/paedophile in the mother’s home.
Currently, the child has violent outbursts for no apparent reason, lasting for up to an hour. The child’s behaviour is extremely unpredictable. The child finds it hard to sleep at night and is frequently angry and defiant, biting, kicking and punching the caregivers.
Children’s brains form in response to the interactions with the mother/caregiver. Networks are laid down in the first two years that all future social and emotional skills are built on. The child’s brain remains in a state of plasticity, where these links can still be forged up to the age of around 11.This means that there is still a two year window, in which it would be possible, with specialist support, for the ‘bonds of attachment’ to form and for this child to have the possibility of reaching full potential in life. This grant will give the tools to change this child’s life forever.
Barmouth Food Bank Project
£1,500 was granted to the Barmouth Food Bank. The food bank will be overseen by Barmouth Elim Pentecostal Church working in partnership
with the Trussell Trust.
Food is donated by schools, churches, businesses and individuals donate non-perishable, in-date food to the food bank. All food given out by food banks is donated.
‘Supermarket Collections’ have been one of the main ways that food is donated: These are food drives held at supermarkets where volunteers give shoppers a ‘food bank shopping list’ and ask them to buy an extra item or two for local people in crisis.
Volunteers sort food to check that it’s in date and pack it into boxes ready to be given to people in need. For more information on food banks, go to http://www.trusselltrust.org
Abergele District Food Bank
We granted £550 ($835) to the Abergele District Food Bank who had to relocate their food storage for the project to grow and to provide a safe and clean environment.
Since officially opening on 16th September 2013 they have fed OVER 800 people.
The largest percentage of users of the food bank have come from Abergele-Pensarn area, Kinmel Bay, Pentre Mawr and Rhyl. 59% of referrals have been as a result of benefit changes and delays in benefit payments. They also work with agencies to support people who suffer domestic violence.
The Welsh Foodbank Network Manager said, “The foodbank is well managed and is located in a very warm and welcoming environment” “Abergele District Foodbank has clearly developed an excellent reputation locally. The current healthy relationships with voucher holders is to be commended and used as a basis to build on”
Project 1 - Funding to support the costs of art therapy for an autistic child
Project 2 - Rugby Food Bank
We granted £1,500 ($2,330) for beginning a food bank in Rugby.
The churches in Rugby, UK are setting up the food bank. It is an amazing initiative and I (Diane Mansell – an O2H Board Member) am so excited that we will be bringing this to the people of Rugby – many of whom are in great need.
It is a very ‘big society‘ idea, and allows the people of Rugby to help the people of Rugby. As we reach out the church will be seen to be fleshing out Matt 25:35. We will be touching the lives of the lost, the least and the last… here in Rugby, with a message that we care, that Jesus cares and they are not forgotten.
We are doing this under the banner of the Trussell Trust based in Salisbury which operates as a franchise model equipping churches to deliver this to their location.
You may well have heard of foodbanks as they have received huge press coverage locally and nationally and last year provided emergency food to over 60,000 people in crisis. This is emergency relief – not long term help – clients are sign posted to other agencies who will assist in the long term. The majority of clients come because of benefit delay, unemployment and low income.
Food is donated by the public via supermarket collections, harvest festival collections, church collections, etc – so it goes wider than just the Christian community and involves the local community helping their local community. Clients are referred through a vouchers scheme issued by front line agencies such as CAB, social workers, head teachers, children’s centres etc. They are allowed up to 3 vouchers in a year each giving 3 days worth of long life nutritional food for all the members of the household.
Here in Rugby we aim to open for food distribution in mid March but there is much to be done before then. We are still locating a storage facility for the tons of food we will need to collect. We are now contacting the agencies and making the public aware of the scheme through press releases etc. However, as with any new operation there are significant start up costs and this is where I believe O2H could play a valuable part in bringing much needed emergency relief to many people in Rugby.
There are two websites to learn more about the foodbank network and the Trussell Trust.
Strong & Mighty Max Books £2,662 ($3,600)
The printing costs of Strong and Mighty Max (a revised edition) features learning activities for schools to facilitate discussion around disabilities and differences.
Strong and Mighty Max is a children’s picture book that raises awareness about a rare genetic condition/disability ‘achondroplasia’, more commonly known as dwarfism. The new edition will feature the original story with added learning activities, which will learning activities, which will be geared towards key stage one and key stage two.
The book’s first edition has sold about 1,000 copies which sold out. This application specifically requests funding for printing the revised edition.
The project also includes a website which will enable the author to self-distribute and engage with schools through online learning activities and downloads which will be directly linked to the book. The project has engaged with parents of children born with disabilities and a national support charity ‘The Restricted Growth Association’ who have emphasized the urgent need for further education in schools to raise awareness about people who are born different.
People who purchased the book say it has made a positive difference to the life of their child. Parents have used the book to educate peers of their child; to prepare them for starting school; and to explain their disability in a simple way which other children will understand. The book has empowered children who found accepting their difference/disability difficult. It has helped boost confidence and self-esteem; enabling them to clearly relate to their friends. The fact that the lead character in the book has been born just like them and has big dreams, has encouraged them to look to the positives of their condition.
Footsteps Stay & Play, Rugby, UK £3,000 ($4,071)
A Stay and Play children’s and caregiver’s group has been started at New Life Church Rugby. Young mums/dads/caregivers have highlighted the need for a safe place to come and stay with their children where they can make friendships and their children can play.
There is also a great need for caregivers who are new to the area and English is not their first language, to have a place to come where they feel welcome (there are no established cliques). They have started with one morning a week to measure what the demand will be. Their sense is that the need is great in Rugby. In the future, they want to reach out in other areas such as parents and caregivers who have special needs children, parenting courses and other outreach needs in the community.
This group will be supportive to all sectors of the community. Their aim is to reach out to the vulnerable in society who feel marginalized.
O2H has agreed to a grant of £3,000 ($3,982) to help building a clinic for the homeless in Rugby, UK.
Hope4 aims to relieve poverty among homeless and badly-housed people in the Borough of Rugby; and works to prevent homelessness.
Hope4’s strategies are:
- Run a day centre, the Hope Centre, for homeless and badly-housed people.
- Run a ‘food ministry’, Hope4U, providing hot food and drinks to adults in need.
- Oversee the work of the Rugby Food Bank.
- Run a Winter Shelter providing supper, beds and breakfasts for up to 15 rough-sleepers a night during the winter months.
- Work with local agencies that help homeless people, or people in danger of becoming homeless.
- Influence the homeless support projects implemented by Rugby Borough Council.
- Operate a clinic.
The charity is expanding the work at the Centre having to employ more staff, deliver new services including training and a basic health care clinic.
They will employ a part time nurse and other health care specialists such as a podiatrist and chiropractor and substance misuse specialists. In order to facilitate these additional services, the remaining part of the building is being refurbished.
The O2H grant allows them to build the clinic space in their facility.
Apple Valley, MN, USA: Jubilee for the poor
O2H granted £3,000 ($4,625 US) for the Jubilee, a celebration of people in the Minneapolis area who are in need. It is a day filled with fun, hope and encouragement. The money was used for the tents.Jubilee is a one-day celebration honoring members in our community who are in need with a day filled with fun, hope and encouragement. Through donations from churches, individuals, corporations and other organizations, Jubilee offers the blessings of food, merchandise and services all in a fun, festive atmosphere. It’s all done in the name of Jesus and it’s all FREE!
Jubilee Celebration 9 from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
Jubilee 2011 took place Saturday, September 17 and it was a wonderfully blessed event! Thank you to all our contributors and volunteers! Over 1800 people were served with a day filled with blessings given freely in the name of Jesus!
When entering the Jubilee event, each adult or family receives one certificate for 7 FREE Blessings. These blessings include a bag of groceries, a choice of services (haircut, photo session,...) and many new or gently used items such as clothing, toys and household merchandise (while supplies last).
Jubilee is a celebration complete with complimentary food, treats, live music, children’s entertainment and more!Jubilee is a day filled with fun, hope and encouragement. Through donations from churches, individuals, corporations, and O2H (you), have brought blessings of food, merchandise, services, all in a fun, festive atmosphere. It’s all FREE!
The Mission of Jubilee is to give away more than just stuff. The true mission of Jubilee is to serve God by giving generously, compassionately and unconditionally to people in order to demonstrate the hope and love that can only come through Jesus. This is the ninth consecutive year for giving away thousands of dollars of goods and services.
This year there were 1815 registered attendees with 24 area churches contributing. 60+ Vision screenings were given away at the mobile clinic, 11 attendees had dental treatment (free) in a mobile clinic, 1600+ bottles of laundry soap distributed, thousands of pieces of clothing, baby items, and household items given away.
1728 loaves of bread were served and over 925 families were taking part. 1,700 bags of groceries were given away along with 65 haircuts, 140 family portraits and all with live clowns, music, dance acts, pizza and more.
To serve this many people, 470 volunteers show up to help distribute the goods and services, all in Jesus’ name. Each family receives a certificate good for 7 FREE blessings. These blessings include: a bag of groceries, a choice of services (haircut, photo session, etc.) and many new or gently used items such a clothing, toys and household merchandise. All this while items are being distributed there is food, treats, live music, bouncy houses and entertainment. Truly the people who attend call this their own fair for the poor!
Reaching Up Ministries - USA
$3,000 (£1,875) was granted to Reaching Up Ministries, a U.S. charity organization located in Apple Valley, MN, USA.
Reaching Up Ministries sought the grant to help pay for food for the Summer Loaves.
Last school year, it was brought to their attention that a cafeteria for low-income children would no longer be available in their school district over the summer because of a shortage in free/reduced recipients. With over 6,000 children currently qualifying for free/reduced lunch this past school year, Reaching Up partnered with 8 different schools in order to identify 100 children that would directly be affected by the absence of the cafeteria.
Summer Loaves from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
Last Summer there was participation from: 8 schools, 6 businesses. 5 churches and the University of Minnesota.
This Summer (2014) they are expanding from 100 children to 200.
We provide food for a week of lunches which they receive every Wednesday for 12 weeks. Last year we were only able to secure produce for either 1 vegetable or 1 fruit per week. This funding would be used for each child to have 1 piece of fruit per day. (200 children, 25 cents per piece of fruit, 5 pieces a week for 12 weeks)
Outreach Van for King of Glory Church
A grant of $3,000 (£2,400) was given to King of Glory (Rey de Gloria) in Minneapolis, MN. King of Glory is both a Spanish speaking and English speaking church located in one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the United States.
It is a known fact that there are one hundred sixty three (163) accounted nationalities and people groups living together in South Minneapolis. Furthermore, there are over one hundred seventy eight (178) languages being spoken also throughout its neighborhoods.
The funding request of $3,000 US Dollars will be used for the purchase of a Van (Transportation Vehicle ) for up to 12 passengers. Estimated total cost of $10,000 US dollars.
There are currently two community outreach initiatives that would immediately benefit from the acquisition:
1) Food distribution (sandwiches) for the homeless and people
2) King of Glory also offers a couple of programs available to the community and these agencies: a) English as a second language and b) Life Recovery Principle workshops.
Visible Music College & Su Casa
A grant of £$2,950 (£2,265) was given Visible Music College who partnered with Su Casa Family Ministries to bring music education and mentoring to children in a low income, minority neighborhood. The intent was to help revitalize the community through music education, exposure, job creation, and mentoring.
The grant was for: instruments (4 acoustic guitars, 2 keyboards, 4 drum pads, drum sticks, power adapters); Teachers (3 teachers / 10 weeks); and administrative costs.
Lusaka, Zambia: New software for Africa Enterprise Trust Computer School
A Short Video Of the AET Computer School
Enterprise College from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
Africa Enterprise Trust Zambia has operated a computer school for the past eight years as one of its projects to uplift the poor through education and enterprise. During this time many students have gained work or better posts because of their enhanced computer skills.
The computer school is run by Mark Mukanda who was in the first class of students taught by Tim Blake (from Basildon, in the UK) when he set up the school. The following year Mark taught alongside Tim and then Mark continued the work. Mark has now trained an assistant to work alongside him.
When the computer school was set up all the computers were second-hand. Mark did a brilliant job in keeping them in working order but the time came when they needed to be replaced.
Last year they received a significant donation from the US and sourced good quality refurbished computers and keyboards. They are also gradually replacing the monitors with new flat screens which use less power. This is particularly helpful when we have to run the generator.
The donation which provided computers for Enterprise College also includes five computers for Hope College. Every Hope College Diploma Programme student is given a week of training in basic computer skills and using the internet for research and study. The course is taught by Tim Blake (Basildon) and Mark Mukanda (Enterprise College, AETZ).
They plan to install new computers in the library to give greater access to the students for study and to increase their skills while they have the opportunity to receive help from Mark and visiting tutors.
The Grant of £2,500 [$4,080 US] is for operating systems and fully licensed Office Professional plus 2010 software.
Lusaka, Zambia: Banana plantation for training the poor & Chicken Farm initiative for the poor
Lusaka, Zambia: Microenterprise project research
Lusaka, Zambia: Grant for Hope College
Zambian Internet Touchpad Tablet Project – O2H has granted £330 ($513 US) to help purchase Touchpad Tablets for Hope College, Zambia:
Amazon, announced that in the last quarter of 2010, they had now transitioned into selling more books via the Kindle device and application than they do paper books.
This is a significant statement from the world’s greatest bookseller (and a significant educational source to the world). There is a realization that the world is heading more and more towards electronic portable devices for educational training. Many training schools, colleges, universities and centres are now using tablet notebook devices for education and training.
We have a great opportunity to utilize such in helping our friends in Hope College in Zambia.
We can supply the students of Hope College with internet touchpad computers for their training and holistic education.
This will not replace personal, one-to-one, hands-on training, rather this will would supplement training alongside what is already provided. These tablets access a whole host of resources: The knowledge available on the worldwide web (both free and purchased books via the Kindle application), a plethora of Bible translations and Bible software, various social networking for audio and video communication (i.e. Skype, Facebook, etc), translations of multiple languages, etc. And the greatest thing would be to see this become a resource for uploading assignments in PDF format and placing all lecture audio into the music player’.
A student not only receives hands-on training on the ground, but after 2 years of training they leave with a resource bank to continue their own educational development and use for the development of other people.
This would be an educational seed into their own lives and the lives of others to come.
Short term goal: To provide 5 internet touchpad tablets for staff and pastors of Hope College, Lusaka, Zambia. This is a kind of ‘tester’ stage to see if this would be beneficial in the long-term.
Long-term goal: To provide internet touch-pad tablets for all pastor-students of Hope College (possibly beginning in January 2013).
The cost per tablet is: £165 ($256 US).
O2H granted £500 for Fountain of Life School, Lusaka, Zambia to pay for a plumber to connect the services and sanitary wares in the school ablution block.
Fountain of Life School works to provide a basic education to 60 children. They follow the government curriculum. They use our church building for lessons and are in the process of completing a large, modern, ablution block. Until this is in place the school is limited in the grants and support and recognition it gets.
Fountain of Life School is operated by the Fountain of Life Church which is pastored by Hudson and Brenda Luwi (below) with whom we have been in relationship for many years.
To see a video of Hudson and the church, click on this LINK
£3,000 ($4,600) was granted to Destiny Community Centre, Matero Zambia Destiny has well over 400 children in Matero, Lusaka. As part of NewSprings of Life Church pastored by Peter Kaunda, they have involved the community in this project through a community school parents/teacher’s committee. The community contributes a monthly contribution toward teacher’s salaries though not sufficient. Our objectives are to provide education to the most vulnerable children.
The grant went to classroom maintenance due to poor work done during construction. There are a total of five classrooms. After flooring and plastering, they will need to repaint the school. Peter Kaunda (left) is the founder and executive director of Destiny Community Centre.
After the completion of this project, children will be learning in a clean and conducive atmosphere that will improve their academy performance. A good classroom performance will give them a better future.
To see a video of Peter Kaunda sharing, click on this LINK.
Nyanga, Zimbabwe: Rekai Tangwena Orphanage
Rekai Tangwena Children's Home Completed! from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
Alan Scotland writes: “Hallelujah! We achieved our goal against all odds thanks to you. The Lord has come through! We were able to witness a beautiful dedication of this facility for the children.
Church leaders and dignitaries from government were present to witness this wonderful occasion.” “January 27th, 2011 was the official opening of the Rekai Tangwena Children’s Home in Nyanga,
Zimbabwe.
Built during a time of extreme economic problems, the completed buildings are home to 22 children (with a capacity of 30) and stands as a testimony to the generosity of many people.
The final cost was £140,000 ($227,676) for the completed project of which O2H gave £3,000 ($4,940 US).”
‘I want to say a huge thank you to all who have given and for the colleagues working together to carry this work with this end result. We are encouraged by what we had seen. It was a joy to see the children cleaning the steps and preparing the marquee for the visitors arriving just after a huge rainstorm. They made everything spic and span.’
There is capacity now to double the numbers if necessary (22 Children present). It is so good to see these children in a good, safe environment. It’s the beginning of a whole new chapter for them. The parameter fence and houses are complete. What theyneed next is to develop the chicken run and the vegetable gardens. I believe this is
a testimony for years to come if it is managed well. Please see the video of the building and the dedication on the following link:
http://lifelinkinternational.org/media/videos/rekai-tangwena-childrens
Borehole project in Zimbabwe
£3,000/$5,000 toward a borehole (well) project in Zimbabwe. As is the case, clean water is a real issue in Zimbabwe and this project will supply clean water for 1,000 homes in the Hatcliffe district of Harare.
Water For Hatcliffe O2H Project from Global Horizons on Vimeo.
This past year Opportunity 2 Hope gave a grant to Missions Fellowship in Christ Church, Hatcliffe, Zimbabwe for a borehole that would not only supply the church, but 1,000 families.
This past year Opportunity 2 Hope gave a grant to Missions Fellowship in Christ Church, Hatcliffe, Zimbabwe for a borehole that would not only supply the church, but 1,000 families.
This includes drilling the borehole, and all relevant installations such as a water tank, pipework, scaffolding etc.
The local church leader, Silent Gwashavanhu, has consulted with members and leaers of the community and with the local MP and all are in agreement that these facilities would be best located at the Hatcliffe church site.
Hatcliffe is a high density suburb in the outskirts of Harare (a population of 100,000 people).
This suburb has been hit by rural urban migration and the government has been unable to supply clean water. As is the case sooften, the poor suffer. Disease increases when unclean water is in use.
O2H is part of the financing for this well as the project is large. We thanks God for all of the people who participate with O2H monthly so that the poor are blessed.
Borehole At Hwange Zimbabwe
We granted £3000 ($4,500) for a borehole (well) at the Popeye & Kids Day Nursery School. This will cut down on the expenses (no longer having to pay water bills from the government) and provide water to grow vegetables.
We will partner with the Dunstable Church who will lend additional finance so that the project is complete. This loan is not to O2H but rather to the project.
The school has educated children for free which is especially important for children of parents that have died from HIV.
This borehole (well) will make a big difference in the children’s diets, as well as early education for disadvantaged children and orphans.
