Overview
Children of the Nations focuses on ministering to orphaned and destitute children, raising them to transform nations. Our Village Partnership Program was designed to specifically meet the needs of children (some orphaned, some not) living with destitute families or caregivers who are unable to properly provide for them. Our Village Partnership Program is unique in that it is not a relief or “hand-out” program, but rather a “hand-up.” This community-based ministry provides opportunities for partnership, empowering nationals with the resources and training to raise and provide for their own children and better their communities.
Working through the local village leadership (chief, pastor, elders, etc.) to provide a coming-alongside sort of assistance, Children of the Nations identifies the unique needs of the most desperate children in a community and develops a strategy on the best way to assist with these needs.
Since Village Partnership Programs are developed to address the unique needs of a community, program components vary by village/community. Implementation and development of additional components are directly dependent upon funding provided through our Sponsorship Program.
When Children of the Nations initially launches partnership with a community, the most-urgently assessed needs are addressed first, usually provision distribution (blankets, clothing, soap), nutrition, and education. As children in the community are individually sponsored (generating funding for the collective program) additional program components are added accordingly. A ministry center is often built in or near the community to provide services such as education, medical, a feeding center, and spiritual training. In some of our more established Village Partnership Programs, components include such programs as vocational skills centers offering multiple programs of study, medical clinics, and even university student programs!
We currently have 12 Village Partnerships in four countries:
Sierra Leone: Ngolala, Mosenesi, and Mokpangumba
Malawi: Mtsiliza, Mgwayi, and Chirombo
Uganda: Anai-Okii (to be launched Fall 2009)
Dominican Republic: Algodon, Altagracia, Don Bosco, Los Robles, and Pueblo Nuevo