Community Development
a component of our Village Partnership Program
Children of the Nations seeks to come alongside orphaned and destitute children, empowering them to someday transform their nations. But this transformation must first begin on a local level—in the hearts of individuals, in families, and throughout villages and communities. Children of the Nations seeks to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills and resources they need to effect change in their own lives, their families, their communities, and ultimately their nations.
By partnering with nationals, Children of the Nations has a unique opportunity to understand both how to work with individuals within the context of their culture (e.g. communication do’s and don’ts, cultural values, and social practice) and also how to affect communities’ positions within the context of larger issues (such as education, infrastructure, social services, economics, and politics).
By empowering village and community leaders with skills and resources to strategically work toward implementing a common agenda—improving their community and therefore altering the course of their future—Children of the Nations is helping lay the foundation for transformation.
As components of our Village Partnership Programs (which vary based on the assessed needs of a community) Children of the Nations is involved in community development in many ways, including:
Investing in infrastructure – Whether through drilling wells to provide access to clean water, installing irrigations systems to improve agricultural projects, constructing medical clinics to address the health needs of a community, or constructing schools and educational facilities which provide access to learning, infrastructure is key to the development of a community. COTN supporters who invest in capital projects as well as Venture Program participants who provide hands-on support are helping develop the infrastructure—the very foundation of our communities.
Dispelling cultural myths that affect health – For many developing nations, health can be drastically affected by cultural myths. For example, in Sierra Leone, it is a common belief that breastfeeding after resuming sexual relations will cause mental retardation in infants. Premature weaning, often as early as a couple of weeks or a month after birth, contributes to the country’s high infant mortality rate. (Sierra Leone ranks amongst the worst in the world.) In Malawi, HIV/AIDS is rampant because of a lack of education as to how the virus is spread and also because of myths about its cure, such as having sex with numerous partners or having intercourse with a virgin child. The Dominican Republic’s large Haitian population often forego Western medicine and turn instead to village witch doctors and voodoo when medical issues arise. By developing medical awareness programs, training campaigns, and health advocates initiatives, such as our Health Animators Program in Sierra Leone, COTN seeks to dispel cultural myths that negatively impact health.
Empowering the next generation – Education and skills training are key to empowering future generations to break the cycle of poverty. In many developing nations where daily, subsistence survival (farming, searching for food, or begging) is required not only of adults, but of children as well, education has little priority. This is compounded when education is not accessible due either to financial burden or distance. By stressing the value of education (particularly for the girl child, a demographic that is often marginalized in developing nations) and building schools or providing for schools fees where schools already exist, Children of the Nations seeks to prepare the next generation for a promising future.
Creating opportunities for self-sustainability – By developing and investing in income-generating endeavors such as agricultural projects (our farms, nurseries, or hydroponic fish ponds), skills training programs (like our multi-program Vocational Skills Centers), and micro-enterprise initiatives (such as our Widows Program), Children of the Nations seeks to raise up skilled individuals who are not only capable of providing for themselves and their families, but who are also contributing members of their communities and local economies, benefiting generations to come.
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