World Concern reaches 6.4 million people annually, giving hope to people facing incredible need. After disasters and during wars and famines, we are there to comfort and equip people with tools to reach a better future. Whether we are providing the 44¢ Cure to children with intestinal parasites, supporting AIDS orphans, or working with small business owners so they can become self-sufficient, World Concern has one goal: transformed lives.
As Noolari positions her plastic barrel under the hand pump gushing with clear water, she smiles and gives thanks for this fantastic answer to prayer. She feels privileged, saying “It has reduced our expenses on medical bills.” Like other women in her Kenyan village, Noolari once walked miles across the savannah to a spring of contaminated water. Now she and other mothers can spend more time at home with their children, who stay healthier by drinking clean water. The new wells are a testament to how World Concern’s clean water projects transform communities. 1n 2009, World Concern provided clean water to more than 100,000 people in nine countries.
Nurnobi is excited. The eight-year-old boy has just received—not toys—but books! Since his father died, he’s watched his mother struggle to support him and his sister in the Bangladeshi slum they called home. Through World Concern and its donors, Nurnobi has an opportunity not granted to many slum children, and he’s making the most of it. World Concern trained teachers, provided teaching materials, and educated nearly 7,000 children like Nurnobi. He is off the slum streets now, with a new dream, “I want to serve poor people who don’t have help,” he says. Nurnobi’s story is just beginning—who knows how many lives he’ll touch?
Masuda felt like she had nowhere to turn. Abandoned by her husband and pregnant, she and her little girl moved in with her parents. But they were unable to support her for long. But Masuda’s life changed when a friend told her about World Concern. We gave her a loan for $100, which she used to start a grocery shop—selling rice, spices and onions. She repaid it, and we loaned her $200. Her business grew. Masuda now sends her daughter to school, and lives in a bamboo and tin house she bought. But the microloan program transforms more than the income of poor women. It helps overcome barriers in a male-dominated society where women are not respected. In the past year, more than 20,000 people received microfinance loans or access to village banks in five countries.
In 2009, World Concern worked in 14 countries and partnered in 10 more in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Of the 14 countries, nine of them face political, religious or security restrictions. Our fieldworkers assisted more than 23,000 people affected by the war in Sri Lanka.
World Concern takes joy in providing hope for the hopeless, because it’s what we’ve experienced through Christ. We serve all, and love all, because of Him.