PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN •
2023-2024 Annual Report
RUSSIA
Through our 6 ministry programs in Russia in 2023:
570 children, young adults, and families were served
Aging Out Program, Russia
After growing up in an orphanage, Ira struggled to navigate life as an adult. Soon, she found herself in a dangerous situation. She was deeply in debt to her apartment complex and her supervisor began threatening her physically. Our Aging Out team worked with her to create a plan and budget and ensure her physical safety. Unfortunately, in 2022, the situation escalated once again. The team patiently coached Ira through the ups and downs as she did the hard work to climb out of debt. Now, not only is Ira debt-free, but she is also mentoring other young adults through a mentorship initiative launched as part of the Aging Out Program. Ira shares lessons on financial literacy and offers her own testimony as a transparent look at the lessons she has learned. Your faithful support through the years has helped Ira on her road to independence, provided her with mentorship and protection to navigate a challenging situation, and equipped her to help other young adults gain financial independence as well.
More about the Aging Out Program:
The need for quality support for children who are orphaned doesn’t end when those children age out of traditional care. Young adults who age out of orphanages in Russia face unsure futures, and without personalized care, the odds of a thriving adult life are not in their favor. Orphan Outreach began our aging out program in 2009, after spending time with the young men and women to understand their needs, dreams, and very real fears.
HONDURAS
Through our 3 ministry programs in Honduras in 2023:
647 children and families were served
NiCo Community Program, La Paz, Honduras
The NiCo community program provides discipleship, tutoring, counseling, nutritious meals, and academic support to vulnerable children. This holistic approach to child development extends beyond the classroom and in 2024, NiCo expanded to offer parenting classes. These interactive workshops equip parents and strengthen the entire family. Each session mirrors the topics children are learning at NiCo and enlists parents as partners in their child’s development. The classes equip guardians with parenting skills and ensure children are protected and nurtured at home. Blanca, a mother in La Paz, is thankful for the impact the NiCo after-school program has had on her 10-year-old daughter, Maria, and Yostin, her 7-year-old nephew. She is now part of the parenting workshops and learning how to partner with the NiCo team to support Maria and Yostin in their emotional development.
More about NiCo:
NiCo is a community outreach center that provides Christ-centered care to vulnerable children in the town of La Paz. The Early Childhood Development program serves the needs of pre-school and kindergarten students and the after-school program offers help to students in 1st through 6th grades. The program provides each child with tutoring, mentoring, nutritious meals, Bible study, counseling, and therapy.
INDIA
Through our 4 ministry programs in India in 2023:
502 children and families were served
Meet James
Gan Sabra Community Program, Aizawal, Mizoram, India
Chingthaniangi remembers when her family fled violence in Manipur to find safe haven in the neighboring state of Mizoram, India. “We had nothing, and all we wanted was peace,” she reflects. She and her husband Sangliana are HIV+, and both are day laborers with no formal education. “We were told there might be help for us in Aizawl, that there would not be discrimination.”
When their son James was born, they prayed to find someone who might offer guidance and help as they raised a child who, like them, was HIV+. They longed to provide a better future for James—a future that would allow him to become successful, a future that wouldn’t be marred by the stigma of HIV.
They were welcomed into the Gan Sabra Community Program, where they were provided school supplies and medicines to treat their HIV.
James remembers the day the Gan Sabra team arrived at their home. “They gave us food, prayed with us, and took care of us. They helped me to gain confidence in going to school and in trying new things. And when the pandemic came, Gan Sabra staff got special permission from the government to keep visiting all the families to make sure we had what we needed to survive. We wouldn’t have made it without them.”
Now 18, James is thriving, and his parents are proud of all he is accomplishing. He has won both state and national karate championships, and dreams of someday owning his own school.
Chingthaniangi shares, “Because of the support of Gan Sabra, James is now welcomed into the community. He is active in the youth group at our church and is a leader at school. Our prayer is that he continues karate training, that he gets a good job, and that he always remains close to Jesus.”
More about the Gan Sabra Community Program:
Gan Sabra provides medical and nutritional support to vulnerable families impacted by HIV in the Aizawl area, and offers training on both the causes and the treatment of HIV, as well as appropriate care of those affected by the disease.