Children’s Relief International

This earthquake hit close to home for us at Children’s Relief International. Our Board Chairman, Bill Cook, currently works in Tokyo. We asked, How can we help?

“The magnitude of the disaster is impossible for any person to comprehend. The extent of the suffering, the heart breaking search for beloved ones, the losses in terms of people, possessions, homes and the vastness of the destruction leaves me dumb struck. I have no idea how one can survive and continue to live having been exposed to such indescribable trauma. May God be with them!”

-CRI friend, Willem, of South Africa

Under Bill’s lead we have a matching donation opportunity. A donor will match gifts up to $5000. His employer will then match them up to $10,000. $1 becomes $4 and $5,000 becomes $20,000.

(click image to enlarge)

100% of the funds donated to this cause will go to the areas most in need through Tokyo Baptist Church and the Red Cross.

Once on the Donate page Click Other Ways to Give
Select Emergency Aid to Japan.

Keep up to date on aid progress to Japan on  Facebook, Twitter or email your questions to Jason@childrensrelief.org.

Register on Saturday for the 2nd Annual Green Door 5K and Fun Run at Harry Myers Park in Rockwall from 7:30 – 8:30 am.

Check out this short video on Children’s Relief Internationals Green Door 5K and Fun Run results in 2010.

Making a difference – Green Door 5k/Fun Run 2010 from Children’s Relief International on Vimeo.

“A quick snap shot of the Green Door 5K/Fun Run and what was accomplished through the participation of those who ran that day.”

Members of the Dalit or “untouchable” caste usually work as manual laborers cleaning streets, bathrooms and sewers. Hindus believe that this kind of work pollutes the person, so Dalits are often ostracized in the community. In the past they were not allowed to enter a temple or go to school. Although this treatment is no longer constitutional, many Dalits still experience extreme prejudice, especially those living in rural areas.

Vimal Prasad is a member of the Dalit caste. Before his father died of tuberculosis Vimal worked alongside him in the fields. His mother is alive and works cleaning houses.

Four years ago, the Rajah Children’s Home pulled Vimal out of the fields and into our home where he learned about Jesus and was loved by those around him. Those who know him describe him as “a natural leader and a kind-hearted kid.” Now he has graduated the 10th grade.

After scoring well on a written exam Vimal secured a government job in the Irrigation department! His starting salary is equivalent to $100 per month, and he has opportunity to advance as he gains experience. This job is the realization of a dream, not only for Vimal and his widowed mother, but for CRI as well.

His mother says, “I always dreamed that Vimal would get settled and be able to look after me when I am old, but it was always just a dream. Now my dream has come true. Our god is an awesome God.”

There are 39 other children that RCH is helping in the same way! Efforts to help kids like these are worth every penny, every prayer, and every second of hard work. With your support CRI is overcoming poverty one child at a time. Thank you!

For more information please visit our How You Can Help page.

Can you imagine missing out on an education because of a debt equivalent to less than one U.S. dollar? That is exactly the situation Freesia Wanjiku was in before her enrollment in the Mayatima Project. Primary education is supposedly free in Kenya, but the ratio between teacher and student is 1 to 95! Children and their families must therefore pay tuition to provide for more teachers. Many children would give up in Freesia’s situation. Her brother quit going to school in grade three, but Freesia took every opportunity she could to learn.

Freesia’s father and her uncle died of AIDS two years ago within two months of each other. Their widows, Freesia’s mother and aunt, are both HIV positive. When the Mayatima staff first met Freesia, her mother was away from home, looking for work. The following day Mayatima’s Director, George, met with Freesia and her mother to discuss Freesia’s future. Her life has been so different since that day.

Freesia no longer wastes her days at home. Instead she is receiving a quality education at the Cornell Christian Academy. But Freesia still does not have a sponsor. Just one dollar a day will provide food, clothing, and a continued education for a young girl who wants to learn. Can you help?

For more information please visit our How You Can Help page.

Mudpaths Ministry serves the surrounding villages of Kolkata, India. Our partner, Smriti Maity, states her vision like this: To reach out to children who are unwanted, untouchable, and abandoned. To  teach them the Word of God along with an academic education.  To give training for sustainable employment to young girls and women—those who are hopeless and broken, mentally and emotionally, and those who dream of a better future for their lives.

Smriti and Mudpaths Ministry are doing just that. Thirty-two children, who live in the slums that Mudpaths calls home, have registered for our pre-school. Twenty-five attend regularly. Our pre-school gives these children a head start in preparation for public school. The kids learn the Bengali and English alphabets, numbers, and colors. But more important, each day they hear a Bible story and learn about the love of Christ. Lives are changed when they return home and share His message. Smriti and her staff visit the children in their homes on a regular basis. There they find open doors into peoples’ homes and lives and open hearts to the Gospel of Jesus.

Mudpaths Ministry also hosts:

• A Sunday School with nearly a hundred children in attendance.
• A Tutoring Center for children studying in the government school system.
• A Tailoring School which teaches young girls and women a profitable skill.

To support God’s work along the Mudpaths of Kolkata, India, visit our How You Can Help page.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” The people served by the Ray of Light Project in Mozambique hunger for God’s word as much as they do the evening meal.

One of our missionaries to Mozambique, Anita Frederick, recently delivered Bibles to a group of pastors. She describes it this way:

Pastor Francois opened our time in prayer. “Thank you, God, for these Bibles. Thank you for the people so far away who remembered us and sent us Your words. Thank you…”

As he closed his prayer the song began, a crescendo building as more pastors joined in. Each pastor held a few Bibles. Some waved a Bible in the air while others tapped out a percussion beat. One pastor joined the dancing, clutching a plastic bag full of Bibles to his chest. Another elderly pastor held his stack of Bibles through the whole song with sagging arms. He didn’t have much dance left in him, but nothing could separate him from his precious cargo.

These Bibles will not sit idle gathering dust on a shelf. They will pass from person to person, each one caring for the Book as one would care for a family heirloom. To learn how you can help pastors bring the Bread of Life to the people of Mozambique, visit our How You Can Help Page.

Summer 2011 is still a ways away but we want to encourage you to start thinking about joining a Summer Team to one of CRI’s projects. We will have teams going to the Ray of Light Project in Mozambique, The Jege Project in Nigeria, and the three projects in India (the plan is to visit all three while there).

This short video provides a snap shot of what a team experience is like. The stats shared in the video reflect the efforts of the Stafford Miller Life Group in Rockwall Texas. They sent a team to the Ray of Light project in 2010 –  They are sending another team in 2011.

Consider joining us in our efforts to help children in need around the world. We call it serving in Hill Country. We work to drive out the giants of poverty, illness and hunger. (Hill Country and giants reference comes from Joshua 14:12.)

If you are interested send us an email – jason@childrensrelief.org or give us a call 210-378-3603.

Join us in the Land of Moz 2011 from Children’s Relief International on Vimeo.