In times of crisis and desperation, the first question we must ask is, “How can we save as many lives as possible?” The second question: “How can we build trust through meeting basic needs?” Finally, the most important question: “How can we share the Gospel throughout this process?”

The order of these questions is critical. Sharing the Gospel with people—the most important task—is what we do after showing true compassion in action: a package of rice and beans for a starving family, medicine for a dying child, clothing for refugees in the dead of winter.

We have seen the incredible effect time and time again: Meeting someone’s immediate physical needs opens doors for the Gospel to be shared . . . earning us the right to be heard. We believe this approach honors God and paves the way for genuine, lasting change— both inside and out.

Feeding Centers

Each day, over 842 million people—most living in the developing world—go to bed hungry. Hunger is ruthless and indiscriminate, killing more people every year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

We’ve established feeding centers in key areas where the hunger epidemic is extreme. Offering regular, nutritious meals to these families and children has kept thousands from starving needlessly.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in . . .” — Matt. 25:35 NIV

Just outside of Zacapa, Guatemala, there is a trash dump where surface fires smolder day and night.

It is dangerous, ungoverned, like a flickering scene from a nightmare. It is also home to hundreds of impoverished Guatemalans . . . and one of World Help’s largest feeding centers.

Six times a week, men, women, and children gather for nutrition-filled meals, clean water, and support from World Help partners. For the majority of them, these are the only meals they eat.

Operation Baby Rescue

At times, the battle against malnutrition, hunger, and disease becomes far too much to bear alone. For children fighting against these ailments, opportunities for help are often few and far between. Some have parents who, despite their best efforts, cannot adequately provide for their children.

In other cases, babies are born to frightened teen mothers who are unprepared to receive them as gifts. For all of these children within our reach—children struggling to survive in remote Mayan villages in Guatemala, poverty-stricken shanty-towns of Haiti, and the streets of Uganda’s most notorious slums— restoration and hope is possible through rescue.

It seemed that poverty and destitution had set out to rob the world of Jenifer’s life. Born into an impoverished village without access to basic resources, the odds of Jenifer’s survival were small to begin with.

Then, at only 13 months, she fell unexpectedly into a water basin. Minutes passed before she was discovered completely submerged in the basin, lying terrifyingly still.

Rushed by her mother to the nearest hospital, Jenifer was miraculously revived . . . but something was terribly wrong. In the minutes she went without oxygen, Jenifer suffered severe brain trauma, leading to cerebral damage. She would be unable to speak, walk, or even eat on her own.

Humanitarian Aid Shipments

The unequivocal generosity of our donors enabled us to procure and ship thousands of units of clothing, food, and medical donations to people in the midst of conflict or economic shortages, saving and enriching countless lives along the way.

Through gifts-in-kind donations, federal and excess property grants, and other established shipping programs designed to offer practical assistance to overseas locations, we have made considerable contributions to the needs of our international programs without incurring significant cost.

The efficiency of this program alone allows us to bring temporary relief in times of crisis without impeding the growth of sustainable, long-term initiatives.

Investing in long-term solutions for change is World Help’s ultimate goal for every project and program.

Biblical training, increasing childhood access to education, and opportunities for adults to benefit from vocational programs, are just some of the initiatives that allow families to play an active role in lifting themselves from poverty.

Educated individuals have what most in the developing world lack: options . . . and rekindled hope for a better and brighter future.

His parents had been covered in pale sores for as long as he could remember. By the time he was 5 years old, they no longer had the strength to leave their dilapidated home. Leprosy had cast a dark shadow on his life and it seemed there was no way out.

Ravi wasn’t sick like his parents, but he was continually shunned and ostracized by others. Eventually, he learned that he was unfit for society . . . and no one expected anything to become of him.

However, in 2009, Ravi became a student at Abundant Life Children’s Home where he encountered the truth of his worth and potential. At first, he struggled to believe in himself, but with time and steady support, his confidence started to grow.

Vocational Training

Conflict, displacement, disease, abject poverty, and other extenuating circumstances have robbed many of the chance to regularly attend school during their childhood years. These children grow up into adults who have no other choice but to work in unskilled, low-paying positions.

World Help chooses to take the approach of sustainable investment by giving uneducated adults a chance through a spectrum of vocational-training opportunities. Graduates of these programs go on to be successful seamstresses, welders, beauticians, and experts in the culinary professions. This strategy produces something much more valuable than temporary help . . . it upholds the dignity of individuals who—like each of us—long to participate in meaningful work.

Like many of her peers, Jennifer’s story is a complex but beautiful thread woven into Uganda’s intricate tapestry of hope. Abducted as a child by the Lord’s Resistance Army, she was left with a shattered childhood and little schooling, followed by an early marriage that produced three children. Her husband—an alcoholic—abandoned Jennifer and their children, leaving her with no income to survive. Stripped of everything, she couldn’t remember what dignity felt like.

Sponsorship

The journey of sponsorship is a two-way street, the cultivation of a meaningful relationship between a sponsor and a child that develops a strong, lasting bond.

Relationships require trust, and they require giving—giving of time, communication, understanding, as well as plenty of emotional and spiritual energy.

This continual investment by our sponsors produces radical change in the lives of thousands of disadvantaged boys and girls . . . the priceless gift of transformation—body, heart, mind, and soul.

Cristian is one of three children living in an area where crime and poverty keep most young people from ever living out their full potential. When Cristian’s father abandoned the family, the sole burden of provider fell to his mother who worked as a maid in town. Cristian and his siblings went to live with their grandmother, enabling his mother to work extra hours to make ends meet, and yet, the family struggled greatly. There was no extra money for school, medical care, or even regular meals.

When Deana Frye began sponsoring 12-year-old Cristian from Honduras, everything began to change for him.

In his first letter to Deana in 2010 he wrote, “I greet you with lots of love. I am happy because I will be attending the day-care center where I will receive a rich lunch and snack, and the teachers will teach me Bible stories.” With every letter, photo, and update, the relationship grew more precious to Deana, and she longed to meet Cristian, if only to tell him how much she enjoyed being his sponsor.

World Help’s global network of church planters is comprised of some of the most passionate and courageous individuals we have ever known. They are willing to risk everything— their safety, their possessions, even their lives—for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel to the unreached. Properly equipping these great men and women of God requires rigorous programs of training, study, and field experience.

After a church planter is strategically positioned for outreach, the true challenge of faith begins. Our desire is to empower and support each church planter to confidently reach entire communities for Christ and establish churches that will shine brightly in the surrounding darkness with faithfulness, fearlessness, and hope.

8,681

churches planted

Even in the most unreached and persecuted areas of the world, God is drawing multitudes of people to Himself through the indisputable power of His Word.

Providing Bibles to our brothers and sisters suffering under the constant threat of imprisonment and oppression continues to be our most effective tool for sharing the Gospel. Our approach to this task continues to grow as we seek out better methods for distribution, the production of portable digital copies, and safeguarding our partners who daily risk their lives so this work can be accomplished.

249,401

Bibles provided around the world

Developing communities often lack the basic infrastructure to facilitate true transformation on a practical level. Without access to clean water, proper housing, buildings dedicated for school and church, and nearby medical clinics, progress is stifled—if not halted—altogether.

Providing essential facilities like these is a crucial step in the objective of community transformation.

Around the world, treatable illnesses can often become a death sentence. In Haiti alone, 40 percent of the population lives without access to clean water, and even more lack basic healthcare. Thousands of children die every year from the effects of contaminated water and poor sanitation—a tragedy World Help is committed to ending through the construction of medical centers where treatment can be given to those in grave need.

In 2013, one part of that vision was manifested before our very eyes.

After 12 years of praying, dreaming, and planning, our national partner Danita’s Children, along with World Help, opened the doors to a state-of-the-art medical clinic, which now serves hundreds of children and families. The facility runs a rehabilitation program for severely malnourished children, hosts traveling medical specialists from around the world, and tends to the students of the adjoined children’s home. It is a life-saving answer to bold prayers and the result of an unwavering commitment to a healthier Haiti.

74,347

people impacted with clean water

Church Building

For Christians living in areas saturated by religious persecution, a church building is more than just a gathering place . . . it is a refuge. Assembling in homes is difficult for large congregations and can elicit harassment from community members. But by establishing places of worship for spiritually oppressed people groups, the body of Christ is strengthened and eternal investments abound.

[line]

In the mountains of India where Shyamlal lived, Hindu idol worship was practiced by virtually everyone in the community. His wife was plagued continually by nightmares and sickness; and tragically, the couple’s daughter died unexpectedly from a fever.

In 1997, a group of Christians visited the community and shared the Gospel with Shyamlal and his family. The transformation was immediate. His wife’s nightmares stopped and the sickness ended. “I felt loved for the first time in my life.” Strengthened by his newfound joy in Christ, Shyamlal began telling everyone he knew about the Jesus who had changed his life.

Eventually, over 150 people from the village became Christ followers because of one man’s testimony. World Help partnered with Shyamlal in 2013 to provide the first church ever built in the village. Seventy families are now able to worship God in this brand-new facility, which serves as a beacon of hope and healing for miles around.

Trip Participant

Michele-Lyn Ault

“What I love about World Help is this: They find where God is working and meet Him there—partnering with those who are already doing a great work helping people in relative countries and providing them support.”

After Michele-Lyn Ault and her husband, Jay, visited Haiti as young adults, she remembers praying, “Bring us back here, Lord. Haiti has my heart.” Over the next 15 years, she dreamed of returning—even sending Jay on several trips to Haiti by himself—but her prayer remained the same. “Bring us back here.”

She believes that prayer was answered when they were both invited to travel with World Help to Haiti in March 2013. While there, they met their sponsored children, witnessed the dedication of a new medical clinic, served impoverished families from the local community, and so much more.

Supporting-Partner Story

Why World Help?

Robin and Craig Chilton are long-time friends of World Help and continue to go above and beyond in their commitment to serve impoverished communities with us. This dynamic couple partners with us by hosting an annual 5K event in their hometown area of Ridgefield, Washington, to raise funds for clean-water projects. In 2013, proceeds from the race funded two wells, providing safe, clean drinking water to hundreds of people.

Always eager to be the hands and feet of Jesus on the ground, they have accompanied our teams on a variety of international trips from Guatemala and Peru to Uganda, Rwanda, and Haiti. Experiencing the needs of people firsthand inspired the Chiltons to share the opportunity for impact with their closest friends and family.

In 2013, the Chiltons also hosted a benefit banquet with “Partners in Hope,” dedicating the proceeds to World Help’s projects globally, including two homes of hope and a medical clinic in Uganda. Each home will provide children of Northern Uganda with love, safety, and the consistency of regular personal and spiritual development. The accompanying medical clinic will offer the promise of accessible healthcare to many of these same children as well as the residents of the surrounding community. Having just returned from a vision trip to Africa, the couple was able to visit the building sites for each project.

Our Staff

Behind every vision of success is a group of people who are passionate about bringing dreams to life. Our staff is the heartbeat behind every logistical detail. They are the engineers of projects and programs, the cultivators of relationships that allow our family of supporters to grow, and the expertise behind our visual and written storytelling. Our desire is to curate a vibrant and collaborative work culture where every staff member can actively engage in our mission.

Partner Highlight

Isam Gaddas

Our work with refugees along the Syrian/ Jordanian border is as complex as it is dangerous. Unstable government structures and collapsing social systems have caused tensions to escalate and desperation to grow.

Isam Gaddas, our lead field strategist in Jordan, has been the mastermind behind each of our aid initiatives in the region. Isam’s cultural awareness has proven invaluable in navigating logistics, identifying families in need, and effectively distributing life-saving supplies as quickly as possible.

Isam has been a faithful partner of World Help, enabling our reach to grow amid some of the most urgent times in recent history. His leadership has translated into thousands of lives saved and countless hearts uplifted with hope.We are continually grateful for Isam’s commitment to the Syrian people and for the sacrifices he has made to impact those who need help most.

Board of Directors

Lester E. “Skip” Taylor Chairman, Dr. F. Vernon Brewer President, Dr. D. Tom Thompson Senior Vice President, Kristen Chambers, Robin Chilton*, Kevin Foster*, Scott Griffin*, Kirk Litton*, Dr. John A. Lloyd*, David Loveland*, Rev. Brian C. Mentzer*, Rev. Johnnie Moore*, Harvey Saarloos*, Kathy Sarantos*, Jody Thomason*, Cotton Verhoeven*, Louanne R. Guillermin Emeritus

*Independent Voting Board Member

TOTAL DONATIONS

$20,128,258

total money raised in 2013

Join Us

When you partner with World Help, you have the opportunity to change the world in practical, God-honoring ways. Together, we can impact countless men, women, and children with life-saving help for today and eternal hope for tomorrow

Partner With Us