Cross International

God’s love, transforming deepest need into thriving joy

Clean Water Transforms Lives in Nicaragua

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Before Clean Water

“Our lives were very different before,” remembered Victorino, a father of two from Nicaragua. “Every day I had to get up extremely early in order to walk to the river so that I could take a shower and return in time to start my workday. It was even more difficult for my wife because she was tasked with retrieving water from the river in buckets, making multiple trips back and forth. She had to go bathe the children in the river and wash all the clothes there because our well more times than not did not have enough water at home.”

The lack of clean water in their region of Nicaragua created problems that permeated virtually every aspect of their lives. Victorino continued, “The water we were drinking from our well was contaminated and we had no privacy to take care of our sanitary needs.”

Poverty in Nicaragua

Not only was the lack of clean water a problem for Victorino, his family, and his community, but economic issues plagued them as well. “Every planting season I would have to seek help from a loan, but the loans I would find always had interest rates that were extremely high and nearly impossible to pay off.” Struggles like these are all too common for those facing poverty in Nicaragua, and other developing nations. 

Victorino leading a community development training session

The Gift of Clean Water and Community Support

Victorino’s community was in desperate need, but thanks to Cross International friends like you, help was on the way. Through Cross International’s partner in Nicaragua, Amigos for Christ, the community was transformed! “My entire life is drastically different now,” Victorino exclaimed. “Amigos has changed not only me and my family’s lives, but also my entire community…

Victorino's wife and daughter in Nicaragua
Victorino's wife and daughter

 Now we have access to abundant clean, running water, a modern bathroom, we have learned about hygiene and health, and we have grown our family income through a microcredit loan program.”

Stories like Victorino’s are only made possible through the caring and compassionate support of Cross International partners. Thank you for helping to change lives and for showing Christ’s love in tangible ways to struggling families and communities around the world.

Victorino community development work
Victorino community development work

“They [Amigos for Christ and Cross International] have been a blessing for us and have taught us what we need to know to continue to pursue our dreams as a community.” – Victorino

God provides life-sustaining water in Zambia

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The room was dark and still as she quietly gathered her things. Janet looked back over her shoulder at her sleeping family and ventured out under the inky black African sky. She had to get moving. The journey to collect water from the distant river where cattle, pigs, and wild animals also drank took over 90 minutes. Janet wanted to be one of the first women in line to avoid a long wait and the hot, rising sun. As she slowly carried the sloshing water jugs miles back home to Mgombela Village, her forehead creased with worry for the health of her infant daughter and husband. The river was contaminated and villagers would often get ill from the water.  

Wake, rise, walk, collect, carry. 

Like so many women, this was Janet’s routine for collecting water for her family–sometimes repeating it more than once a day. Until Cross International partner Kachere Development Programme (KDP) in Zambia announced that a new water system was to be installed in her community. 

Janet, an enthusiastic and grateful young mother, rejoiced at the news and volunteered to be a member of the leadership team. Janet joined the Village WASH committee (V-WASHE).  The committee is responsible for training the community about the importance of clean water, well maintenance, handwashing and the use of soap, and correct water storage.  

Families that use the well pay a low monthly fee for the monitoring and maintenance service that the V-WASHE committee provides.  For example, if there is a break in the borehole and pump, the collected funds will be used to make the repair.  The water system serves more than 500 people.

Clean water is life
Without clean water, Janet, and mothers like her, would still be waking before the sun to walk long distances, share water with animals, and put their family at potential risk for illnesses and diseases. Contaminated water can make children miss school and mothers unable to take care of their children.

Now the women in Janet’s village have more time, literally hours each day, to manage small businesses to help put food on the table at home. They benefit from knowing they have value and are contributing to the care of the family.  For young girls, a clean water source can mean spending as much as 25% more time in school, where education empowers a better, hope-filled future.

Clean water is life, and so many communities around the world still need its life-giving flow. With your help, Cross International is able to bring clean water to literally thousands of women like Janet and their families annually.

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Clean Water partner spotlight: Zambia’s Kachere Development Programme

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Imagine you wake up, shuffle into the bathroom, turn the handle in the shower, and then … nothing. No water comes from the faucet. What do you do? 

You call the plumber. 

Now, imagine you live in a small village in Africa. You wake up and walk an hour to the well that holds the only clean water source for miles. You fill your vessel and slowly carry it back home. Then you turn around and walk the same path back to the well. You do this morning after morning, all for enough safe water to last the day. 

Most of us don’t worry about whether the water we use is clean or safe. For many in the developing world, finding a life-giving water source is a real challenge … with life-and-death consequences.

Cross International believes that water is life. We know that not only is a clean water source essential, but so is education around proper hygiene, sanitation practices, and equipment so the water remains clean from source to stomachs. 

We are committed to working with our local ministry partners to do the hard work needed to solve these problems. One hundred percent of our clean water programs incorporate WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training to make sure local people know how to handle clean water appropriately. We also develop local leadership’s commitment to the ongoing monitoring and upkeep of the project’s work.

In the Eastern Province of Zambia, Africa, Cross International and Kachere Development Programme (KDP) partnered to provide a bore hole for access to clean water in the village. To avoid the underlying issues of illness that stem from contaminated water, we also established the Village WASH (VWASH) program to train local leaders on health and hygiene. Leaders take what they learn and bring ownership and knowledge of best practices to their community so clean water remains sustainable. 

The training covers:

  • The importance of keeping the borehole surroundings clean
  • Diseases caused by drinking dirty water
  • The value of good hygiene and sanitation
  • Basic maintenance of the borehole
  • Income-generating business ideas related to the sustainability of the borehole maintenance
  • Roles of the WASH committee members
  • Biblical principles of the Water for Life Project

With our partner, KDP, we continue to identify remote villages that have no clean water options other than an open pit or river often contaminated and shared with animals. We rely on local information when deciding to invest into a new community well, and self-help groups formed by women in the rural villages help select well and borehole locations. More villages are reached, more villages and lives are served.

In Zambia, our partnership with KDP has impacted 22,200 households with access to clean, safe and sufficient drinking water. We equipped 780 VWASH committee members with knowledge on health, water and sanitation. Through increased media visibility of the program, 62,000 people have received health education information through community awareness meetings and radio programmes in five chiefdoms of Chipata Kasenengwa and Chipangali District of Eastern Province. Without the task of fetching water for hours a day, thousands of mothers have time for activities that could help their households survive and children can remain in school.     

Where water flows, so does opportunity. For so many vulnerable families around the world, getting clean water isn’t as easy as turning on the faucet. With ongoing support from our generous donors, we can help our local ministry partners transform lives from deepest need into thriving joy with clean, life-giving water.

Give Water

Offering ‘a cup of water’ in Jesus’ name

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It’s not surprising that the ministry of Jesus on this earth was associated with water in many ways. The images of Him in the biblical accounts often place him speaking life-giving words while on a sea shore, in a boat, sitting near a well, or on the banks of a flowing river. Water’s sparkling presence was a part of the everyday lives of those Jesus was speaking to, and its properties were an easy metaphor Christ was able to use in describing the new life he was offering through the gospel. John 4:14 records the words of Jesus as he describes this comparison: “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (NIV).

This beautiful picture is a source of inspiration and hope, especially for those of us who are able to vividly imagine the clean water we have so easily accessible to us. But for too many in the developing world, clean water is nowhere to be found. Arduous hikes of several miles to reach polluted streams and pools of stagnant water may be the only options for families who desperately need it to quench their thirst, and who must take the risk of the diseases lurking in the very water they need for life.

Not only does Jesus’ call to serve those in need compel us to help those in these dangerous situations, He specifically invites us to offer relief in the form of this simple life-giving gift. “Truly I tell you,” He says in Mark 9:41, “anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward” (NIV). His words make it clear that as followers of Christ, our concern for others must not just be for their spiritual health, but for the basic physical needs of water, food, and health.

By caring for these elemental needs of those facing deep and systemic poverty around the world, we are able to offer hope and life in Jesus’ name. What better illustration is there of our love and our willingness to follow Christ’s example? We work tirelessly alongside our ministry partners in their local communities to provide wells of clean water, dependable systems to distribute that water, and much-needed training for how to preserve the cleanliness of the water through sanitary storage and use. These efforts enable the families of these communities and villages to begin to enjoy the life-giving nature of water, as it brings health and refreshment rather than disease and hours of labor.

Against this backdrop—the transformation of the water that surrounds them—we have the incredible opportunity to join our ministry partners in also showing these wonderful people how to encounter the life-giving gospel that Jesus described as water of eternal life. Just like the wells and clean water systems bring new strength and stability to the community, the peace and hope of the love of God bring a source of new life to those who hear and believe.

The rewards of this work are immediate as well as eternal! We have experienced heart-filling joy many times over as we’ve watched the impact of clean water help quickly transform communities into thriving centers of opportunity and healthy families. The eternal significance of this work only compounds our joy in service. Won’t you join us in sharing not only a cup of water, but the ongoing source of clean water and the joy found in God’s love? We would love your partnership in this work!

Give water

Our Philosophy: The life-giving power of clean water

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In everything we do, we seek to serve the whole person: physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Whether addressing the needs of a vulnerable child, the challenges facing a family in poverty, or the issues preventing a community from thriving, we deal with specific problems with the understanding that each issue interacts with and impacts others. In this series, we focus on one specific facet of the complex challenges facing those in need around the world.

“Water is life.” Most of us would agree with that statement without even thinking. That’s actually very telling: most of us haven’t had to worry about whether the water we use is clean or safe. The truth is, clean water is life. Unfortunately, for many in the developing world, finding a life-giving water source is really hard…with life-and-death consequences. For Cross International, there are few issues more critical to address in the communities we serve than clean water.

According to the World Health Organization, 785 million people in the world lack even a basic drinking-water service. Of those, 144 million depend on surface water from rivers, lakes, or streams. At least 2 billion people depend on a drinking water source contaminated with feces. In these circumstances, the very substance that is supposed to bring life often brings death. Contaminated drinking water causes an estimated 485 thousand diarrhoeal deaths each year. Diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio lurk in contaminated water.

The impact of contaminated water is clear, but the issue is actually complex to address. A clean water source is essential, but to provide that water to a community, much more is needed. Communities must learn proper hygiene and sanitation practices so the water remains clean all the way from the source to a thirsty child’s lips. It must be carried, stored, and served in clean vessels. Maintaining a clean water source and equipment requires local leadership who are committed to plan for needed repairs…and the financial stability to pay for them. Providing clean water means understanding and addressing these interrelated issues.

Cross International is committed to working with our local ministry partners to do the hard work needed to solve these problems. When we commit to a water project, we rely on local information. We know our partners have evaluated the broader community needs and often have integrated programs in place. One hundred percent of our clean water programs incorporate WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training to make sure local people know how to handle clean water appropriately. We also develop local leadership’s commitment to the ongoing monitoring and upkeep of the project’s work.

Over years of successful clean water initiatives, we’ve constantly improved our methodology and our commitment to technical expertise with partners who truly know how to provide clean water…and all the necessary services that support it. Years of experience–and the benefit of monitoring the progress of water projects over time–have shown us which approaches truly bring life-giving health. Our goal is always to have a long-term positive impact, and we have learned that clean water is worth the investment. You get what you pay for, so we work only with experienced drilling companies who can guarantee their work.

The good news? Solving a community’s need for clean water has a huge impact! An obvious and tremendous benefit is the health of children and families who have access to clean water. The absence of the diseases and illness in contaminated water mean that these families are able to work, learn, play, and grow. Clean water access is particularly important for women and girls. Rather than having to walk for hours each day to draw and carry water, these wonderful women can manage small businesses and provide for their families. For young girls, not having to fetch water can mean as much as 25% more time in school, soaking in valuable education.

Clean water is life, and so many communities around the world still need its life-giving flow. With your help, Cross International is able to bring clean water to literally thousands of children and their families annually. We prioritize locations that have never had a clean water source. Will you join us in bringing life-giving water and the life-giving love of God to so many who still need our help? The positive impacts will continue for generations to come!

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How our ministry partners are adapting to COVID-19

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The COVID-19 crisis is truly unprecedented. Our ministry partners face challenges they’ve never faced before. They need to address the reality of the coronavirus and ensure essential ministry services can continue. We are working with them closely to create highly-adaptable plans that can be adjusted as the crisis unfolds. 

Today we may feel uncertainty. But nothing surprises God.
God is already prepared for everything we’re going to face tomorrow, next week, and next month. What the future holds may seem unclear to us, but it doesn’t surprise God. Nothing ever catches Him off guard. We’re seeing evidence of His provision in how our ministry partners are able and equipped to adapt.

Like in Eastern Zambia, where over the past five years Cross International has fully supported 47 water systems and trained thousands in the region with proper WASH techniques through our partner Kachere Development Programme (KDP). When the coronavirus hit the area, KDP leaders jumped into action. They worked together with the Ministry of Health to equip and train community facilitators on proper handwashing, sanitation, and social distancing practices to educate the public. A place where just five years ago had no access to water is now leading community efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and waterborne disease. 

God knew what would be needed. He prepared the way. 
Or consider the “shelter-at-home” directive that’s only effective when you have a home. So many of the world’s poor live without adequate housing and lack the ability to have a safe place to shelter or social distance into. And yet over the years in places like Guatemala, Cross International has partnered to build new homes for impoverished families through the generosity of people like you. Now, communities can help slow the spread of the coronavirus to others simply by staying at home. 

God provides, even in uncertain times. 
At Ambuya Development Center (ADC) in Malawi, schools are closed–and they are the only source of food for many children. Within the last few years, the center received God’s provision of a water system, hired a consultant to teach parents and children the importance of hygiene and sanitation, and gifted new homes to families in need. All of this happened before the appearance of COVID-19. Today, ADC staff members have the knowledge to train kitchen staff on proper sanitation so they can safely prepare meals for over 300 children, and families have the refuge of safe homes.

The pandemic changes our situation by the minute and, like each of our ministry partners, we’re adapting with it. What hasn’t changed is our commitment: to serve those in need around the world. We’re helping our partners adjust as we learn more each day, and our partners are better equipped for the unexpected because of your generous giving. Your ongoing support will help us meet these unprecedented needs today, and the needs God is preparing us for tomorrow.

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Bringing Life-Giving Water to Zambia

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A community gathers around a new water well
A woman carries her baby and buckets of unsafe water
Woman gathering water

It’s the middle of the night. Your child wakes you up to tell you she’s thirsty. What do you do? Most likely you stumble to the kitchen, turn on the tap, and fill up a cup. Too often, we take our ability to easily meet our basic needs for granted. 

Eunice, a mother in eastern Zambia, doesn’t. 

She still remembers getting up at 2 a.m. every morning to line up in the dark at her local open well. If she overslept, there wouldn’t be water left to bring home to her children. The worst part about this arduous chore?  The water she and her neighbors competed for wasn’t even clean. It made her children sick. It made their friends sick. But it was the only water they had.  

Eunice  is not alone in her daily quest to find clean water for her family. Only 44 percent of rural Zambians have access to basic safe drinking water services. Only 19 percent have basic sanitation (toilet) facilities. And only 5 percent have easy access to soap and water to wash their hands. 

This lack of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) resources is the leading cause of death for young children in sub-Saharan Africa, because it causes diseases like cholera and diarrhea. Poor sanitation is also partly to blame for Zambia’s high child stunting (impeded growth and development) rates. And the lack of WASH facilities in schools keeps students, especially girls, from attending, leading to more teen pregnancies, earlier marriages and limited access to quality jobs. 

Health, education, employment—clean water affects every area of life. 

That’s why Cross International supports partner organizations like the Kachere Development Program, a church-based ministry that installs community water systems, trains female entrepreneurs, and distributes Bibles in local languages. 

Thanks to Cross International donors’ generosity, Eunice’s village now has a working well with clean, drinkable water.

She no longer has to get up in the middle of the night to fetch water. She doesn’t have to give her children dirty water to keep them alive today that would only make them sick tomorrow. 

In light of this gift, Eunice gave back, too. She joined her local V-WASH (Village Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Committee to help maintain the well and teach her community healthy WASH practices. They also gather to study the Bible and give thanks to God, the Source of both clean water and “living water.” 

Because of the generous gifts of believers like you, Eunice’s children—and the children of her entire village— are growing up healthy, hopeful, learning and loved. Can you help us share God’s love with more children like Eunice’s? We’re raising $515,000 to reach 15,000 children and their family members this holiday season. 

Help bring clean water—and “living water”—to other villages by donating to Thriving Kids Africa campaign. 

 

Sources: “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene,” Unicef. Accessed 12 November 2019. 

Empowering Girls in Uganda: the Project Princess Initiative

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People sit outside
Project Princess Initiative group and sign
Project Princess

In Uganda, a special group of girls gather to pray, greeting each other with a friendly smile before bowing their heads to thank the Lord for what He has done for them. This “Big Sister Circle” prays for God to continue working in their lives, and they also encourage younger girls to look to God for hope in the future. These ‘big sisters’ have been changed through the work of the Project Princess Initiative, a Cross International ministry partner committed to supporting, educating, and empowering girls to become responsible leaders of the next generation in Uganda.

Girls in Uganda are desperately in need of the kind of support the Project Princess Initiative provides. According to the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, 4 in 5 girls in Uganda do not attend high school, around half of girls between ages 15-24 are illiterate, and more than 700,000 girls between the ages of 6-12 have never attended school. Poverty is a leading contributor to this problem, as the expense of school uniforms and supplies are often prioritized for boys. Early marriage prevents many girls from continuing in school, with around 35% of girls dropping out of school due to marriage and 23% due to pregnancy. For those who try to stay, inadequate infrastructure for girls’ hygiene at school results in prolonged gaps in their education, as girls stay home during their monthly cycles.

The Project Princess Initiative is determined to change this reality, one girl at a time. The initiative was started in 2009 by Fiona Miremba Kiggundu, a Christian Ugandan woman concerned about the abused girls who sought help at her preschool. From the beginning, the focus has been keeping vulnerable girls in school, providing an education which will empower them to thrive economically and build stable families, which, in turn, builds stable communities.

To do this, the Project Princess Initiative uses multiple approaches. Through school partnerships, “Talk Sessions” are offered after hours so girls can learn more about topics such as career choices, self-esteem, decision making, hygiene management, and body changes. Sessions are designed to challenge, inspire, and equip vulnerable young women to stay in school. Girls also receive counseling, tutoring, and health services at the Project Princess Initiative’s own center, a safe place to make friends in group sessions that include Bible study and psychological support. For girls outside of school—either raising siblings or as a result of teen pregnancy—the program offers vocational training and start-up equipment to help girls generate ongoing income and make a decent living in trades like bead making, tailoring, hair dressing, cooking, candle- or soap-making. This year, Cross International is partnering with the Project Princess Initiative to reach as many as 1,000 at-risk girls with scholarships, supplies, life and work skills to provide them with hope for the future.

In all this, the most important element is the spiritual emphasis, where girls are taught from scripture about the love of God and the hope He brings. As they read the Bible and attend church regularly, girls learn to place their trust in God. The strength of this hope and trust is deeply empowering for the girls of Uganda, enabling them to take initiative in their growth and development. This is how the “Big Sister Circle” prayer group was formed, as older girls sought to connect in prayer and encourage younger girls to continue in the program. It’s the kind of momentum the Project Princess Initiative and Cross International plan to build upon in the years to come.

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Help Children With Disabilities

The UN estimates that between 93 and 150 million children worldwide live with a disability. In developing countries, these children are often unable to attend school, play outside or access specialized resources. Negative stigma or superstition among their parents, neighbors and community leaders often reinforce these barriers.

This year, we’re providing $60,000 worth of medical equipment to Kupenda for the Children in Kenya. This is a very remote location, and your gift will help cover the shipping costs to this very worthy medical outreach.

This gift will benefit: Kenya

Recommended Gift

  • $243 would provide a wheelchair to a remote facility
  • $950 would provide 60 pairs of youth crutches to a remote facility
  • $2,430 would provide 10 wheelchairs to a remote facility

Heal the Sick

In developed countries, basic medical supplies such as gauze, wraps, bandages, and syringes are commonplace. Unfortunately, that is often not the case in the developing world. Christian doctors and volunteers in developing countries frequently run low on these supplies, and they also lack the funds to keep large inventories on hand.

This year, we’re providing $84 million worth of medicines and medical supplies. Your gift will help cover the shipping costs to medical outreaches in some of the most remote areas of the globe

This gift will benefit: Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kenya

Recommended Gift

  • $866 provides $100,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies
  • $4,328 provides $500,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies
  • $8,656 provides $1 million worth of medicines and medical supplies

Build a Family a Home

A gift of a safe, secure home is tangible affirmation of God’s love for a desperate family — it brings hope, health, stability and opportunity. Most poor families must settle for much less. Mired in poverty, they are forced to live in unsafe shacks fashioned from mud and thatch.

You can provide the life-changing gift of a safe, storm-resistant new home with Cross partners Ambuya Development Center in Malawi and Hope of Life in Guatemala. A new home will ease the family’s burdens, protect them from the wind and rain, and help them achieve their dreams.

This gift will benefit: Guatemala, Malawi

Recommended Gift

  • $1,881 will install an eco-stove, for safe, economical and healthy cooking
  • $8,900 will finance the construction of a safe, sturdy concrete- block home

Education

The gift of an education is an investment that reaps long-term dividends for a child’s future. By opening doors for the children of the poor to enroll in Christian schools and get the same educational opportunities as their more economically well-off peers, you are giving not just a hand-out but a “hand-up.”

Your gift will fund Christian education to nurture vulnerable children mentally and spiritually — for thriving futures that will transform hopeless places.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Ecuador, Uganda

Recommended Gift

  • $515 provides Christian primary school scholarships to 10 children
  • $1,030 provides Christian primary school scholarships for 20 children
  • $1,240 provides one week of Vacation Bible School for 100 children
  • $3,300 provides one year of vocational school scholarships for 60 girls
  • $3,660 enables 30 adults to attend a Christian adult literacy program

Rescue Women and Children in Crisis

Through emergency child rescue services, vocational training, anti-trafficking programs and Bible literacy classes, Cross International is helping vulnerable women and children reclaim their lives. Inspired by Jesus’ love, we work shoulder to shoulder with our in-country partners, empowering them to create change that lasts so that those who need help will eventually be able to stand confidently on their own. Be a part of this good news and make a life-saving gift part of your holidays.

Your gift will help protect victims of gender-based violence and also help save marginalized women and children from harm.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua

Recommended Gift

  • $891 supports a family rescued from trafficking or abuse for 3 months
  • $1,782 supports a family rescued from trafficking or abuse for 6 months
  • $3,564 supports a family rescued from trafficking or abuse for one year

Provide Clean, Safe Water

Our ministry partner, the Kachere Development Center, has an ambitious plan to install 20 wells, providing 5,160 adults and 8,414 children with clean water. Our goal is to finance the drilling and installation of one well – part of an entire community water system, which includes training to maintain the well, and sanitation and hygiene training for improved health.

One borehole can provide 2,800 gallons of safe, life-sustaining water every day. Help us bring clean, safe water to one of these villages today — in a way that will last for generations.

This gift will benefit: Zambia

Recommended Gift

  • $3,105 will train the community for water care system and use
  • $10,755 will finance the cost of drilling the well
  • $18,975 will finance the cost of installing a community water system

Give Tools for Sustainable Farming

One of nine people worldwide survive on less than $1.90 a day. Without training and supplies to grow moneymaking crops and breed profitable livestock, poor farmers stay locked in the cycle of poverty.

By supporting this fund, you’ll help families break free of poverty — transforming lives for generations. When families get the training and tools they need, it means bountiful harvests and small animals that produce income for a sustainable business model.

This gift will benefit: Guatemala, Nicaragua

Recommended Gift

  • $495 provides training, tools and assistance for one farming family
  • $990 helps provide training, tools and assistance for 2 farming families
  • $1,840 will provide 10 goats for children to raise for breeding
  • $8,500 provides a family with a chicken coop, 40 hens & feed, plus small business & animal husbandry training. Creates $1.20 family income/day – a 60% increase!

Feed Hungry Children

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 811 million in the world suffer from under-nourishment. By providing the gift of food, you will save the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in developing countries.

Your gift will provide meals for ministry partners such as Divine Shelter Schools in Haiti and Hope of Life in Guatemala. A generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Malawi

Recommended Gift

  • $146 will feed 10 children for a month
  • $292 will feed 20 children for a month
  • $584 will feed 40 children for a month
  • $2,336 will feed 160 children for a month
  • $4,672 will feed 320 children for a month
  • $9,334 will feed 640 children for a month

Most Urgent Needs

Inspired by the love of Jesus, we work shoulder to shoulder with local leaders overseas, equipping families with the resources they need to thrive – basics like food, clean water and healthcare, as well as longer-term community transformation projects that will ensure lasting change.

By giving to our Thriving Kids Initiative, you’re not only meeting children’s Most Urgent Needs, you’re also helping lift their families – even entire communities – out of poverty.

This gift will benefit: Africa, The Caribbean, Central America, South America

Recommended Gift

  • $1,000 helps lift 9 kids out of poverty
  • $2,500 helps lift 23 kids out of poverty
  • $5,000 helps lift 46 kids out of poverty
  • $10,000 helps lift 92 kids out of poverty
  • $20,000 helps lift 184 kids out of poverty

Feed Hungry Children

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 811 million in the world suffer from under-nourishment. By providing the gift of food, you will save the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in developing countries like Haiti, Malawi, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Your gift will support the provision of meals and other basic services that are essential for survival. A generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Malawi

Recommended Gift
$1,000 will feed 30 children for a month | $5,000 will feed 80 children for a month | $10,000 will feed 92 children for a month | $20,000 will feed 184 children for a month

Donate to Cross International’s Thriving Kids Initiative