Helping Hungry People Can Help Us, TooEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Sarah Corson, SIFAT co-founder A search on my cell phone tells me there are 281 million migrants in the world today. The situation presents life-threatening circumstances to the migrants themselves, as well as untold suffering and chaos to the people in the areas to which they go. SIFAT believes an answer to solving this problem is to work on the root causes, which start, not at our border, but long before in the homeland of the migrants. SIFAT hosts workshops and training practicums on community development and providing one’s basic human needs. We have had a number of Central Americans attend a weekend training in their hometown and, afterward, tell us they had planned to cross our border to look for work, which was nonexistent where they lived. However, SIFAT’s training gave them hope and ideas of how they could make a living in their own hometown. “We don’t want to be migrants,” they told us, “but when our families are hungry, we have to do something. Now you have taught us things we can use here at home. We have canceled our plan of migrating to the U.S. and are going to try your ideas to make a living at home.” Yurima is a Venezuelan Christian working with a needy community, where they had little land to grow food. She first came to study with SIFAT in 1994. She has started a community garden behind her church and has gotten her people interested in growing their own food. Later, the church bought a larger plot of land in an area called Villa Paraiso. It is near Yurima’s home, but extends their outreach into this community of approximately 180 families.  In 2022, Yurima took classes from trainer Oswaldo Páez at SIFAT’s Central American Training Center in Costa Rica. March 2024: Spending Spring Break in EcuadorEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. February 2024: Samuel Continues Serving in HaitiEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Sarah Corson, SIFAT co-founder In 2010, Samuel graduated from SIFAT. Since then, he has been teaching his people in Haiti the things he learned about growing more food and purifying their water. In 2019, SIFAT funded his first proposal to help 50 women get food security for their families by learning better agricultural techniques and working together to help each other. These women worked hard together, prayed together and believed that God would help them. The project was successful, and the women grew enough vegetables to eat with extra to sell. They could pay school fees for their children and buy things for their families.  Samuel (left) is making a difference in his community by providing agricultural training for women in rural communities. GivingTuesday is November 28, 2023!10 years of GivingTuesday! WOW! In 2013, SIFAT introduced a new opportunity for our donors to give, a “holiday” called GivingTuesday. We were excited about the concept—a global day of giving dedicated to honoring nonprofits and joining together to support them. This annual event has grown more than we could have ever imagined. You answered our needs every year. Because of your enthusiasm and overwhelming generosity, GivingTuesday is a highlight of our year. October 2023: Fall Worship Night at SIFATEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Kaitlyn Glenn, campus program assistant  On Oct. 8, 2023, 72 youth and their leaders came to SIFAT for our Fall Worship Night, where they enjoyed playing games, hayrides, worshiping together and a bonfire with s’mores!
It is important to cultivate community at home and abroad to effectively share God’s love to encourage and help one another. SIFAT’ s campus staff hosted a worship night to bring local youth groups together and to build community with churches in our area. Seventy-two youth and adults attended, and a wonderful time of fellowship was enjoyed together. Students enjoyed a meal, hayrides, games, a bonfire with s’mores and a worship service led by the staff. Josiah Corson gave a short sermon, while Shelby Dickey and Kaitlyn Glenn led the worship music. Intern Alex Angel has fit right in with our staff and was a great help assisting with the program, and local friends came to help out, as well. We also welcomed back some of our previous interns. Our Fall Worship Night was a success, and two youth leaders reported that their students cannot wait to come back. We look forward to hosting more worship nights and hope that events like this will continue to open doors to minister to local citizens, teaching others how to share God’s love with the community around them. Thank you to all who worked to make this event possible! |
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