Church of the Redeemer African Childrens Mission

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Church of the RedeemerAfrican Childrens Mission

• A Program Overview
• March 25, 2007

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Agenda

• Background and Approach
• Mission
• Why Malawi? / Why Children?
• Program Selection and Supported Abroad
• Programs at the Church of the Redeemer
• Organization
• Travel
• Millennium Development Goals
• What Worked
• Questions

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Background

• Vision from 03 Christmas Eve service
• Monthly Meetings
• Dialog with GAIA begun immediately
• Exploratory trip to Malawi June 04
• Vestry endorsed August 04
• US programs begun Sept 04
• First funds sent December 05
• Today 100 active members, 250 monitor

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Approach
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ACM Mission Statement

• To empower the congregation of the Church of the
  Redeemer to support initiatives that improve the
  lives and hopes of children affected by AIDS in
  Africa.
• To develop an interactive, educational, and
  spiritual relationship between children affected
  by AIDS in Africa and the children, youth and
  adults at The Church of the Redeemer
• To coordinate activities with other organizations
  when our mission coincides with theirs.
• To ensure that funds are applied effectively and
  efficiently to help the most vulnerable children
  affected by AIDS and their caregivers.

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Why Malawi?

• Botswana is stable and relatively rich with a
  relatively good infrastructure the government is
  already responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis
• Malawi is stable and well-governed but among the
  poorest countries affected by AIDS with a poor
  infrastructure the government has recently
  started to respond to the crisis
• Namibia is stable and relatively rich with a
  relatively good infrastructure the government is
  already responding to the crisis
• South Africa is well-governed and rich with a
  good infrastructure the government has finally
  admitted it must respond to the crisis
• Zambia is stable with a good infrastructure the
  government is responding successfully to the
  crisis
• Zimbabwe is politically unstable and poor with a
  deteriorating infrastructure the government is
  not responding to the crisis

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Why Children?

• Infection Cycle
• Old men to younger women
• Later, younger women to younger men
• Over 50 of population under 15 and not infected
• Many parents dead, dying or unable to care for
  children
• 800,000 orphans taxing remaining family structures

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Program Selection Criteria

• Effective leadership in place that can be trusted
• A clear mission which addresses the structural
  breakdown of society due to the HIV/AIDS crisis
• Focus on children as the hope for the future
• Approach the problem holistically and with a view
  to creating a sustainable solution over the
  longer term
• Endorsed and monitored by GAIA

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Programs Supported In Malawi

• Chididi Orphan Care Center, an Anglican center
  near Lake Malawi where we provided funds for a
  variety of care services to children
• Chisomo Childrens Club where we provided funds
  for completion and furnishing of an orphan care
  center in Limbe
• Emergency famine relief to orphans in a cluster
  of 37 villages in Malawis south
• Provided scholarships to nursing students who
  have committed to work in Malawi after graduation
• Kanengo AIDS Support Organization (KASO) near
  Lilongwe where we provided funds for orphan care
  and food
• Kauma Village Youth and Childrens Center, near
  the city of Lilongwe where we provided funds for
  food and orphan care
• Open Arms Infant Home where we provided funds for
  building for a new site in Northern region in
  Mkotakota and to construct a village nursery and
  orphan care feeding center
• 20 adjacent villages were provided with health
  care and economic empowerment opportunities to
  women
• Goats (and necessary training) as a sustainable
  economic activity

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Programs at the Church of the Redeemer

• Daily emails
• Weekly Prayers
• Monthly meetings
• Quarterly Sermons / Adult Ed
• Semi annual article in The Voice
• Annual trip to Malawi
• Childrens Program
• Great Concerts for Great Causes
• Presence at all church events (picnic, book
  sales)
• Fund Raising
• Got Goat Program
• Valentines Day Have a Heart Campaign

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How We Are Organized
Coordination (Grant Norris)
Communication (Dave Schroeder)
Children Youth (Christina Corcoran)
Finance (Tom Williams)
Adult Education (Barbara Abbott)
Got Goat/Have A Heart (Margaret Welsh)
Great Concerts for Great Causes (Julie Williams)
Malawi 2007 Trip (Stephen Billings)
Art/Posters (Stephen Billings)
Web Mistriss (Margaret Sipple)
Episcopal Campus Ministry (Sara DAngio)
Open Arms (Elizabeth Norris)
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Travel to Malawi

• Annual trip
• 2-3 weeks
• 5000 per person
• Visit programs and experience Malawi
• Return and share

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Millennium Development Goals
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• Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality and Promote Women
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Create A Global Partnership for Development

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What Worked

• Clergy involvement
• Vision, context, prayer
• Personalize Malawi experience
• Travel, correspond, photos
• Communicating across multiple generations
• Children, youth, college, adult, retiree
• Committee flexibility
• Programs, involvement, approach
• Working with GAIA

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Questions?