“I’m starving!” How many times do we say that throughout the course of a day? Skip breakfast on a busy morning, and we’re starving by 11:00. Only have a salad for lunch, so we’re starving by dinnertime. We say it lightheartedly, although well aware that we are certainly not starving. In fact, most of us have no idea what starvation really feels like, but we can be sure that a growling stomach isn’t all it entails. What would it really feel like to try and function all day, every day…hungry? Had we been born in Africa, we’d have entered the world with an estimated 1 in 3 chance of facing that reality, of being chronically malnourished from birth. Hunger pangs and a growling stomach would be the least of our worries. Studies have found that malnourished children have reduced brain activity and impaired attention, as well as delayed verbal and motor development, impaired intersensory integration, and severely reduced academic performance. When it comes down to it, in order for a child to develop properly and even have a shot at succeeding in school, they simply can’t go hungry during the day, much less everyday. Our aim at Passion Partners is to build communities, and we believe that feeding children, giving them a chance to focus, engage, and succeed in school, is an...
Around the world, over 70 million children who should be in school are not. Half of those are girls. And half of those girls live in sub-Saharan Africa. Why, you ask, are they not in school? Some are working in fields & on farms. Some are walking long distances to fetch clean water for their families. Others are sold into the sex trade. Some drop out from childhood pregnancy or arranged marriages. The list, though uncomfortable, is not uncontrollable…there are girls making strides everyday to change the face of their generation, their legacy, and their communities. Passion Partners is privileged to walk alongside 32 of these girls at the Wakiso Restoration Home in Uganda, who just started a new school year in January. However, it was just months earlier, many of these girls, like the 35 million referenced above, had their education interrupted or halted all together. While public education in Uganda is technically “free,” students’ families are required to purchase books, uniforms, pay examination fees, and other mandatory expenses. They are, otherwise, not allowed to attend school. For most of us school supplies and clothes are just part of the annual, “back to school” routine. You can imagine for many families with little to no money to spare, managing to fund their child’s primary education, let alone, secondary education (when the...
com·mu·ni·ty /kəˈmyo͞onitē/ Noun 2. All the people living in a particular area or place. de·vel·op·ment /diˈveləpmənt/ Noun 1. The process of developing or being developed. 2. A specified state of growth or advancement. “May God Almighty bless you & make you fruitful…until you become a community of peoples.” Genesis 28:3 The last 2 years at Passion Partners has been spent uncovering exactly where God wants us to work, with whom He would have us work, and exactly what that work would entail. And though some of the details are still being uncovered, the big picture is this: Passion Partners is building communities-literally. The manifestation of the mission of Passion Partners is, at the core, Community Development. Practically speaking, we bring relief such as clean water & food, in the short-term, in order to equip those whom we are serving for the long-haul of community development which includes health care, child & maternal health and education (among other elements). At Passion Partners, the practical development of a “community” is the means to a greater end. Our goal is not just to build communities whereby we measure outcomes and more individuals survive, but because they uncover their God given role and purpose, they thrive. “I know the plans I have for you…plans to give you a hope & a future.” Jer 29:11 Sometimes, Hope begins...
