WILLS POINT, TX — A shocking number of adults around the world can’t read or write even a simple sentence, says mission agency GFA World (www.gfa.org) as it marks International Literacy Day, Sept. 8.
According to the United Nations’ education agency UNESCO, approximately 773 million adults worldwide — equal to more than twice the population of the U.S. — lack basic literacy skills.
Most of them are women, reports Texas-based Christian organization GFA World.
LITERAL CRISIS: Around 773 million adults worldwide — equal to more than twice the population of the U.S. — can’t read or write. The magnitude of the crisis is difficult to grasp, says GFA World (www.gfa.org) on International Literacy Day, Sept. 8.
“The magnitude of this crisis is difficult for us to grasp in developed countries where free literacy education is readily available,” said K.P. Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan, founder of GFA World. “Yet the reality is that millions of adults around the world can’t read or write, magnifying the struggles of almost every aspect of life.”
The organization provides literacy classes for thousands of the world’s poorest adults and children.
Writing First Letters
In some of the most remote places on earth, GFA World is giving men and women who had no chance to go to school the opportunity to learn to read and write, and for many students, their slates in hand, these are the first letters they’ve ever written.
“Due to lack of money, I could not study in my childhood,” said one woman who is learning to read and write at a GFA-supported church-based literacy center in Asia. “I’m thankful to the leaders of the church for starting (classes) here,” she said.
Learning to read and write builds a sense of self-worth and achievement, and prepares adults for better employment opportunities in the future so they’re not resigned to menial labor and a hand-to-mouth existence. It also provides safeguards against financial exploitation and safety hazards, allowing them to help their family navigate daily life and ultimately thrive.
“This is a way we can show the world’s most marginalized people that they’re of tremendous value to God, that he loves them dearly and cares about their future,” Yohannan said.
“International Literacy Day puts the focus on the crisis of adult illiteracy and calls us to take action now,” he added.
About GFA World (Gospel for Asia)
GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.
Learn more about the GFA Women’s Literacy Program. There are over 250 million women in Asia who are illiterate. Even if they want to read, there is no way to learn . . . until now. With your help, women in Asia can learn to read and will be equipped to tackle life’s hurdles.
WILLS POINT, TX — A new three-month campaign aims to help some of the poorest families in Africa and Asia “sew their way out of poverty” — one stitch at a time.
‘SEW’ AMAZING: Texas-based mission GFA World’s “Sewing Their Way Out of Poverty” campaign aims to provide 500 new sewing machines and vocational training for 500 desperately poor families in Africa and Asia struggling to survive day-to-day. For more information, go to www.gfa.org/press/sew.
Texas-based mission GFA World’s “Sewing Their Way Out of Poverty” campaign aims to provide 500 new sewing machines and vocational training for 500 desperately poor families struggling to survive day-to-day.
“Countless people trapped in grinding poverty literally live from hand to mouth,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan. “It breaks my heart each time I see an ocean of slum dwellings in major cities, or when I watch children digging in garbage heaps for food scraps.”
A Stitch In Time Changes Everything
A sewing machine costing $100 — way beyond the reach of most families living in Africa and Asia — can change everything, giving parents the chance to earn a consistent income sewing and mending clothes.
Subia, a young mom in Asia, was increasingly anxious about how she’d manage to feed and clothe her young daughter. She and her husband — both casual day laborers like millions of others across Africa and Asia — often went days without finding any work.
“No work means nothing to eat,” Yohannan said.
Subia tearfully shared her struggles with her local pastor. “The pastor encouraged her and told her that God has a solution for every problem we face,” Yohannan said.
Sewing A Strong Community Fabric
When the local church took part in a program distributing income-generating gifts in her community, Subia couldn’t contain her excitement when she received a sewing machine — a real, practical answer to her prayers.
“The sewing machine has changed this family’s life,” Yohannan said. “Subia no longer has to go out in search of a day-labor job. She can stay home with her daughter while she sews clothes for the people in her neighborhood.”
Each year, GFA World supporters provide life-changing, income-generating gifts — including livestock, tools, and sewing machines — for thousands of families like Subia’s. GFA World workers run tailoring classes in local communities to teach men and women sewing skills they can turn into income.
“The need is great, but so is the opportunity to rescue one family at a time from poverty through showing them the love of God and giving them the gift of a sewing machine,” said Yohannan.
GFA World (Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national missionaries bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching that provides hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.
Help families sew their way out of poverty! — Let’s join together to show people the compassion of Christ by providing them with a simple tool to escape poverty and exploitation: a sewing machine.
WILLS POINT, TX – KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia), which inspired numerous charities likeGospel for Asia Canada, and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide— shares on the impact of George Verwer, his life and ministry, radically changing lives.
George Verwer and K.P. Yohannan on a prayer walk together January, 31, 2020, in London, England.
“I invite you to come, die, and live.”
Those eight words! I’d never heard anything like it.
As a 17-year-old from a village in India, I listened open-mouthed at a mission conference as George Verwer issued that unforgettable challenge to 400 young people like me.
That night, I tossed and turned, agonizing over George’s invitation. I knew the Lord was calling me to go to places where people had never heard the name of Jesus, and the consequences could be persecution, sufferings, even death. These were the places George was always burning with readiness to go to.
On April 14, when George — radical evangelist and founder of Operation Mobilization (OM) — went to be with the Lord Jesus, the mission world lost a giant role model, and I lost my life mentor and one of my closest friends.
My life was fashioned, mentored, by one human being more than any other, George Verwer. I cannot think of anyone in my life journey that lived such an authentic, humble, broken life and showed such passion for the lost. I’ve studied the life of the Apostle Paul, and I watched George live out that same passion and focus. He showed me what it means to be both passionate about Christ and compassionate toward a hurting, lost world. George was among those incredibly rare believers who — like the Apostle Paul — could have said: “Follow my example, as I follow Christ’s.”
So Human, So Real
And follow George I did! In those early years, George would lead our youthful band of missionaries on the streets all day, handing out gospel tracts. At night, he’d lead prayer meetings that sometimes went on until 6 a.m. I’d never even heard of some of the places we were praying for, but George had such a genuine love for every nation. He was so human, so real.
When George came to India, he instilled in us the passion to reach our own people with the gospel at a time when everyone else was sending American and European missionaries. He showed us we could be missionaries. We could take the love of Christ to our people — and beyond.
George knew how to share Christ’s love like no one I’ve ever known. He loved people, and I experienced this personally. During a crisis in my own life, George flew from England to Texas to spend two days with me, praying with me and encouraging me. When others abandoned me, George stayed with me to the end.
And George was never interested in material comforts. He could have run a global empire. He could have lived like a king. Instead, he chose to live in a small house in England and drive a clunky, old car. When I showed up to visit, underdressed for the English weather, he gave me his scarf to keep me warm. That was the type of person George was.
George was among those incredibly rare believers who—like the Apostle Paul—could have said: “Follow my example, as I follow Christ’s.”
Catalyst That Launched A Global Movement
George Verwer and K.P. Yohannan at the Set Apart Retreat at GFA World in 2022.
Looking back, George’s invitation to “come, die, and live” was the catalyst that God would use to begin Gospel for Asia, now GFA World, the global mission I started and have been privileged to lead for almost 45 years.
During that sleepless night more than a half-century ago, I responded to George’s challenge: “Lord, I have nothing to offer you,” I prayed, “but if you want me, I give you everything I am.”
The Lord heard my prayer and used this skinny teenager from an unknown village. Over the past four decades, GFA World has trained over 100,000 young people in the knowledge of God, teaching them to serve millions of Asia’s poorest people through Christ’s love in word and deed, and is now expanding into Africa. All this through the incredible life and influence of one man — George Verwer.
George’s life was a real life, a radical life, a life lived for the nations of the world, a life completely given over to the will of Christ.
That’s why when people ask me, “Who’s been the greatest influence on your life?” there’s no hesitation. George Verwer walked a very narrow road. By God’s grace, I will walk that road, too.
And now I think about George in heaven. He is not dead; he is just departed to be with Christ. I can see him now busy talking with the saints like St. Paul and St. Thomas who planted a church in Niranam, India, where I was born. Lord, please help me to run my race and finish as George did, holy unto the faith.
About KP Yohannan
KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), has written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than four million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.
About GFA World (Gospel for Asia)
GFA World(Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.
A good friend and well-known Christian theologian visited our work in Asia. He came to one of the leprosy colonies, filled with people who are in horrible pain and suffering. They are so alone, rejected by everyone, without any hope of relief. Then, he was invited to share something to those who had gathered, share a word of prayer. He told us he stood there, numb, not knowing what to say.
Let me ask you—faced with a congregation who is familiar with every kind of suffering, what would you have shared? What could possibly be said? Speak of health, wealth, and the possibility of a great life by faith?
Standing in that desolate place, this Bible teacher opened his mouth and spoke of the Resurrection, our great enduring hope. For with Christ’s Resurrection comes the assurance that all in Christ shall be made alive, and bearing the image of Christ (1 Cor 15:22,49).
No One is Exempted
Suicide rates reveal that even the affluent, prestigious, famous, and highly educated ultimately give up on life. What do we make of that? As successful as their lives may appear, on the inside they are crippled by comparison, rejection, abuse, greed, loneliness, helplessness, despair. More money is not the elixir we’re led to believe.
One absolute reality for all humanity—whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, in the center of the public eye or on the fringe of society—is death. All will die, and you are dying now, and so am I.
A cheap gospel of prosperity and positive-thinking is not the answer; it just doesn’t cut it.
Hope That Supersedes Suffering
The faith given to us by the Holy Church asserts, in this world we will have trouble, but take heart, Christ has overcome the world. The healing balm they offer to us is a suffering-with-hope. The hope is the journey to restoration, the original creation as God intended, and that hope is the answer to the suffering we have to endure.
Christ’s Resurrection is our hope—and that hope so far exceeds any momentary circumstance. Christ and His resurrection are the only hope for healing and life. Through our faith in Him, we can overcome death as He rose from the dead. This hope is not mere respite in the here-and-now, but it goes beyond that and is the guarantee of eternal triumph, glory, rest. As Paul told us, “If in Christ we have hope for this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19). His Resurrection is hope for us today and forever.
Because Christ rose from the dead, resurrection for us is guaranteed. He is why we have hope. So in the end, we can look into the face of death and shout, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:33)
Our Guiding Hope
This hope, of course, is not free license to set our spiritual journey on cruise-control. Instead, we ought to be all the more invigorated in our commitment to Him. Think: Olympians train in their sport for maybe 16 hour days to cross the finish line; every decision from food to social engagements is made in light of its impact on reaching that finish line. So, too, we see the Apostle Paul living with undivided dedication as he looks forward to the crown awaiting Him—the very crown that awaits us all, those who would live for Him.
What is your reaction to this thought? What is one area in your life where you can remind yourself that Christ and His Resurrection are your hope? It could be in sickness, a difficult relationship issue, loss or fear. Consider in what area you can let Christ’s Resurrection bring new life and the hope of Easter into your daily life.
K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), has written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency in Wills Point, Texas, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) one of the largest global mission agencies now in both Africa and Asia, has seen significant growth in the reach of GFA Minute, its rebranded radio program – now on 250 radio stations across the U.S.
The minute-long program features K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia (GFA World), sharing his heart about biblical discipleship and the many “lost souls around the world who need the love and salvation that Jesus offers.”
“My desire is that listeners walk closer to God and strengthen their reliance on faith that comes from having a heart for missions, Jesus, and the lost world,” said Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan, who started the mission agency over 40 years ago.
Gospel for Asia (GFA World), which is experiencing unprecedented growth with the global ministry’s move into Africa in addition to its original mission to Asia, is using GFA Minute to share Yohannan’s message with the social media generation.
“We hope GFA Minute encourages listeners to reach their lost world, pray for the world, build up their faith, and make the sacrifices necessary to see the world come to Christ,” said Yohannan. “It’s a simple and unique daily challenge to listeners to walk away from mediocre Christianity.”
Plans for additional growth include reaching Canadian radio outlets and additional outlets in the U.S. For information about where to tune in, or for updates on new outlets, visit www.GFAMinute.org.
About GFA World
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national missionaries bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching providing hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued a Special Report on how the alarming increase of mosquito-blamed cases in U.S. may awaken Westerners to the deadly scourge of malaria that still claims thousands of lives worldwide.
A study of Africa released in the spring of 2019 found that the single-most important factor to a 15-year decline in malaria fatalities was increased distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets. (Photo by Nothing But Nets)
Rising to the Challenge
Drs. Nana Minkah (back) and Deba Goswami work with Kappe Lab colleagues to develop a vaccine for malaria. (Photo by Seattle Children’s Hospital)
One of the ironies in the fight against malaria is that past victims are combating it, including people like Dr. Nana Minkah, a scientist at the Kappa Lab at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Growing up in the sub-Saharan nation of Ghana, he contracted the disease multiple times. Among his memories are bouts when he spent more than a week in bed with pain and chills so bad he visibly shivered.
In 2015, after earning a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and biology, Dr. Minkah joined the Kappa Lab. Even though he didn’t have experience in parasitology, he wanted to work on malaria, especially since it still plagues his homeland.
One of the ways the lab hopes to pioneer new methods of preventing malaria is with genetically engineered vaccines. In March of 2019, it successfully completed a vaccine with a first-generation strain of the most lethal parasite. Such vaccines rely on a basic principle: to give the immune system an advantage over a pathogen by teaching it to recognize the invader before the infection occurs.
“I wanted to do work that has clinical implications with the potential to save the lives of people who look like me,” Dr. Minkah said. “What we are trying to do is a tall order. We are trying to develop a product that will create unnatural immunity.”[1]
Despite such inspiring stories, challenges still exist. For example, while malaria was eliminated in the U.S. in 1951, the country still has Anopheles mosquitoes that can bite an infected person and transmit to others.
Health workers take a blood sample from an infant to test for malaria at a clinic along the border between Thailand and Myanmar. (Photo by Ben De La Cruz / NPR)
During last summer’s EEE outbreak, health officials in five southwest Michigan counties warned of a “critical risk” of the virus in 35 communities, with another 40 at high risk. Dr. Brian Chow, a doctor of infectious diseases at Tufts Medical Center, said 2019 seemed to be much more severe than in years past. “It is a concern,” Chow said.[2]
Such situations point to the vigilance needed for the fight. A 2019 article in the Scientific American pointed out how, over time, drug treatment of the disease lose their effectiveness as parasites grow resistant to it. For example, in the 1990s, chloroquine was of first-line importance in Africa. By the early 2000s, that drug was replaced by sulfadoxine/primethamine and later ACTs (for Artemisinin Combination Therapy). Each time, resistance developed.
“While mutation in this gene has occurred in Southeast Asia and is spreading around the region, there are fears it will spread to Africa, like it did for the drugs before it,” wrote Ify Aniebo, a research scientist and fellow at Harvard’s school of public health. “The more drugs we use to treat malaria parasites, the more resistant they become due to selective pressure.”[3]
It is widely accepted that next-generation antimalarial drugs must target the parasite at multiple stages to both cure the disease in an infected individual and prevent its spread to others.
Ironically, even as parasites adapt to resist technology, one of the most effective methods to combat malaria is rather old-fashioned: mosquito nets. A study of Africa released in the spring of 2019 found that the single-most important factor to a 15-year decline in malaria fatalities—from 840,000 deaths in 2000 to 440,000 in 2015—was increased distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets. The authors of the study estimate they were responsible for averting 451 million cases during that 15-year period.[4]
Surrounding World Malaria Day 2020, WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the AUC and other organizations in promoting “Zero malaria starts with me” a grassroots campaign that aims to keep malaria high on the political agenda, mobilize additional resources, and empower communities to take ownership of malaria prevention and care. (Photo by World Health Organization, World Malaria Day 2020)
Joining the Fight
This study highlights the importance of one group’s primary methods of fighting the disease in South Asia: distributing mosquito nets free of charge to vulnerable families. Workers supported by Gospel for Asia (GFA)distributed 360,000 nets in 2018.
Through the gift of a simple net given by Gospel for Asia (GFA), these children are protected from the mosquitos that transmit malaria that causes death in over 400,000 victims per year.
“As Gospel for Asia (GFA) combats these mosquitoes and the deadly disease they carry, we’re seeking to minimize the risk of children being infected,” founder K.P. Yohannan says in a 2019 press release for World Malaria Day. “It’s part of our commitment to the remote communities and one way to express God’s love for them. Many villagers in remote areas can’t afford to buy mosquito nets or preventive medications. This is why our efforts are so critical.”
Distribution of nets is only one aspect of multi-faceted efforts by Gospel for Asia (GFA) in these areas. The ministry also supports workers who hold free health seminars, distribute vitamins and educate villagers about hygienic routines to reduce the potential for disease and infection.
Such efforts create heart-rending anecdotes, like that of Pastor Ronsher, who serves in an area with high transmission rates. There, impoverished farmers and daily wage laborers struggle to secure proper medical care and hygiene; among their numbers is a couple named Bahman and Salli, whose daughter had been paralyzed for three years. After Pastor Ronsher gave them a net, he visited them for several weeks to teach them how to use it and offer encouragement.
Ironically, even as parasites adapt to resist technology, one of the most effective methods to combat malaria is rather old-fashioned: mosquito nets.
“You helped us by providing a piece of mosquito net in our lives, though you never knew us before,” Bahman said. “Many knew about our problems, but except [for] you, none of them showed their kindness toward us. We are touched with your love.”
Such love may be needed for those living in the U.S. as well. In addition to the increased rate of Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases last year, one malaria researcher at the University of Maryland’s medical school recently warned of limited access to an intravenously-administered drug. The IV treatments are needed for the more serious cases of mosquito-linked diseases in America.
One simple way to make a personal impact on mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, is to consider giving an at-risk family a simple mosquito net to provide them with safety from insects during the day and at night. (Photo by Nothing but Nets)
“Severe malaria is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment with IV medication to reduce the risk of death,” says Dr. Mark Travassos, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist who cited a 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showing 1,500 malaria cases in the U.S., of which 259 needed IV treatment.[5]
Dr. Travassos says while oral treatments for malaria are available, in the U.S. these are often not effective in more serious cases: “Severe malaria patients can have brain involvement or repeated vomiting and may not tolerate oral medication, placing them at high risk for complications.”
As his University of Maryland associate, Professor Kathleen Neuzil, puts it, “Malaria is a leading killer worldwide, impacting millions of people each year. While we continue to work on developing vaccines and other treatments, it is critical that patients everywhere have access to the regimens needed to combat this disease.”
That means patients in places as poor as South Asia and as affluent as the U.S.
What can we do about mosquito-driven scourges?
One simple way to fight mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, is to consider giving a needy family a simple Mosquito Net. For only $10, Gospel for Asia’s field partners can distribute one of these effective nets to an at-risk family in Asia and provide them with safety from insects during the day and at night.
Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report on Mosquito-Driven Scourge Touches Even Developed Nations:Malaria Alone Claims 400,000 Lives Per Year —Part 1
STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO — Every year GFA World and their mission partner, St Cyprian BEC, work together to bring beauty and light to their neighbourhood. One of the ways we do this is by turning three large evergreens into Christmas trees! On November 27 we held a Christmas Tree Lighting. At this event, the Christmas trees were official turned on. They will continue to shine their glorious light all night long until January 6, 2023.
Light and Warmth for All
St. Cyprian BEC begins the Advent season by hosting a community event to help bring light to our neighbourhood this Christmas.
Despite the rainy weather, everyone really enjoyed the event. Warm fellowship, friendly smiles, and hot drinks helped to bring joy to the evening. By working together with Gospel for Asia (GFA World), we seek to bring warmth and light to communities in many different nations. Recently, a local pastor and his wife were able to help bring warmth to those rag picking in their community. Through giving the simple gift of blankets to slum dwellers, they are also spreading the Light of Christmas.
Dark nights, different coloured lights, bright stars, and a simple manger scene all come together to bring beauty, joy, and light to the Stoney Creek community. At the Christmas tree lighting Homemade treats were served, hot apple cider and hot chocolate. We sang classic Christmas carols such as “Joy to the World”, “O Christmas Tree”, and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. The event was free for all, and we were happy to welcome nearly 50 guests from our community!
Public Servant Flips the Switch
Along with other community members, we were pleased to welcome Todd White and his family. Todd White is the School Board Trustee for Wards 5 and 10, Stoney Creek, and he spoke at the event. Also, he had the honour of pushing the button to officially turn on the Christmas trees. It was very exciting to see the dark night light up when they were turned on!
You can be a part of our mission to transform communities through God’s love too! By providing gifts for those in need, you can equip churches around the world to host events to bless their communities. Together, we can bring light to our communities, celebrating Christ and transforming!
About Gospel for Asia – GFA World
Gospel for Asia(GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national missionaries bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching providing hope and encouragement available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.
Learn more about the GFA World national missionary workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this third part of a Special Report on Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?
Sponsors play a huge role in the lives of the kids they partner with, they are not only providing financial help to receive an education, but they can be their child’s encourager, champion, intercessor, and light. Many different organizations like Compassion even provide the opportunity for sponsors to travel and meet their child in person. Photo by Compassion, What We Do: Child Sponsorship
Long-Term Success
Success stories can be recent, like Neale’s in South Asia, or long-term, like Peace Ruharuza’s in Uganda, although the latter tends to illustrate the lasting impact of child sponsorship. Another example of ongoing success comes from Uganda where Phanuel Mwami is a father, social worker and leader of a community development organization in his hometown. But before a ChildFund (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) sponsor helped change the direction of his life, it was full of hopelessness.41
The 48-year-old Phanuel Mwami is seated in a classroom at the school that ChildFund (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) established and funded when he was a child. He claims, “ChildFund made me who I am.” Photo by ChildFund, Child sponsorship changes the story for Phanuel
The sixth of nine children, Phanuel was the son of subsistence farmers who grew cotton and other crops on a small plot of land. Education in rural Uganda was not free or compulsory then (the country launched a free primary school program in 1997). With his parents unable to afford any kinds of supplies, by the age of eight, Phanuel had lost all hope of attending school.42
The family had other priorities, such as food, clothing and basic shelter.
He chose to stay, afraid following his mother would mean losing his place in the sponsorship program and a chance to get an education. It proved to be a wise decision: Phanuel excelled at school, found odd jobs, and saved enough money to pay his way through secondary school. A member of the school board who noticed his academic prowess took him into her home. Continuing gifts from his sponsor enabled him to buy a goat.
“I don’t want any child under my care to experience what I experienced. Sponsorship opened up my opportunities. It enabled me to live the life I always dreamed of, and now, I am dedicating my life to helping others.”
The now 48-year-old man went on to earn scholarships to attend university, where he studied sociology and social administration before he went on to pursue a career in social work. In 2010, Phanuel launched a nonprofit in the same community where he grew up. It supports more than 100 children in accessing an education.44
“I don’t want any child under my care to experience what I experienced,” he said. “Sponsorship opened up my opportunities. It enabled me to live the life I always dreamed of, and now, I am dedicating my life to helping others.”45
West Bengal: Home visits are a huge part of what GFA World’s child sponsorship staff do. Every day they visit different homes in their community encouraging the families of the children enrolled in sponsorship, but also assesing the situations of other families so they can help even more children in the future.
Among stories of those receiving help is Kasni, who lives in a village in South Asia. The oldest of four children, she was left in charge when her mother, Dayita, went to work each day in the jungle. (Dayita was forced to do so because her husband’s alcohol addiction made him so sick he couldn’t work or even get out of bed.) Gathering firewood from the forest to sell in the market, Dayita made very little money, meaning her children often went to bed hungry.
The woman helped get Divena and her brother into GFA’s sponsorship program.
That meant a daily meal along with adult supervision and guidance, school supplies, and free school tuition. Today, Divena dreams of a brighter future.
“I was totally discouraged when my mother left us alone,” the girl said. “It was very difficult for me and my brother to live without her. We starved many days, and our father also could not look after us. Whenever I saw the children going to school, I felt very sad. However, today [GFA’s sponsorship program] has become a blessing to me and my brother.”47
Sponsorship help break the relentless cycle of poverty for countless children around the world. It effects not only the child, but their family and their community.
“When a Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Sponsorship Program center opened in his village, Bir and his friends discovered they were created for a higher purpose and that God loves them,” Yohannan said. “This knowledge sets kids free and completely transforms their lives. It’s critical that this generation does not give up and that it’s empowered to break free from the stranglehold of poverty.”49
You can be part of the solution that is setting children free from a life of poverty. Simply visit the GFA World website: https://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild/. You can sponsor a child living in South Asia or Africa. You can also find a child who shares your birthday or pick a child to sponsor who has a specific age or gender. Your decision to sponsor can make a substantial difference in the life of an impoverished or underprivileged child.
About GFA World
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
Read the rest of this GFA World Special Report: Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?—Part 1, Part 2
STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO — November 14-20 marked this year’s National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoeboxes. St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church (BEC) was proud to once more serve as an OCC collection centre for Stoney Creek. Also, GFA World Canada celebrated their 38th anniversary on November 19th.
Every year during National Collection Week, churches across Canada partner with Samaritan’s Purse. During this week, gift filled shoeboxes that have been packed as a part of Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child, are gathered at churches serving as collection centres. At the end of the week, the boxes are taken to regional collection centres to be shipped to Calgary, AB. There, they are processed before being sent to needy children around the world.
As St. Cyprian BEC shares a building with the Gospel for Asia (GFA World) office, we were proud to work together to serve as an OCC collection centre. This is the fifth year that we have worked with Samaritan’s Purse in this capacity, and we were excited to receive our largest number of boxes yet! Through the generosity of our community, we were able to send over 1050 shoeboxes to be processed and sent to children in need! This is a 30% increase from last year, and a 17% increase from our previous record!
Several local churches brought the boxes they had collected, and many individuals came by as well. The OCC drop-off coordinator expressed his joy in being able to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse. “It’s wonderful to greet donors while helping with Operation Christmas Child” He said. “People are so often enthusiastic and happy to help these children.” For some, participation in OCC would have been impossible without our drop-off location.
Bringing extra joy to collection week, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Canada celebrated their 38th year of service on November 19! We praise God for the many different opportunities He has given us to serve. Working with local believers in 18 different countries, we have helped provide 39 million people with safe, clean drinking water. Also, 142,000 children have been helped through our child sponsorship program. And, in 2021 alone, no less than 163,300 families were helped through income-generating or quality-of-life gifts. A staff photo was taken to commemorate the anniversary.
For the last 38 years we have been working with passionate, faithful, and generous people across Canada. With their help, we have assisted local churches in needy areas with the resources they need to share God’s love. Thank you for being a part of it all!
About Gospel for Asia – GFA World
Gospel for Asia(GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national missionaries bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching providing hope and encouragement available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.
Learn more about the GFA World national missionary workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
Dhitha was once a Gospel for Asia (GFA World) sponsor child herself. After finishing high school and attending college, she returned to become a teacher for other sponsored children. She is able to be a unique help as she was once in the exact situation many of these children are in right now. Dhitha, like the other teachers and social workers she serves with, loves the children in her care deeply and they are thriving as a result.
Conducted over two years, the research analyzed data from six countries (Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, the Philippines and Uganda) for children sponsored by Compassion International. In an abstract, Wydick, University of Minnesota professor Paul Glewwe and USF graduate student Laine Rutledge wrote, “Early evidence suggests that these impacts are due, in part, to increases in children’s aspirations.”21
One media report said about the study:
To give you some specific statistics, it was found that formerly sponsored children stayed in school…
were 27 to 40 percent more likely to finish secondary school than those who were not enrolled in the Child Sponsorship Program;
were 50 to 80 percent more likely to complete a university education than non-sponsored children.22
In some respects, the ministry’s projects are similar to government and international programs that promote education, Wydick and his associates wrote in their 2013 paper, published in the Journal of Political Economy. Sponsors pay for children’s school tuition and program, nutritious meals, health care and tutoring. However, they added, what distinguishes Compassion from most government, international, and some other sponsorship programs is children spending at least eight hours a week in an intensive after-school program that emphasizes spiritual, physical and socioemotional development23.
“In the sample, the average duration of sponsorship was 9.3 years,” they wrote. “So … by the end of their childhood, sponsored children have participated in about 4,000 hours of Compassion programming, including extra activities such as retreats and camps. A primary objective of this extended contact is to raise the child’s self-esteem, aspirations, and self-expectations.”24
“Locally-run child sponsorship [programs] that invest in the lives of children over a number of years ensure that these children do not fall through the cracks. They grow up better educated, healthier, more confident and spiritually connected.”
Ian McInnes, former CEO of Tearfund—a charity that partners with churches in 50 of the world’s poorest countries—said the study was a particularly heartening one that illustrated why the London-based group and Compassion choose to work directly with children in need.27
Paul Brown spent over 15 years serving as CEO for ChildFund New Zealand and helping to grow it into one of the country’s leading international aid agencies. Photo by ChildFund.org.nz
It wasn’t just sponsorship organizations that lauded the study. BBC News interviewed a former Compassion sponsoree named Peace Ruharuza, who grew up in Uganda and later moved to the United Kingdom before returning to her homeland to raise her three children.29 The charity she founded, Fountain of Peace Children’s Foundation, is still in operation. Based in the UK, it provides support for children across the Kyenjojo region of western Uganda. One of 14 children, Peace spent much of her childhood passed around between family members and experienced considerable neglect and abuse. Sponsored by a Canadian family at the age of nine, she told BBC that sponsorship gave her the boost she needed: “It gave a new lease in life, helped me become what I am and to change a generation.”30
A tsunami hit Sir Lanka at the end of 2004 leaving devastation and refugees in its wake throughout the country. The slum area where this girl lives was no different. Gospel for Asia (GFA World) began their sponsorship program here shortly after the disaster and it became a long-lasting benefit and blessing to the community.
Another abstract by Wydick, Rutledge and USF graduate student Joanna Chu outlined how child sponsorship programs have been in existence since the 1930s. Over the next 75 years, they grew to the extent that nearly 3.5 million children in developing countries are now sponsored through the eight largest sponsorship programs.31
They said this means that a conservative estimate would put the current flow of funds to sponsored children from developed countries at $1.6 billion US per year, with total international transfers over the past two decades at $30 billion US. Given this “non-trivial” flow of resources, Wydick’s group said it was surprising that so little had been done to evaluate the impact of sponsorship programs.32
The exception: a randomized field experiment looking at the impacts of a Dutch program that funded new classroom construction. The program also gave students in randomly selected schools a $6 uniform and $3.44 in textbooks. That study found that even low-cost interventions resulted in beneficiaries attending school half a year longer than in the control group and advancing a third of a grade further in their education.33
In their study focused on Uganda, Wydick’s group found that
child sponsorship increased formal education by 2.9 years over a base of 8.4 years,
increased the probability of formal employment to 72.1 percent from a base of 55.15 percent,
and increased the probability of white collar employment to 37.1 percent from 19.1 percent.
They also found modest evidence that sponsored children lived in higher-quality homes as adults, were more likely to use mosquito nets (a simple tool to prevent mosquito borne illnesses), and were less likely to smoke or drink alcohol.34
Ironically, even though sponsorship has been around for so long, it isn’t necessarily understood, according to a 2017 study of 1,000 American charitable donors. The study was completed by Grey Matter Research Consulting of Phoenix and Opinions 4 Good, a philanthropic online market research firm based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It found that while 87 percent of American donors were aware of child sponsorship, only 24 percent felt very familiar with it.35
The Donor Mindset Study found that, overall, 74 percent of all donors believe child sponsorship is a legitimate, credible way of helping children in need, yet only 26 percent believe that strongly. Among people who were currently sponsoring a child, 98 percent believed that sponsorship is legitimate and credible, but only 68 percent felt that strongly. The other 30 percent had some doubts.36
“Most donors are aware of sponsorship and are generally positive toward it, but there is not a lot of real familiarity with how it works,” Sellers said. “It’s notable that most donors don’t hold any of their positive or negative perceptions about sponsorship strongly, but only somewhat. That shows a lot of donors aren’t entirely sure of their position on child sponsorship. … The interest is there but so are doubts or concerns. It would be wise for sponsorship organizations to explore deeply what these obstacles are and how they can effectively overcome them.”38
“I have seen these meetings take place dozens of times and I can tell you it is powerful every single time. There’s nothing like watching a sponsor hug his/her sponsored child for the first time.”
Despite such ambivalence, researchers found mechanisms that allow donors to be able to visit their child (offered by major sponsor organizations) serve as a “sort of warranty” for donors. Eighty-one percent of donors say the ability to visit their sponsored child makes sponsorship more legitimate and believable.39
Indeed, a national magazine story about the Donor Mindset Study quoted Compassion International spokesperson Tim Glenn about the difference this option makes: “I have seen these meetings take place dozens of times and I can tell you it is powerful every single time. There’s nothing like watching a sponsor hug his/her sponsored child for the first time. Sponsors can walk into the classrooms at the Compassion child development center and see the very desk where their child sits. They can meet the volunteers who cook hot meals for the child or chat with the teachers who give their time to tutor and mentor each child. It’s a life-changing experience for everyone involved.”40
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
Read the rest of this GFA World Special Report: Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?—Part 1, Part 3
Wydick, Bruce; Glewwe, Paul; and Rutledge, Laine. “Does international child sponsorship work? A six-country study of impacts on adult life outcomes.” Journal of Political Economy. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/670138. April 2013.
Wydick, Bruce; Glewwe, Paul; and Rutledge, Laine. “Does international child sponsorship work? A six-country study of impacts on adult life outcomes.” Journal of Political Economy. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/670138. April 2013.
Wydick, Bruce; Glewwe, Paul; and Rutledge, Laine. “Does international child sponsorship work? A six-country study of impacts on adult life outcomes.” Journal of Political Economy. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/670138. April 2013.
Wydick, Bruce; Rutledge, Laine; and Chu, Joanna. “Does child sponsorship work? Evidence from Uganda using a regression continuity design,” (pg. 1). University of California. http://eml.berkeley.edu/~webfac/bardhan/wydick.pdf. May 2009.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Wydick, Bruce; Rutledge, Laine; and Chu, Joanna. “Does child sponsorship work? Evidence from Uganda using a regression continuity design,” (cover pg.). University of California. http://eml.berkeley.edu/~webfac/bardhan/wydick.pdf. May 2009.
The minute-long program features 
Along with other community members, we were pleased to welcome Todd White and his family. Todd White is the School Board Trustee for Wards 5 and 10, Stoney Creek, and he spoke at the event. Also, he had the honour of pushing the button to officially turn on the Christmas trees. It was very exciting to see the dark night light up when they were turned on!
Every year during National Collection Week, churches across Canada partner with Samaritan’s Purse. During this week, gift filled shoeboxes that have been packed as a part of 
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