Helping the Poor

When you begin helping the poor, you are providing for someone in a tangible and potentially lifesaving way. Some of the poorest people in the world live in South Asia and Africa.

Consider these options for how to help the poor and needy that are available through GFA World in parts of Asia and Africa:

Give an income-generating gift

Gifts can help people acquire a new income-generation source. For example, when you gift chickens to a family, they will have eggs to sell at the market and eggs to eat. They can also raise more chickens to increase their flocks. When you gift a cow or goat, the family can sell milk from those animals.

Sitara has had a hard life. Twenty years ago, her husband had to stop working due to mental health problems. Then, two of her sons passed away. She had nowhere to turn and no idea how to provide for her family’s needs. Then someone gave her a very special gift—a goat! “When I received the goat, I leapt with joy,” Sitara said. “I shared with all my neighbors … I went and told them that I received a goat. I’m so delighted because I have a means to earn [a living].” Sitara can now provide for her family and send her children to school.

Goats may seem like a strange gift to give, but they can rapidly improve a family’s financial situation. Goats produce milk to sell at the market and manure to sell to farmers. Goats are a great gift to donate to the poor.


Give toward training someone in a new skill

The gift of training in a new skill is also a huge benefit to a family. As an example, GFA often teaches women in Asia the skills of sewing and tailoring. Often, when these women complete the training, they are gifted with a sewing machine and can begin working as a tailor. New skills create new income opportunities.

Sewing machines can do more than mend garments; they can also mend broken lives. Gift recipients can earn a stable income by sewing clothes. “I was really longing for a machine. … I have no words to express my feelings and thanks to the church. … This gift not only helps me to earn a daily income, but also it brought us close to the Living God,” says Romila, a sewing machine recipient.

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