How Does GFA World Work with Children in Poverty: Dental Care, Medical Care, What Else?

World Toilet Day, a movement created and backed by the United Nations, aims to raise awareness of the adverse impact of poverty; dental care, medical care and simple sanitation facilities like toilets are completely out of reach. GFA World is among the frontline workers fighting against this crisis. In 2015, about 2.4 billion people worldwide lacked even rudimentary sanitation facilities and were forced to relieve themselves in the open. Of those people, nine out of ten of them lived in rural areas.[1]

Malak and Jaki, members of a GFA church, were just one family impacted by this problem. Malak had been an alcoholic before he found Christ and completely turned his life around. He met Jaki, the couple got married and they were soon blessed with two children. The happy family had one major problem: they had no toilet. The nearest place to relieve themselves was about a mile away, making it incredibly dangerous to use the bathroom at night—where animals or other people could attack—or in extreme weather. Not to mention how going to the bathroom outside was always degrading and unhygienic, even in the best circumstances. Malak and Jaki prayed for their family, and God heard their prayers. During a GFA Christmas gift distribution, they received a complete sanitation facility. They no longer had to make the dangerous trek just to relieve themselves. Their fear was removed, and their dignity restored. Through GFA World, families are being blessed with their own outdoor toilets and a chance to know that God listens to and cares about their needs.[2]

GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program works with children in these situations, providing hygiene training, like hand washing and dental care, which includes giving them toothbrushes and toothpaste. GFA also makes sure children, like Malak and Jaki’s kids, have access to a toilet, making them healthier by properly disposing of and storing human waste. The sponsorship program administers medical care, like immunizations, checkups, diagnoses and treatments. They give the children nutritious food and supplements to maintain their health. Beyond that, GFA also provides education to children, not only about academics and morals but also about the necessity for proper hygiene and sanitation.[3]


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