What Do I Need to Know about How to Sponsor a Family in Need?
The first thing to know about how to sponsor a family in need is that there are good and sustainable ways to help. Progress can be made. Efforts by many countries and nonprofit organizations have culminated in major gains in reducing the number of poor.[1] However, more work can and must be done.
Our World in Data provides this summary of the current situation:
“Two centuries ago, the majority of the world population was extremely poor. Back then it was widely believed that widespread poverty was inevitable. But this turned out to be wrong. Economic growth is possible and poverty can decline. The world has made immense progress against extreme poverty.
“But even after two centuries of progress, extreme poverty is still the reality for every tenth person in the world. This is what the ‘international poverty line’ highlights – this metric plays an important (and successful) role in focusing the world’s attention on these very poorest people in the world.
“The poorest people today live in countries which have achieved no growth. This stagnation of the world’s poorest economies is one of the largest problems of our time. Unless this changes, millions of people will continue to live in extreme poverty.”[2]
This shows us that change can happen. To make real progress, we have to address the economic barriers that often halt advancement. Stimulating an economy is done by getting people to purchase goods and services. But what if there are no goods and services to purchase or offer? That’s where GFA World seeks to help.
Through the partnership of people like you, GFA offers farm animals and other items that lead to income streams for those with fewer choices, something that is often a reality if education was never available to them. For example, the gift of a pair of chickens can be a life-changing opportunity for a consistent income stream. Chickens lay eggs, which can be eaten and sold. They can also be fertilized and hatched and a whole chicken farm created. These chickens can then be sold or used for more eggs or meat. Thus, a small business is born.
Look through our Christmas Gift Catalog and pray about which item God wants you to gift this holiday season. Perhaps it is a pair of goats or a cow. Maybe a sewing machine that would help a widow start her own business. Perhaps you want to gift skills training in a career like tailoring or farming. Or you may have a heart for literacy and desire to gift a community with reading classes. There are so many ways to bless those in need through our proven methods of helping the poor.
Pray today about how God would lead your generous heart.
Learn more about how to sponsor a family at Christmastime and make an amazing difference in their lives.[1] Project, Borgen. “15 Organizations Fighting Poverty in Developing Countries.” The Borgen Project, June 8, 2017. https://borgenproject.org/organizations-fighting-poverty-developing-countries/.
[2] “Extreme Poverty: How Far Have We Come, How Far Do We Still Have To Go?” Our World in Data. November 22, 2021. https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty-in-brief.