Blog

I feel it is necessary to contribute for the development of my community. In the past there was no opportunity [for women] to participate in leadership due to cultural issues, but thanks to FH training there has been a great change in the community and in the integration of leadership.

Have you ever tried to change your family’s diet? Convince your children to eat new foods like cauliflower rice or chopped spinach in their tomato sauce? It can be a hard sell. Many of us struggle with change. Perhaps you’ve had to learn a new and seemingly impossible computer program for work, adapt to driving a manual car, or cut monthly expenses in order to save for that replacement phone you really need? It takes courage to change a habit or routine,try new technologies, or embrace different beliefs.

Child sponsorship comes full circle in this mother's amazing testimony.

Tucked away in the remote valleys of north western Guatemala lies San Juan Cotzal. Its mountainous region and foggy, pine-forested slopes are home to a cluster of nine communities: Los Angeles, Tixelap, Quisis, Chichel Chisis, Santa Avelina, Ojo de Agua, Vichibala, and San Felipe Chenla.

After six years of reading FH Canada partner community reports, I am crazy about Savings and Loans groups. Here’s why.

Child Sponsorship doesn’t just transform the life of a single child— it changes the whole community. By developing leaders, training teachers, and equipping farmers, the resources from your sponsorship have a wide-reaching impact.

From grassroots to glass ceilings, Afrose Akter is shattering stereotypes of female leadership in Bangladesh.

Mao Kreng is a survivor. He was just 21 years old when the Khmer Rouge—a homegrown political movement—seized control of Cambodia. Over the next four years, he watched as a quarter of his countrymen—his friends, neighbours, and family members—died from disease, starvation, exhaustion, or execution. It is estimated that between 1.7 and 3 million people lost their lives under the Khmer Rouge between 1975-1979.

It’s easy to jump to conclusions. We do it all the time. About the driver who doesn’t use their turn signal, the mom who lets her kids eat cookies for snack, the woman standing barefoot by the side of the road holding a cardboard sign.

Real change for communities does not happen overnight. Each of us plays an important role—from supporter to office staff to community leader. It takes years of relationship building, planning, education, and persistence. But the conduits that make this happen? FH staff who live and work in the community, who truly walk alongside leaders, churches, and families.

When I was younger, I thought the best way to live peacefully was to never disagree with anyone. Disagreement could lead to conflict and conflict could be uncomfortable and messy. As I grew older, I realized that never disagreeing wasn’t the best path. Voicing my concern (for myself or others) was sometimes the only path that led to change. Sometimes, to be a peacemaker, I had to make my disagreements known. Negative peace (the absence of conflict or violence) had defined my approach to problem-solving. I needed to start striving for human flourishing in the presence of justice and equity: positive peace.

Child Sponsorship has been a successful catalyst for community transformation for over 80 years. It has a unique way of bonding sponsor and child that nurtures loyalty in the supporter to stick with the family through thick and thin.

When you can’t go to the grocery store, growing food is your only option if you want to eat. In northern Uganda, refugee families from South Sudan face this harsh reality daily and have turned to Food for the Hungry (FH) for help.

Mother, Tarike: I grew up in Oromia Sasiga District. My parents worked as day labourers on a state farm. All of my siblings (one brother and three sisters) are now farmers. As a young girl, I used to make a little money doing trade in my community. I did not go to school.