An interview with Amanda Cox, coordinator for the Faith to Action Initiative. Amanda focuses on best practices in orphan care, emphasizing that God’s plan for children involves families. She discusses times when orphanage care is a necessary option, and other times when family-based options for orphans can be found.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Download From Faith to Action and Journeys of Faith.
• Order print copies of From Faith to Action and Journeys of Faith.
• Together for Adoption Conference, October 21-22, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ

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World AIDS Day is December 1, 2010.  In this audio episode, Kim Buttonow answers questions about progress made towards preventing and treating HIV/AIDS. Kim Buttonow is HIV/AIDS Programs Coordinator for Food for the Hungry.

Action steps mentioned on today’s show:

1. Learn. Check out our global calendar for World AIDS Day events.
2. Speak.
   • Urge your Senators and Representative to support the Global Fund
   • Share this episode on Facebook
3. Give. Make a donation to commemorate World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is so much more than a time to dwell on what hasn’t been accomplished yet. It is a chance to look back and see how much has been achieved. In the last 5 years, in Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda and Haiti, Food for the Hungry has reached over 1.5 million youth and adults with messages of prevention and has provided care for over 5,000 orphans and vulnerable children. FH has started treatment centers where there had been little access. Through the efforts of governments, donors and other organizations like FH, treatment has increased nearly 6 times since 2004. Innovations that were once just a dream are nearing real-world usability, and strides are being made in vaccine development.

December 1 is a day to celebrate what God has done through us, with us, and around us. Let us rejoice in all that God has done! See how FH is celebrating World AIDS Day.

Also mentioned on today’s show: Request the free four-week Poverty Unlocked curriculum for churches and small groups.

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In Zeway, Ethiopia, over 100 orphans have lost both of their parents. With no social safety net for children, orphans are often left to care for themselves. They feel alone and forgotten. But God has not forgotten them.

In this interview, recorded at the Together for Adoption Conference, Matt and Julie Kouri and Dawit Kassaye Woldeyohannes share a new solution to the orphan crisis in Ethiopia.

It’s not an orphanage, and it’s not international adoption. Curious? Listen to the interview.

Three ways to learn more about this partnership…

• Read The Hope in Zeway blog
• Make a donation on behalf of the orphans
• Contact Matt and Julie through our contact form

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All too often, women are the face of poverty and injustice. More women and girls have been killed in the last 50 years by the hands of gender-injustice than men were killed in military battles in the last 100 years. At least one in every three women globally has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.

In this episode, Jayme Cloninger, Public Policy Consultant for FH, shares about the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA).

Read about the Learn, Speak and Give Campaign.

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Anne Brown reveals the invisible causes of poverty: ideas. Examples from Guatemala, Zimbabwe, and India show the transformational effects that biblical ideas can have on impoverished communities—and the tragic consequences of destructive ideas.

Anne Brown is Regional Manager of Global Engagement at Food for the Hungry. If you enjoyed this episode, listen to Anne share the benefits of having personal relationships with the poor.

Also mentioned in this episode! Audio from Summit 2010: The Truth about Poverty is now online. Check out the workshops below.

The Truth about Child Sponsorship with Jewel Anita Hendrix
The Truth about Physical Poverty with Victor Cortez
The Truth about the Human Soul with Paul Wilson
The Truth about Serving with Steve Corbett
The Truth about Prayer with Darryl Delhousaye
International Staff Panel with FH field staff

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World AIDS Day is December 1, 2009. In this interview, Carolyn Wetzel shares the story of 36 African women who turned away from prostitution when they were shown a way out.

Carolyn Wetzel is Health Programs Coordinator for Food for the Hungry. She lives in Washington, D.C.

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Change for Life is a new way to bring hope to those suffering from the AIDS crisis, one of the most severe health problems the world has ever faced.

When you get involved with Change for Life, Food for the Hungry will provide your church, Sunday School class, workplace or other group with small containers to collect spare coins for six weeks. As the containers fill up, the accumulation of pocket change will fund programs like the one Carolyn discussed on today’s episode. Get started here.

HIV/AIDS is not only a subject of global concern–it’s an issue embodied by real people every day. In this interview, Kim Buttonow tells the story of a teenager named Claire and the courageous woman who saved her life.

Kim Buttonow is HIV/AIDS Programs Coordinator for Food for the Hungry. Based in Washington, D.C., Kim has worked with Food for the Hungry in countries around the world since 2001.

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Change for Life is a new way to bring hope to those suffering from the AIDS crisis, one of the most severe health problems the world has ever faced.

When you get involved with Change for Life, Food for the Hungry will provide your church, Sunday School class, workplace or other group with small containers to collect spare coins for six weeks. As the containers fill up, the accumulation of pocket change will fund the programs that Kim discussed on today’s episode. Get started here.

There are 132 million orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. In some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa,  one of every ten children is an orphan. The need for orphan care is staggering. In this interview, Chad Mower shares about a unforgettable 13-year-old he met in Ethiopia while on an open team. It’s a story of finding hope in a tragic situation.

Chad Mower volunteers as an Advocate with Food for the Hungry. He lives in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

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Alisa Schmitz answers questions about church partnerships. When a church in the U.S. partners with a community in the developing world, life change occurs on both sides of the relationship. The overseas community can be released from poverty, and the U.S. church can also learn and grow. Ultimately, church partnerships exist to bring about the Kingdom of God.

In this episode…

1. The goal of long-term church partnerships
2. Preparation for short-term mission trips and ongoing relationships (Matthew 10:9-10)
3. Honoring the people we are serving (Ruth 2:15-16)
4. Keys to ongoing, vibrant relationships

Learn more about Community-2-Community partnerships – long-term relationships between American churches and communities in the developing world.

Alisa Schmitz is Senior Director of Global Engagement at Food for the Hungry.

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Questions and answers about gifts in kind. Are handouts ever appropriate in community development?

Andrew Crawford and Cameron Calabrese work for Gifts in Kind Resources at Food for the Hungry, a department that handles non-cash items going to other countries. In this interview we discuss if and when “handouts” are appropriate, a case study in charging a small amount rather than offering a handout, and Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda. Andrew and Cameron ask, “When was the last time you thought about Bangladesh?”

E-mail Cameron to learn more about shipping costs.

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