CHICAGO, IL (November 26, 2018) – Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. It’s the opportunity to help refugees like Alek (not his real name), a South Sudanese boy who dreams of becoming an engineer. “I want to help improve people’s lives, whether through building homes, designing water pumps, or constructing roads,” he says. “I have seen much suffering, and that motivates me to study hard and work toward my dream of helping others.”
By participating in Giving Tuesday, Covenanters can help support Alek as he works toward that dream. Funds donated on Giving Tuesday will enable Covenant World Relief partners and Serve Globally missionaries to come alongside refugees in empowering ways, providing food, clothing, education, and health care. In a recent Covenant Companion article, CWR advisory team member Debbie Blue wrote about how CWR partner Medical Teams International (MTI) was helping refugees who had fled from Syria into Lebanon.
“Through feedback provided by the refugees, MTI developed and trained 240 refugee outreach volunteers (ROVs) to serve 120 informal settlements, addressing the immediate medical needs of this vulnerable population,” she wrote. “ROVs provide community education, connect displaced people to other health services for referrals, and coordinate and link refugees with other agencies and organizations for services that are beyond MTI’s scope.”
According to the United Nations, more than 68 million people have been forced to leave their countries or have been displaced within their own nations. That number is higher than any other time in recorded history.
Contributions can be made online.
To make a gift by mail, checks may be sent to the Evangelical Covenant Church, 8303 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631 and write “Giving Tuesday” on the memo line.
To learn more about CWR’s work with refugees, watch their latest video and follow their Facebook page.
