Care for a family! Dorcas Aid provides another
kind of sponsorship program: Family Care. This program provides material support
to families in Eastern Europe. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe,
most of the countries' economies collapsed. The transition from socialist to
market-based economies left many families marginalized and living in poverty. Such
families are the beneficiaries of the family care program.
The program supports local
churches so that these can help marginalized families in their communities on a
regular basis. The support they provide consists of material support as well as
counseling. Most of the programs also organize social activities for the
families, or summer camps for the children. Part of the families can even be
helped to find income of their own, so that they start to support themselves.
Sponsorship in a nutshell:
The local partner organization
selects the families who will benefit from the program. The target group is the
poorest families or the families in the most desperate circumstances.
A family will
normally be in the sponsorship program for around 5 years. Some families may
leave the program earlier, for example because of moving to another place or
improved living circumstances. Some will need more years of support before they
can leave the Family Care program.
When you start to
sponsor a family, you will receive a nice sponsorship folder, with information
(and a picture) of the family, the program and the local situation. Once a year
you will receive a progress report from the family and a newsletter from the
program; every two years a new picture.
It is possible to write
to or even visit your sponsored family. Giving and praying for the family will
bring about a change in their lives!
Dorcas cooperates with local churches / Christian organizations. They have the
knowledge of the local culture and circumstances. They started the support with
the limited means that they have, because they feel the love of God for these
families in their desperate situation. Dorcas trains and equips these local
Christians so that they will do an even better job, and will be able to support
more and more needy families in their surroundings.
Dorcas currently supports over 2000 families in 4 countries: Romania, Moldova,
Ukraine and Albania.
FAQ
