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Samaritan's Purse

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Samaritan's Purse
Founded1970
FounderDr. Bob Pierce
TypeFaith Based
FocusCrisis Relief & Development
Location
Area served
World Wide
MethodDirect Aid / Program Funding
Key people
Rev. William Franklin Graham III
Revenue> US$300,000,000[1]
WebsiteSamaritan's Purse International
Canada
United Kingdom
Germany
Australia
New Zealand
Ireland
Netherlands

Samaritan's Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization engaged in crisis relief and community development while showing people God's love. Founded in 1970 and active around the world, Samaritan's Purse offers aid to the victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine in response to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The organization is based in Boone, North Carolina, USA, and is headed by Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham.

History

Bob Pierce founded Samaritan's Purse in 1970. His mission for this organization was "to meet emergency needs in crisis areas through existing evangelical mission agencies and national churches".[2] Franklin Graham, whom Pierce met in 1973, became the President of Samaritan's Purse in 1979 following Pierce's death in 1978.

Samaritan's Purse operates a number of projects including: Operation Christmas Child, a program where shoe boxes are packed with personal hygiene items, school supplies, and toys, and distributed to nearly 8 million children annually in 95 countries; World Medical Mission,[3] a program that sends doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals to distressed areas of the world; Turn on the Tap, a fund raising initiative to provide safe water in the developing world; plus other programs such as those helping the HIV & AIDS afflicted, orphans, community development, and evangelism.

Turn on the Tap

Turn on the Tap is an initiative to raise funds for Samaritan's Purse's Water Programs around the world. The campaign (spearheaded by the UK and Canadian divisions of Samaritan's Purse in April 2007[4][5], followed by Germany [6] and Australia/New Zealand (July, 2008) [7]) and USA (April, 2009)[8]). The Canadian campaign aims to install an additional 40,000 BioSand Water Filters by 2010.[9] About 100,000 filters have been installed since 1997. The BioSand Water Filters (BSF) have provided more than 800,000 people with safe water in the same timeframe. There are 21 ongoing BSF projects in 18 countries.

The mission of the Household Water Program is to implement household water treatment programs to improve health and foster transformation in communities. This is done in partnership with country offices, local partner organizations and local communities. This program incorporates beneficiary engagement, health and hygiene training, and BioSand Water Filters to address the lack of safe water.[10]

The UK, Australia/New Zealand and US campaign also focuses on a wider range of solutions including household water treatment (BioSand Water Filters) as well as projects incorporating hand dug wells, boreholes and borehole rehabilitation, and other appropriate solutions.[11] The aim of the campaign in Australia/New Zealand is to raise enough money and bring safe water to more than 30,000 individuals in communities across Asia Pacific by World Water Day 2010.

Operation Christmas Child

History

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) was begun by Dave and Gill Cooke of Wrexham, Wales in 1990 to send gifts and supplies to children in Romanian orphanages.[12] The program was adopted by Samaritan's Purse in 1993, when 28,000 shoe boxes were delivered to children in war-torn Bosnia. Since then, Samaritan's Purse has collected and distributed more than 68 million boxes to boys and girls in over 135 countries.

Process

Though there are thousands of volunteers around the world who work year-round, this project generally begins in the month of September and finishes with a worldwide collection week near the middle of November. Groups, families, and individuals in 11 countries[13] pack shoe boxes with gifts selected for a child of a specific age range and gender (for either a boy or a girl, and either in the 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14 age range). The most common items placed in the boxes are school supplies, small toys, and hygiene products. The boxes are then collected by Samaritan's Purse and shipped to developing countries, where they are distributed mostly by National Leadership Teams of local evangelical pastors and followers drawn from religious, government, and community organizations.[14] With permission, and when culturally appropriate, a pamphlet about Christianity, written in the local language, is distributed alongside the boxes. In 2008, the program delivered 7.9 million boxes to children in 95 countries.[15] Tens of thousands of volunteers process the boxes in Operation Christmas Child collection points and warehouses during the holiday season.[16]

Prescription for Hope

History

In 2002, Samaritan’s Purse hosted Prescription for Hope, a global, Christian-focused conference on HIV/AIDS, held in Washington, D.C. Prescription for Hope has since developed into an ongoing effort which aims to strengthen the international Christian response to HIV/AIDS; to mobilize private, church, corporate, and government resources; and to develop a unified plan to defeat HIV/AIDS. The goal is for various aspects of the effort to positively impact more than 2 million people by 2010.

Programs

Abstinence and Behavior Change Programs for Youth

Across the globe, people aged 15–24 have some of the highest rates of HIV infection. Samaritan's Purse US uses funding from the United States Agency for International Development's President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to operate a program called MET that mobilizes, equips, and trains older youth and Christian youth leaders to prevent new HIV infections in the 15-24 age group. Samaritan's Purse is deploying the MET program in over 480 communities in Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

During the program's five-year period, youth leaders and parents will receive HIV/AIDS awareness training, training in basic home care for people living with HIV/AIDS, micro-media campaigns, mentoring, and/or a life skills and character-based curriculum. The program teaches all participants to initiate HIV/AIDS awareness aimed at youth, to involve youth in care programs for people living with HIV/AIDS in their own communities, and to mentor and teach life skills to at-risk youth. The program emphasizes building the capacity of pastors, parents, and youth leaders to speak about HIV/AIDS in a culturally accepted way within churches.

Since the Prescription for Hope effort began in 2002, Samaritan's Purse has reached over 188,679 youths with "abstain and be faithful" messages and trained over 9,260 pastors and evangelical community leaders with United States Agency for International Development's President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funds through the MET program.

Other Programs

  • Workshops are offered to church leaders of various backgrounds to teach them how to develop positive, nondiscriminatory, culturally relevant approaches to HIV/AIDS in their communities[citation needed].
  • In partnership with World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan's Purse, the Prescription for Hope effort supports HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and treatment programs in mission hospitals worldwide.
  • Prescription for Hope supports grassroots community organizations by giving them training and resources.
  • Samaritan's Purse field offices throughout the world incorporate HIV/AIDS programs into ongoing relief efforts.

Countries

The Prescription for Hope effort is active in the following countries: Template:Multicol Africa

  • Benin
  • Botswana
  • Burkina Faso
  • Chad
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Ghana
  • Kenya
  • Liberia
  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Rwanda
  • South Africa
  • Sudan
  • Swaziland
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Template:Multicol-break Asia & Oceania

  • Cambodia
  • Indonesia
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

Template:Multicol-break Europe & the Middle-East

  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Ukraine
  • Bosnia
  • Kosovo

Template:Multicol-break Central & South America

  • Argentina
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Honduras
  • Mexico
  • Peru

Template:Multicol-end

if

On March 4, 2009 Samaritan's Purse Canada launched the if campaign. There are more than 900 million women living in extreme poverty. Many are exploited, abused, neglected, and marginalized every minute of every day. The goal of the if campaign is to restore hope and dignity, one woman at a time. Doing so helps the women, their families, and their communities.
Samaritan's Purse Women’s Projects, which are supported by the if campaign, are divided into four important areas:
1) Literacy & Education: Literacy classes, training for teachers
2) Maternal Health: Training local traditional birth attendants and midwives, supporting prenatal and delivery services, offering education on early childhood nutrition and the basics of early childhood diseases
3) Livelihood & Life Skills Support: Agricultural training, training in potential small business activities such as sewing, catering, or computer skills
4) Anti-Trafficking & Prostitution: Rehabilitation programs, transitional residential care, vocational training, support and training for workers helping exploited women, raising awareness among pastors and congregations so they can help combat trafficking/prostitution
Samaritan’s Purse is partnering with local groups in the developing world to create opportunities for women to break the cycle of poverty and exploitation.
The if campaign will be a three year fundraising initiative with a goal of raising $3 million.

Other Projects

  • Children's Heart Project
  • World Medical Missions
  • Crisis Relief
  • Aid to Iraq[17]

Criticism of the Organization

Throughout the 2000s, critics have questioned the altruism of Operation Christmas Child, noting that Evangelical Christian literature has been distributed with the shoe boxes, and have alleged that the project's underlying aim is the proselytization of non-Christians .[18][19]. Rev. Franklin Graham, the head of Samaritan's Purse, was also criticized for calling Islam "a wicked religion,"[20] leading to opposition campaigns by Islamic leaders.[21] In the UK criticism has come from prominent Christian clergy, such as Rev Giles Fraser, as well as from Muslim [22] and atheist groups .[23]

The accounts for Samaritan's Purse UK for 2006 show a turn over in excess of £22 million..[24] Of this total, £1.3 million were disbursed on relief and aid projects with the balance spent on promotion and operations associated with the evangelical project Operation Christmas Child.

Samaritan's Purse responded to many of these concerns by highlighting their evangelical focus and their long history of non-denominational cooperation..[25] Following censure from the UK Charity Commission, Samaritan's Purse UK also released a leaflet claiming their actual intent and methods.[26]

References

  1. ^ Charity Navigator Rating - Samaritan's Purse at www.charitynavigator.org
  2. ^ Samaritan's Purse, History ([dead link‍] – Scholar search), 2007, retrieved 2007-08-02 {{citation}}: External link in |format= (help)
  3. ^ Holbrooke, Richard; Furman, Richard (February 10]]), "A Global Battle's Missing Weapon", New York Times, retrieved 2007-08-02 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help) (Furman is a founder of World Medical Mission)
  4. ^ Samaritan's Purse Canada | International Relief | Our Work | Water for Life
  5. ^ Turn on The Tap | Turn on The Tap
  6. ^ Geschenke der Hoffnung: Dreh den Hahn auf
  7. ^ /// TURN ON THE TAP - a SAMARITAN'S PURSE AUSTRALIA campaign for safe,accessible water in the developing world
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ Samaritan's Purse Canada, Water: Turn on the Tap, retrieved 2007-08-02
  10. ^ Samaritan's Purse Canada (2007), "Turn on the Tap", Brochure
  11. ^ [2]
  12. ^ [3]
  13. ^ Boxes are packed in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
  14. ^ Operation Christmas Child - FAQ ([dead link‍] – Scholar search), retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |format= (help)
  15. ^ Operation Christmas Child ([dead link‍] – Scholar search), retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |format= (help)
  16. ^ Operation Christmas Child - Volunteer ([dead link‍] – Scholar search), retrieved 2007-12-19 {{citation}}: External link in |format= (help)
  17. ^ Evangelicals Building a Base in Iraq Newcomers Raise Worry Among Traditional Church Leaders Caryle Murphy, Washington Post Staff Writer
  18. ^ BBC News (October 23), Shoe box charity in religious row, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  19. ^ The Guardian (December 18), "Presents imperfect", Guardian Unlimited, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  20. ^ Muir, Hugh (November 29), "Co-op cuts Christmas box link with US charity", Guardian Unlimited {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  21. ^ icWales (November 5), Red-faced MP dumps Islam-bashing charity, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  22. ^ CAMPAIGN AGAINST OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD, http://www.inminds.co.uk/occ.html {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ Operation Christmas Child Alert, http://www.geocities.com/occcriticism/ {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ^ Scanned Accounts, http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/ScannedAccounts%5CEnds49%5C0001001349_ac_20061231_e_c.pdf {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ^ Vardy, David (November 18), "Being good Samaritans", Guardian Unlimited, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  26. ^ Samaritan's Purse UK, Operation Christmas Child: Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

See also

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