Helping Syrian Refugees We recently had the opportunity to distribute Joybags to Syrian refugees at a camp in Kurdistan. The items included toys for the kids along with oil for cooking for individual families. The need is significant and the task challenging. We did hear approximately one week after this distribution that teachers at the camp mentioned that jackets, shoes, and notebooks would be very helpful also. Our colleagues are following up on the need with a quantity of pairs of shoes.

ZAMBIA UPDATE 2012

We have been working in Zambia for a number of years on projects such as a feeding program for HIV moms, cement block making/marketing program, and school children sponsorships. These programs have been concentrated in and around the Ndola, Zambia region. We have just begun providing resources for a family feeding program which is a quite effective. The families that we are helping are in dire need of basic necessities and consistent food supplies. This program was started two years ago by our partners in Zambia. In a nutshell we purchase basic food supplies for a family of 8 people and it will sustain them for three weeks or longer. This provides more than two meals per week. The challenge is to feed 30 families which costs $650 per month and we normally do it once per month though many times we skip months because we don't have enough sponsors yet. Despite being a huge challenge it is a very effective way of ministering to the families. We just recently sponsored five families. Below are a couple of photos.

We are now looking into purchasing a meal grinding machine which is used to grind maize creating the bags shown in the photos which contain "mealie meal". This is very popular in Africa for cooking and used at almost every meal. The grinding machine will enable us to purchase raw maize which can be ground, bagged, and then sold for profit in the community. This profit can then be used to purchase the maize that is given to the families. The families would work in the grinding process bag the meal and then sell it. This could have the potential of generating cash flow plus food for these families.

To send tax deductible donations for this project, mail your check to: GLOBAL IMPACT World Relief 7470 E. Gumtree Lane Prescott Valley, AZ 86315 Mark "Sewing Machine Project" on your check Thank you!

This blog has been written by Launa Stan:

I just returned from a trip from India that was both amazing and daunting! This is a country rich in history, culture and majesty, but also has its share of poverty, tragedy and inequality. During my stay, I was privileged to do Joy Bag outreaches in three different slums in the Mumbai region. I also visited schools and tribal areas doing Joy Bag outreaches there as well. We at Global Impact have been supporting an impressive Women's Tailoring/vocational program for several years. There are 7 locations in India and amongst those sites, I met the women in this program in 5 sites from the slums of Mumbai, to Andra Pradesh region all the way to the south in the Kerala state.

So I have returned mighty jet legged but fiercely determined that this "Sewing Machine" project is worthwhile. So now, I have a goal in mind, I'd like to raise the funds to purchase 100 Sewing machines for the women of India!

Let me back up and explain this project...For the entire amount of $100. a woman in an impoverished situation can be trained for 4 months to sew. The items she will learn to tailor are things that she will be able to sell in the future, such as saris, sari tops and children's clothing. During the training program she is also given the option to learn embroidery that can embellish her garments, which adds to the selling price. When she successfully completes the program, she then receives a sewing machine to take home. These are the old fashioned, pedal-power generated ones because most of the ladies do not have electricity in their shanties. This brand new sewing machine will empower them in a way that changes their lives. It gives them an opportunity to earn money of their own and enables them to feed their children with more nutritious food. So far, we have 65 women (just in the Kerala state) who have completed the project and are waiting for sewing machines! While these women wait, they are able to come to the tailoring site and borrow those to create items to sell. But they need their own! Would you partner with us at Global Impact to purchase 100 sewing machines for this endeavor? A mere $100. pays for the training and the sewing machine-what an amazing deal and a life changing gift.

Providing Clean Water In Haiti Following the massive 2010 earthquake in Haiti we felt compelled to help in some way that would have a lasting benefit to the people. Many NGOs entered the country to help with immediate supplies. Some of the funds that people sent from all over the globe were put to very good use. Other funds were squandered and we have all seen stories about this in the news. We were very fortunate to partner with colleagues in Haiti that have been ministering in this country for over 25 years providing medical support, school construction, drilling wells and more to villages throughout the country. We were able to channel the funds into the well drilling program which helped to drill two wells in the Villages of Savanette and Bonabite. The following photos show the people in these villages at the wells. We are excited about this since it has a long term benefit to the people and will significantly lessen the proliferation of disease in these areas.

Hello friends, this is Launa giving a Joy Bag Update: As many of you know, we have had the privilege of doing "Joy Bags" now for almost 10 years. It was sort of my brain child right after our country sent troops into Afghanistan. That first endeavor, which involved collecting toys, art supplies, school supplies and letters from U.S. school children was extraordinary. We were also able to partner with Ohio penitentiaries to make quilts, pillows, wooden toys and puzzles which were delivered by our troops in hand-decorated paper shopping bags to people in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan. Once I saw how these bags blessed the vulnerable people there, I wanted to continue the project. This time, I decided to make the bags drawstring and crafted from fabric. This way the recipient could reuse their Joy Bag for anything that they wanted once the supplies ran out. Since that initial outreach in Afghanistan, we have done Joy Bag outreaches in Syria, India, Romania, Zambia and in the United States. This month, we were also able to do a special Christmas outreach in the Amazon jungle of Peru. This is the one that I'd like to share today as it has significant importance to me. Joy Bag Outreach in Poyeni, Peru:

This is Lourdes, she led the outreach to her own people, the Ashaninkas in her home village, Poyeni, in a remote region of the Peruvian Amazon. This woman is so special to me because I have known her since she was a girl who lived in a children's home outside Lima. This was the first org. that I ever produced and sold Poetry Art to aid and help support. She and other Ashaninka children were housed in "Camino de Vida" home to protect them from the guerilla terrorist organization, the Sendera Luminoso as well as to educated and rear them properly. She returned to Poyeni with Joy Bags and lots of love for the children of her village.

Feliz Navidad

I traveled to this village myself in the mid-1990's and ministered to the parents of these children who were themselves children at that time!

So many children, how beautiful.

We would like to return to Poyeni to do another Christmas outreach next year and/or perhaps a summer art camp. If you would like to participate in Project:Joy Bags, please inquire. We could use financial donations and people to sew the cloth bags. We do ask that no supplies be sent as we have found over the years that it is more viable to purchase supplies within the country we serve, rather than pay exorbitant amounts of "tariffs" to ship contents to different countries. Contact me, Launa Stan at Lstan@globalimpactworldrelief.org Don't forget, all gifts are tax deductible and you will receive a receipt. I will do my utmost to do another couple of Joy Bag updates soon. One will be at a senior center in the United States and the other will be from India. Have a blessed Christmas!

Haiti Fresh Water Well

Recently we were able to provide funds in the amount of $4k to help drill a well for fresh water for a region north of Port-Au-Prince in Haiti. Providing a well that delivers fresh water is a huge help to the people since they will no longer get drinking water or cooking water from a contaminated, sewage filled river or stream. These wells have a dramatic impact on improving the overall health of the people. Without the wells they are plagued with diseases.

Check back soon for more details and photographs.