Wednesday, 25 March 2020 — Tearfund New Zealand
Talking to our kids about Covid-19 is an important and delicate thing most Kiwi parents are doing this week. As we all head into lockdown from midnight tonight,
our team has scoured the best advice globally and distilled it into the Top 5 tips below for kids under 13. Read more
Wednesday, 25 March 2020 — Sean du Toit
Help is what we need right now. In times like this, it is easy to focus so much on the problem that we get overwhelmed with the size and complexity of it. We tend to forget that our God is more than able to help and guide us through these troubling times. The psalmist was facing great difficulty, but he knew where help would ultimately be found. Of course we should listen to the government and health officials and take note of best practices to ensure the safety of all. But ultimately, we need to lean on the God who is faithful and able to provide a help that goes beyond what the government and health agencies can do. Read more
Monday, 16 March 2020 — Sean du Toit
Last week was tough as we looked at the idea of greed and how that can be destructive in people’s lives. This week we focus on the virtue of contentment.
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Wednesday, 11 March 2020 — Grace Stanton
Meet the Waikato dairy farmer that didn’t always want to be a dairy farmer but ended up helping change thousands of lives in northern Sri Lanka through dairy farming.
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Monday, 09 March 2020 — Sean du Toit
Having looked at the virtue of gratitude last week, today we look at the vice of greed. It is difficult to have a positive discussion of a vice. So imagine this is leg day at the gym. You know it is going to be tough, but if you do the work, it will pay off and be beneficial later on.
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Monday, 02 March 2020 — Sean du Toit
Last week we looked at the creation story and how that can shape us. Now, we begin our reflections on virtue with gratitude, a powerful virtue that shapes our experience of life.
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Tuesday, 25 February 2020 — Sean du Toit
Kia ora whanau. We begin our Lent reflections by going back to the beginning. By understanding the creation story and the trajectory of what God desires, we can understand how important consumption is and how it can be directed towards the flourishing of all.
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Thursday, 20 February 2020 — LIFT International
Panit* has a round face and an easy smile. His skin has faded tattoos that a neighbour gave him when he was 10 or 11. After school, he sings in a choral group and even enters competitions. Panit spends perhaps too much time playing video games, staying up late at night, but he goes to church on Sunday and then comes home to do chores. He’s living the life of a typical, busy teenager. Panit is also a survivor of childhood abuse.
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Thursday, 13 February 2020 — Medair
Rahim* always dreamt of becoming a doctor. As a child growing up in a small village in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar, he observed his uncle – a doctor – and decided he wanted to follow in his footsteps. However, Rahim and his family were forced to flee, leaving all their possessions behind due to the Rohingya crisis, and it seemed his dream of becoming a doctor was far from ever coming true.
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Thursday, 06 February 2020 — Compassion International
Meet four people in Asia who do extreme jobs to feed their families. Though their occupations are harsh, they can teach us the dignity of work and the beauty of sacrificing to care for your loved ones.
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Wednesday, 05 February 2020 — Compassion International
Ebenezer was exploited at just 8 years old. He was offered a job to work as a fisherboy on Lake Volta in Ghana. He accepted this offer because he and his grandma were desperate for money. But what he received was not what he was promised.
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Thursday, 23 January 2020 — Grace Stanton
Imagine if you could talk to your child sponsor in their language. Imagine sponsoring not one, but three girls, and meeting them all for the first time after two years of sponsorship. Imagine what it would be like realising how much of an impact you were having on a family. The gratitude, the joy, the peace, and the freedom families experience through one person deciding to care for another young person’s life. This is Ly-Ly’s story.
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Thursday, 16 January 2020 — Caroline Mwinemwesigwa
After escaping death as a child sacrifice, young Amuza from Uganda became a sponsored child through Compassion. His life was saved a second time when Compassion provided assistance with medical treatment for tuberculosis.
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Tuesday, 14 January 2020 — Isaac Ogila
Growing up was not easy for Ciku. At an early age, her father died, and her mother turned to alcohol to deal with the grief and the stress of having to provide for five children. For Ciku, soccer was more than just a game, it gave her a purpose.
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Thursday, 09 January 2020 — Grace Stanton
Former sponsor child, Richmond Wandera’s story is one of heartbreak, loss, healing, hope, and success.
Life started out well for Richmond. He had five siblings and a mother and father who loved him dearly. They were blessed. His father was a hard-working lawyer—the breadwinner for the family. Richmond could go to school and had everything he needed. But all of this changed in an instant.
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Monday, 23 December 2019 — Sean du Toit
Last week we considered consumption and the planet. Given our responsibility to work and protect the planet, we must carefully consider how our consumption affects creation. This final reflection turns our attention to the future. What kind of world are we creating and leaving for our children?
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Sunday, 15 December 2019 — Sean du Toit
Last week we noted Jesus’ instruction that we are to love our neighbour. We discovered how our consumption could demonstrate love for neighbour through the supply-chain and by using our power to make wise purchases where people are ultimately honoured. This week we look at how our consumption affects our planet.
Reading
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God placed the human in the Garden of Eden to work in it and protect it.
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Monday, 09 December 2019 — Sean du Toit
Last week we considered how our consumption could affect our commitment to Jesus and how Paul encourages Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds so that we can discern the will of God. This week we consider how our consumption affects our neighbours, locally and globally.
Reading
Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your life, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’
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Friday, 06 December 2019 — Rosie Paterson-Lima
Chimini got married at the age of 17 as a second wife. Her and her husband have five kids to support. Life was incredibly hard and living was a daily worry. She heard about the opportunity to work abroad, and desperate to support her children, she made arrangements to leave Nepal. She went believing she would receive enough wages to send home to support her family, but she returned with only bitter experiences. Chimini, now 32 years old, is a survivor from exploitation and slavery in the Middle East. Read her story of hopelessness to hopefulness.
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Monday, 02 December 2019 — Sean du Toit
This week we begin by reflecting on consumption as it relates to our commitment to God.
Reading
Romans 12:1-2 I summon you therefore, family, based on the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is holy and acceptable to God – which is your logical act of worship. Also, do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of the mind, so that you may discern what the good, acceptable and perfect will of God is.
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Friday, 29 November 2019 — Helen Manson
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against woman and girls – something it turns out, I’m quite passionate about as a sponsor of four gorgeous little Ugandan girls, writes Helen Manson, New Zealand humanitarian photographer living in Uganda.
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Wednesday, 30 October 2019 — Olga Oosthuizen
Creating a Legacy of Gratitude and Generosity
When Evan and Rach asked their daughter AJ why their family sponsored a child, her response was simple but spot-on; "because we can!"
At first, this sort of wisdom from one so young seems unexpectedly profound; but when you’ve grown up in a family centred on giving, it makes sense. For AJ, there has never been a time when, Mary her family's sponsor child from Ecuador, hasn't been a part of her life. "She thinks of her like a cousin who lives overseas," said her mother Rach, "someone who has always been there, but we've gotten to know through letters."
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Thursday, 17 October 2019 — Ellyse McCallum
It’s that exciting time of year again: time to write a Christmas message to your sponsored child! Before the panic sets in over what to say, here are three helpful suggestions on what to include in your Christmas letter.
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Thursday, 10 October 2019 — Olga Oosthuizen
There are some people who help to change a child's life every month. A child who is not their own and who, often, they have never met. These people give a little of what they earn to provide this child with an education, food, and a chance to enjoy childhood without worrying about poverty. So, who are these people? Well, they aren't celebrities or altruistic millionaires. They don't hold high positions of power. In fact, they're people just like you and me.
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Monday, 30 September 2019 — Tina Bargh
When my family and I made the decision to go to Uganda on a “mission’s exploration” trip we had a limited idea of what we were letting ourselves in for. For instance, we knew we were in for a looooong flight, some food we weren’t used to and being conscious of the needs of our fellow travellers.
We did not know that, despite sponsoring children for many years as a family, we would realise how vital and life-changing child sponsorship is.
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Thursday, 15 August 2019 — Annie Hollister-Jones
A few months ago I hopped on a plane and headed to Vietnam. The aim was to get a real world look into the fashion industry, and I was sure I’d be exposed to a generous dose of the grim realities that garment workers face every day.
I wanted to get a good feel of how things were run, and even try to get a glimpse of how workers felt about their jobs and how they were treated. I don’t know what I expected to find or experience but I was determined to go in there with my eyes wide open.
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Wednesday, 14 August 2019 — Lynnie Roche
In Fiji, almost half of the women who experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime have never told anyone about the violence.
The culture of silence keeps forced sex hidden and the cycles of abuse continuous. At Homes of Hope, we have a driving passion to create a culture of freedom for single young girls, young women and their children. Our partner's founder, Lynnie Roche, is here to unpack this for you.
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Tuesday, 13 August 2019 — Ian McInnes
Tearfund NZ's CEO shares what event in history he'd most like to see, what he's grateful for and most proud of, and what 'Faith in Action' means to him.
"For me, faith is as practical as it is relational or theoretical. Those elements were not divisible in Jesus’ ministry and neither should they be in ours..." Read on to hear more from Ian!
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Tuesday, 13 August 2019 — Victoria Hanna
At the end of last month, I had the privilege of travelling with one of the Pastors and an Elder from EastGate Church in East Auckland. We went to visit their Compassion sponsor children and to see the projects connected to the local churches in Kupang, Indonesia.
As a Tearfund employee, and a child sponsor, it was really encouraging to see the work first hand and the hope that is changing children's lives throughout Compassion projects.
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Thursday, 01 August 2019 — Sophie Rice
Earlier this year, I had the huge pleasure of joining Jeffrey Lahva, the Director of our local partner, Nasi Tuan, on his first visit to the Mojo Roastery in Wellington. Nasi Tuan is a co-operative made up of 600 indigenous farmers on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, who export green beans to New Zealand specialty coffee roasters, like Mojo and Supreme.
As a self-proclaimed coffee addict, I was already pretty excited about this trip! But I came away absolutely buzzing, having seen the impact that quality coffee and sustainable partnerships, like Mojo and Nasi Tuan’s, can make to kick-start communities recovering from a disaster.
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Thursday, 25 July 2019 — Helen Manson
For 11 years, fourteen-year-old Violet’s photograph has sat amongst pictures of Paul and Linda’s three daughters and eight grandchildren. For 11 years, she’s been in their prayers and on their hearts despite them never meeting.
Until this moment.
Join Paul and Linda as they fly to Uganda to meet their sponsored child for the first time.
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Friday, 12 July 2019 — Keith Ramsay
The Church’s mission should be to help the poor and the desolate. But the definition of poverty will change depending on who is defining it. The poor may define it through the psychological and social lens while churches in higher income countries are more likely to focus on the lack of material things. Depending on who defines poverty, it can create and reinforce issues of paternalism in Western churches where outside workers provide the "only" answer. The causes of poverty are complex and sometimes people come up with ‘great ideas’ to make life a little easier for those living in poverty. However, they can cause more harm than good if they are not thought through carefully.
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Friday, 28 June 2019 — Helen Manson
For the last 15 months of my life, I’ve been following the stories of three Ugandan Mums from pregnancy to the first birthday in a photo journalism assignment I’ve called, The First Hello.
The idea came about because Tearfund's local partner, Compassion, had recently launched a “Survival” programme that comes alongside mothers in developing countries in the first five years of a child’s life. Traditionally, child sponsorship has always started at 5. However, it became clear that a reasonable portion of kids were not even making it to 5! The Survival project intervenes from the early stages of pregnancy to ensure vulnerable mothers are being given the correct nutrition, the right medical care and the support of the local church to help them on the other end. This assignment was my attempt to bring that to life.
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Friday, 21 June 2019 — Sophie Rice
It’s officially the middle of winter! As we crank out our hot wheat bags, boil up mass supplies of soup, and clock-up on Netflix viewing time from our warm beds, I have recently come to know that it is utterly tropical here compared to winter in Mongolia, where we’re teaching nomadic herder communities to garden amidst the brutal conditions.
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Wednesday, 05 June 2019 — Laura Brookes
"Dear sponsor, you mean so much to me because…"
For the children in our program, sponsorship means they are cared for in life-changing ways. But behind the tutoring, medical care, meals or nutritious snacks they receive through our local church partners, there are also staff and supporters like you who invest in their lives, building their self-esteem and encouraging their dreams.
Through your generosity and letter writing, you are giving children a hope more powerful than poverty. How do we know? The children say so!
Hear what these children have to say about what they love most about their sponsors.
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Monday, 20 May 2019 — Annie Hollister-Jones
It’s not enough not to know anymore. In fact, it’s not even enough to know, but not share.
On 24 April, 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza building housing several garment factories was reduced to rubble. This factory was situated in Savar, 24 kilometers outside Dhaka, and collapsed due to structural failure. When owners first discovered these cracks in the building, garment workers were ordered to return to work despite the danger, and sadly, many paid for this with their lives. The collapse of Rana Plaza led to the death of at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500.
Annie from the Ethical Fashion Guide team is here to explain how transparency has become the new currency of trust in the fashion industry, and how companies have improved since the Rana Plaza disaster.
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Friday, 17 May 2019 — Sean du Toit
When disasters like the Mozambique cyclones strike, we can find ourselves feeling overwhelmed and disheartened by the scale of human suffering. Our Restore cause is based on the biblical belief that we are called to respond with compassion to those in need and that we have a duty to seek 'shalom' in this world. Often, this can seem like a discouraging and overwhelming mission – but we believe that we are called to work towards the redemption of this world here and now. We also believe that ultimately, we will see redemption completed through Jesus.
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Wednesday, 08 May 2019 — Helen Manson
To celebrate Mothers Day, Tearfund partnered with award winning humanitarian photographer Helen Manson to share stories of remarkable mothers around the world. This May 19-26, Helen will be taking people behind the lens and onto the front lines of some of our world’s most challenging places through a nationwide photography and speaking tour called ‘A Celebration of Humanity’.
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Monday, 08 April 2019 — Claire Hart
Check out our official Ethical Fashion Guide 2019 Media Release:
TEARFUND ETHICAL FASHION REPORT: SOME NZ COMPANIES LEAD THE CHARGE WHILE OTHERS FALL BEHIND
An ethical fashion report launched today by Tearfund New Zealand shows some Kiwi companies are leading the charge in ethical fashion, with top performers such as Icebreaker and Kowtow outranking global brands. However, it’s not all good news for New Zealand fashion, with a high number of NZ companies also represented in the D and F grades.
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Thursday, 28 March 2019 — John Watson
Imagine this scenario: You’re handing out food baskets to refugees fleeing a conflict. There are women, children, and men asking for help, including several from the local population who aren’t refugees. Several wounded fighters are asking for help including those from a terrorist group and those from an oppressive military regime largely responsible for creating refugees. You don’t have enough aid to provide to everyone. So, who do you give it to, and in which order? Find out in John's blog.
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Tuesday, 26 March 2019 — Anastasia Ramenska
Last week we noted Jesus’ instruction that we are to love our neighbour. We discovered how our consumption could demonstrate love for neighbour through the supply-chain and by using our power to make wise purchases where people are ultimately honoured. This week we look at how our consumption affects our planet.
Reading
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God placed the human in the Garden of Eden to work in it and protect it.
Read more
Tuesday, 26 March 2019 — Anastasia Ramenska
Last week we considered consumption and the planet. Given our responsibility to work and protect the planet, we must carefully consider how our consumption affects creation. This final reflection turns our attention to the future. What kind of world are we creating and leaving for our children?
Reading
Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’
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Wednesday, 20 March 2019 — Ian McInnes
Friday, March 15, will be marked as one of New Zealand’s darkest days, in the wake of the heartless terrorist act which killed 50 people and left many others injured.
As an organisation, Tearfund works alongside people of all ethnicities and religions affected by tragedy and violent conflict overseas. We are devastated that this act of premeditated evil happened on our own soil, and strongly reject any ideology which advocates or condones such violence.
We stand in solidarity with our Muslim community and share in their pain.
You can help support Tearfund’s work with refugee families and churches in Christchurch affected by the tragedy.
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Thursday, 07 March 2019 — Sophie Rice
On International Women’s Day, we’re taking our hats off to some of the incredible women we partner with from around the world to see lives set free by the power of Jesus.
Around 25 million people are enslaved in forced labour exploitation right now. Of this, 4.8 million—the population of New Zealand—are trapped in forced commercial sexual exploitation.
99% of these are women and girls.
Here are three stories from three inspirational women from Nepal, Thailand and here in NZ who are seeking justice and freedom from trafficking and exploitation all over the world.
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Friday, 15 February 2019 — Rachel Jenkins
After spending time with the Mwangaza Children’s choir last year, our staff member, Rachel, had the idea to sponsor a child deeply placed on her heart. “Enter into my life Joy and Leticia, my two beautiful girls from Uganda, and the beginning of an amazing and humbling sponsorship journey that took me to visit them!" Here's a glimpse of her life-changing trip.
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Wednesday, 23 January 2019 — Keith Ramsay
I have been thinking about the word ‘charity’. The dictionary states that charity is the “voluntary giving of help to those in need”. It’s a good thing to do, but as followers of Christ, the voluntary aspect of charity causes me some problem.
It is true that God gives us free will to do whatever we want with what he has given us—gifts, talents, a privileged position in the world, but what does he expect us to do with these things? Is helping the poor optional?
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Tuesday, 08 January 2019 — Joanne Wieland
Join me for a few days in the life of a devkid (aka Tearfund Development Specialist). A role that is different each day, where connections are made across oceans and learning goes both ways. A few days visiting those who are running the projects that Tearfund supports, doing what they do best, bringing care and change to local communities.
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Monday, 17 December 2018 — John Watson
This is a question we’re asked most around the holiday season and it’s a worthy one because there are people in need in New Zealand and they should absolutely be helped.
As Christians we see it as ‘both’ rather than ‘either or’ when it comes to giving.
Jesus asks us to love our neighbour, and in the parable of the Good Samaritan he demonstrates that our neighbour is anyone in need, regardless of boundaries and barriers.
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Thursday, 13 December 2018 — Sophie Rice
Over the few years I’ve worked at Tearfund, I’ve seen us respond to numerous disasters. And over time, I’ve found a weight of hopelessness can grow in you over the destruction that injustice and poverty inflict on people. But hearing Kevin Riddell, one of our senior Programmes Specialists, talk about disaster response as the first step on a journey from disaster to community development; from hopelessness to hope, from devastated communities to ones that are flourishing, helped to give me hope.
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Friday, 07 December 2018 — Laura Brookes
Every year without fail, we're asked a bunch of honest, raw and sometimes downright hilarious questions about Gift for Life — our catalogue filled with unique and meaningful gifts that can be purchased for someone in the developing world. But there’s one question that comes up repeatedly. Do we actually send goats from New Zealand to families overseas? Read on to find out!
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Wednesday, 28 November 2018 — Kerrie Palma
The church in action is truly an inspirational thing. When communities of Christians unite over a common cause and focus their energy and care and prayers in an outward direction, God moves in power - this is the situation in Lebanon as the local church responds to the Syrian refugee crisis.
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Wednesday, 28 November 2018 — Anastasia Ramenska
The church in action is truly an inspirational thing. When communities of Christians unite over a common cause and focus their energy and care and prayers in an outward direction, God moves in power - this is the situation in Lebanon as the local church responds to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Read more
Friday, 16 November 2018 — Anastasia Ramenska
You know how you can meet some people and they can have such a profound impact on you that you just know you’ll never forget them? I had one of those experiences when I was in Lebanon recently with a man called Bassam. Pastor Bassam's heart breaks for his former enemies, Syrian refugees. This is his story.
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Friday, 16 November 2018 — Helen Manson
You know how you can meet some people and they can have such a profound impact on you that you just know you’ll never forget them? I had one of those experiences when I was in Lebanon recently with a man called Bassam. Pastor Bassam's heart breaks for his former enemies, Syrian refugees. This is his story.
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Thursday, 11 October 2018 — Helen Manson
Whether it’s on the phone, on our Facebook page or through email – we’ve been thrilled to see how many of you want to learn and understand more about one of the world’s largest refugee crises. So here’s the Top 6 questions you’ve been asking and the answers to go with them.
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Thursday, 13 September 2018 — Keith Ramsay
For us in New Zealand, disasters are not nearly as frequent as they are in low-income countries and the people Tearfund works with are much more vulnerable in disasters than New Zealanders, as they don’t have the same resources to reduce their risk or to cope with the aftermath. So what is Disaster Risk Reduction? And what difference can it really make? Read on to find out the power of DRR!
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Friday, 10 August 2018 — Rosie Paterson-Lima
On International #YouthDay, our Programmes Specialist, Rosie, reflects on her own upbringing and celebrates the positive change young people in tough places can make, in the spirit of this year's United Nations theme #SafeSpaces4Youth.
At Tearfund, youth and community development matters to us. We see young people as key leaders with the potential to bring about significant change in their own communities. We believe all young people in Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad have the right to fun, engaging, inclusive and safe spaces.
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Thursday, 12 July 2018 — Murray Sheard
What has food got to do with faith and justice? Lots, it turns out. We take food for granted, yet eating represents one of our most powerful engagement with the natural world. It remakes the physical landscape, determines how we use land, and defines core components of our lifestyle. How we source our food has a profound effect on global justice, carbon emissions, and hunger prevention.
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Wednesday, 20 June 2018 — Claire Hart
We recently sat down to chat with Safia Minney, the founder of the pioneering ethical fashion brand People Tree, which was the first Fairtrade certified fashion brand.
You might recognise her from The True Cost documentary, or from her recently released Slave to Fashion book. Safia and People Tree are world leaders in the ethical fashion industry, and we're incredibly thankful and proud to be able to share the exclusive interview with you.
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