Blog Welcome to Tearfund Learn's blog. It's a lively and diverse forum where voices from around the world share their stories, learning and insights. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Sign up to receive our latest blogs direct to your inbox First name Last name Email address Subscribe Filter by issueAdvocacyCapacity DevelopmentChildrenCommunity EmpowermentConflictDisastersEducationEnvironment and climate changeGenderHealthcareHIV and AIDSInjusticeIntegral mission and theologyLivelihoodsPeacebuildingPolicy and researchPoor CommunitiesResilienceUrbanisationWater and sanitationWorking through the local church Active Filters: By Tearfund Learn, 06 December 2019 Q&A with Karen Soerensen, Country Director for Tearfund in Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen Our series of Q&As with country directors continues with Karen Soerensen, Country Director for Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen since 2017. Originally from… Read More By Rev Josephine Chavaseki and Dr Sas Conradie, 28 November 2019 Churches meet community needs in Nairobi slums Redeemed Gospel Church Pipeline (RGCP) sits in the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums in Nairobi where more than 500,000 people live in extremely poor… Read More By Rachel Paton, 19 November 2019 Listening to the local church in conflict-affected fragile states Listening and learning are closely related. By listening to other people’s perspectives with open hearts and minds, we position ourselves to learn… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 15 November 2019 Learning to work together – from building bike sheds to repairing roads It’s a long bike ride of up to two hours for some members of Emmanuel Church, in the Bardia District of West Nepal. It is also very hot outside the… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 08 November 2019 Q&A with Emmanuel Murangira, Country Director, Tearfund in Rwanda Our series of Q&As with country directors continues with Emmanuel Murangira, who has worked for Tearfund in Rwanda since 2008. He shares his thoughts… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 31 October 2019 Helping communities to flourish in Asia Helping communities to flourish is Ping’s* passion. But it is not easy when you live in a world where the voice of the church is largely restrained.… Read More By Asha Kurien , 24 October 2019 Going local – strengthening humanitarian capacity through partnerships ‘We are a learning organisation, so we don’t run away from things,’ says Ruth Dul, the chief executive of the Christian Rural and Urban Development… Read More By Naomi Foxwood, 16 October 2019 7 ways to support youth movements which change the world Across the world young people are rising up. They are demanding action on the environmental destruction, poverty and injustice that threaten their… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 04 October 2019 Q&A with Vincent Moyo, Country Director, Tearfund Malawi Our series of Q&As with country directors continues with Vincent Moyo, who has worked for Tearfund in Malawi since 2006. He shares his thoughts on… Read More By Santiago Benítez, 26 September 2019 Cynthia’s message of hope for young people in Honduras Cynthia lives with her parents in the San Ramón neighbourhood of Siguatepeque, in Honduras. She is 22, works as a financial assistant and attends the… Read More By Nick Wyke, 19 September 2019 Review of Footsteps 109: Youth The cover of the new Footsteps magazine is full of hope. It features nine young people from all corners of the globe and makes me curious to know the… Read More By Theo Shaw, 06 September 2019 Love inspires a young man to help build a church I have heard a lot of transformational stories, but none has been quite so engaging as Albert’s. We met Albert on a field visit to Good News Baptist… Read More By Jeunesse En Mission, 22 August 2019 Starting a chicken business in Mali Finding a job in Mali is not easy so, like many young people, Justin Traoré hoped to start a business of his own. However, starting a business… Read More By Sas Conradie, 08 August 2019 Everywhere is rubbish Last year I was privileged to have visited Angola for two weeks. Travelling around the country made a deep impression on me and changed my view of… Read More By Rachel Burnet, 02 August 2019 What does it take to make a ‘lazy’ man travel far? When Costa heard his name announced at church one Sunday he didn’t know what to expect. He was asked to stay behind after the worship service at… Read More By Desalegn Demissie, 25 July 2019 Sustainable farming helps family face climate change in Ethiopia In recent years, climate change has meant Abebech* and her husband have faced some hard times. They are farmers in the village of Offa Esho Kebele in… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 18 July 2019 Privacy at last – latrines bring relief to villages in Afghanistan Afshin* is a farmer who lives in a small village in Afghanistan’s Central Highlands. There are 14 families in the village where his family and his… Read More By Andrea Villarreal, 10 July 2019 Meet the woman standing up against corruption in Brazil Elda Valim lives in the resource-rich region around Cuiaba in Mato Grosso state, Northern Brazil. She grew up listening to her mother talking about… Read More By Lahai Amara, 03 July 2019 Church programme brings harmony into the home Kadiatu Mansaray and her husband, Sarrah Mansaray, were known to community members as the couple who always argued with each other. They lived in the… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 27 June 2019 Q&A with Ashraf Mall, Country Director, Tearfund Pakistan Ashraf has worked for Tearfund for more than ten years. He steps down next month to take up a role with the Pakistan Partner Initiative working with… Read More By Sas Conradie, 20 June 2019 Responding to children living with disabilities When my wife and I decided to get married, both of us were still students. So we had to find work that could put food on the table and a roof over… Read More By Marah Danielle, 13 June 2019 In Brazil, the water finally flows Moises Frausino da Silva has faced many droughts in his lifetime and lived much of his life with a lack of water. He is a father of 11 children and… Read More By Anna Ling, 06 June 2019 What is poverty and how should we respond? A misdiagnosis can lead to serious problems. For example, if we visit the doctor with a headache and he or she gives us some painkillers but doesn’t… Read More By EFICOR, 30 May 2019 Enterprising couple are an inspiration to villagers in India Both Kandhi Gound and his wife, Rukman, have been living with disabilities since birth. They live with their son in a village in central India and… Read More By Nick Wyke, 23 May 2019 Review of Footsteps 108: Living with disability When was the last time you saw someone with a disability on the cover of a magazine? Disability is all too often hidden away. Sadly, this is… Read More By Sini Maria Heikkilä, Jackson Wachira and Alex Mwaura, 17 May 2019 Can markets help build resilience of pastoralists against drought? In Kenya, pastoralists’ communities live in some of the harshest environments and their livelihoods have been severely hit by recurring droughts. Read More By Kal-Ignabet Pakagochy, 09 May 2019 Want better decision-making? Invite the women Ignekalbo Gilbert is proud that many positive changes have taken place in his village since it started a church and community mobilisation process… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 03 May 2019 How children can play their part in preventing polio from spreading As a result of routine vaccination programmes, polio has been largely eradicated in most parts of the world. But polio is found in some places. It’s… Read More By Tearfund Staff, 18 April 2019 What does Easter mean for you? In part two of our Easter blog we hear from Tearfund employees around the world about how they celebrate this special time of year. The results are… Read More By Tearfund Staff, 11 April 2019 What does Easter mean for you? In order to paint a picture of what Easter means to different people around the world we asked a handful of Tearfund employees to share their… Read More By Josh Eaves, 05 April 2019 A football field provides common ground for young people in Lebanon Sport is an excellent way to reach young people, especially when they are discontented. Towards the end of 2018 the Foundation for Forgiveness and… Read More By Tearfund Pakistan and Pak Mission Society, 29 March 2019 Meet the married E-guards who play a key role in cleaning up their community Mumtaz and Beenish are in their sixties. In fact, they are not quite sure of their exact ages. But they are sure about their love for their community… Read More By International Nepal Fellowship staff, 21 March 2019 How clean water has transformed a village in Nepal In the Surkhet district of Nepal lies the village of Gadi. The village was one of the least developed in the area, so the community struggled to… Read More By Diane Holt, 07 March 2019 Chickens and conversation help women unite in divided DRC community A group of women from Goma in DRC lived in a divided community. They suffered from poverty and marginalisation, and there was a climate of mistrust… Read More By Emma Brown, 28 February 2019 How crickets are jump-starting community change in Cambodia Fresh hope has sprung from an unexpected source in rural Cambodia – cricket farming. While following an exciting church and community initiative,… Read More By Marcela Guzman, 21 February 2019 Bringing light to a corner of the Caribbean Corozal is a village on the north coast of Honduras, located near the city of La Ceiba. It enjoys warm Caribbean weather, especially in summer... Read More By Sas Conradie, 14 February 2019 How to live the lifestyle of love Last year, my dad passed away in South Africa after a short illness. One of his favourite passages in the Bible was 1 Corinthians 13. This ‘chapter… Read More Compiled by Zoe Murton, 05 February 2019 Understanding female genital mutilation/cutting Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) describes the act of cutting, destroying or removing some or all of the external parts of the female… Read More By Sarah Onduko, 01 February 2019 Changing mindsets around plastic bags in Kenya Until recently, the use of plastic bags was very common in Kenya. Whenever we went shopping, we knew our purchases would be wrapped nicely in… Read More By Lydia Powell, 24 January 2019 Mobilising the church to be change in Kenya Through learning and adaptation, an early church and community mobilisation (CCM) pilot has grown into a national phenomenon. Today it is mobilising… Read More By Sas Conradie, 10 January 2019 The challenge of replacing firewood with green energy in Angola When driving along the roads in southern Angola, you cannot miss them – hundreds of bags of charcoal and firewood being sold by women and sometimes… Read More By Nick Wyke, 03 January 2019 Top five hope-filled blogs from 2018 and what not to miss in 2019 From bees and honey to polluted rivers and solar power, from disaster prevention to self-help groups, and from the herders of East Africa to young… Read More By Kouassi Konan, 21 December 2018 Fruitful training brings hope and joy to cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast Award-winning British chocolatier Will Torrent will be pleased to know that chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise. The latest figures… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 19 December 2018 Remembering well – the importance of memory and healing in peacebuilding In my last post I ended by saying that ‘remembering well’ was the last step in the Embrace approach to peacebuilding that Tearfund uses. It is this… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 11 December 2018 Discovering how to embrace peace We have now talked about hospitality and moral imagination as ways of pursuing peace. Our third approach is one called embrace. This approach comes… Read More By Sas Conradie, 05 December 2018 Would Jesus have felt comfortable at a five-star conference venue? Recently I attended a global Christian conference in Latin America. Shared rooms for the conference cost 750 USD per person for four days. That works… Read More By Sini Maria Heikkila, 28 November 2018 Women rally to Evelyn’s cry to fight HIV and bring peace home For Evelyn Letio, peacebuilding in South Sudan means restoring peace within communities and between family members. As a coordinator and co-founder… Read More By Jon White, 22 November 2018 Renewing the old from the inside out In an extra contribution to our mini-series of reflections on Jubilee by young theologians, we hear from an artist about the importance of renewal in… Read More By Maria Andrade, 14 November 2018 Perseverance pays off for Guatemalan pastors in push for new health centre Read More By Sini Maria Heikkila, 07 November 2018 Why women are vital to the peace process in war-torn South Sudan On 12 September, the sides at war in South Sudan signed a much-anticipated peace agreement. This is the latest effort to bring peace to the world’s… Read More By Fwangmun Oscar Danladi, 31 October 2018 Restoring hope to displaced farming communities in Nigeria The Global Forum on Church and Poverty inspired me to begin to see Nigeria in the light of Jubilee. This, in turn, prompted me to start to fully… Read More By Timothy KC, 25 October 2018 Searching for hope in the aftermath of violence During our gathering of young theologians in July, our visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial deeply impacted us to reflect on the different aspects… Read More By Nell Goddard, 18 October 2018 ‘Over three short days, my theology was challenged and changed – and so was I.’ In July, ten young people joined a group of theologians and strategic thinkers from 18 different countries at a global forum in Kigali, Rwanda. They… Read More By Asha Kurien , 11 October 2018 Is your government prepared to protect you from a typhoon or earthquake? The tsunami in Sulawesi in Indonesia, Super Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines, Hurricane Florence in the USA, and the floods in Kerala, India, have… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 04 October 2018 Four ways we can use our imagination in peacebuilding In the last post I talked about hospitality as an approach that can contribute towards peace. The second approach that Tearfund uses in its… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 26 September 2018 How hospitality can be a vital way into peacebuilding In our series on peacebuilding, we have talked about the characteristics of a peacebuilder and concepts that are important for peacebuilders to think… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 18 September 2018 The importance of power in peacebuilding In the last of a short set of posts looking at concepts for peacebuilding, I want to talk about power and how power works within relationships. Power… Read More By Lucy Pieterse, 06 September 2018 ‘We are young. We have the power to change our community.’ A young man in Bangladesh is raising up tomorrow’s leaders on a diet of homegrown food and business skills. Read More By Peter Shaw, 30 August 2018 Bee Happy – now the church is buzzing The 2015 earthquakes devastated communities across Nepal. As well as the sad loss of life, the quake destroyed infrastructure and livelihoods in many… Read More By Sarah Onduko and Loida Carriel, 23 August 2018 When Bolivia met Uganda – seven ‘inspired’ lessons from a learning exchange visit The American zookeeper Jack Hanna once said: ‘The world is the true classroom. The most rewarding and important type of learning is through… Read More By Lauren Kejeh, 15 August 2018 ‘We were here before the disaster, we were here during the disaster and we are here after the disaster.’ The power of the church The quote in our title is from a pastor in Honduras, speaking after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. He points out that while others… Read More By Richard Lister, 02 August 2018 Grain gains – teff flatbread business grows out of self-help groups in Ethiopia I peer into darkness. I’m trying to see who is in this hut and what is going on, but there’s lots of smoke obscuring my view. Gradually, I make out… Read More By Nick Wyke, 01 August 2018 Feeding a family of five – Sylvia’s story in Malawi Life was hard for Sylvia’s family. Her husband had abandoned her and she had only one bag of maize to feed five people. Read More By Dr Viv Grigg, 20 July 2018 Slums and the struggle for security – a step-by-step guide to gain secure land rights and better services By 2020, UN Habitat predicts that 1.4 billion people could be living in slums. For me, this is the biggest challenge for urban ministry in our time.… Read More By Susan Parajuli, 11 July 2018 Breaking new ground – joint land ownership in Nepal For United Mission to Nepal (UMN), gender justice has always been a priority. We believe that men and women are like two wheels of a cart. When we… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 04 July 2018 ‘I am human because I belong, I participate, I share' – community and Trinity in peacebuilding In my last post, I wrote about diversity and inclusion. In this piece I’m going to look at the idea of community – which is the place where diversity… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 26 June 2018 Same but different – the importance of diversity and inclusion to peacebuilding In the previous post on peacebuilding, we looked at the biblical understanding of peace and justice. This time, we are going to look at the ideas of… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 21 June 2018 Peace and justice – what the Bible says about these key goals of peacebuilding work In the previous post in our peacebuilding series, we looked at some of the characteristics of peacebuilders and how these are connected to the… Read More By Sas Conradie, 14 June 2018 A wake-up call for discipleship that challenges the rich and powerful ‘Death-dealing forces […] are shaking the world order and inflicting suffering on many.’ This alarming warning was highlighted in the Arusha Call to… Read More By Priscilla Souza, 07 June 2018 Churches and communities join forces to clean up polluted waters in Brazil The residents of communities around the Tejipió River in north-east Brazil suffer from regular floods. The factors that cause such floods are well… Read More 29 May 2018 ‘Changed people bring about change’ in Ivory Coast Edmond was a well-educated, up-and-coming pastor in his denomination. But when he was selected to serve in Nassian, a village in the north of Ivory… Read More By Alice Keen, 25 May 2018 Celebrating our Birthday 1968 was an important year. A human being orbited the moon for the first time. The civil rights activist and pastor Martin Luther King was… Read More By Rudolf Band and Salome Hengartner, 16 May 2018 A bridge to freedom for Bolivia’s prison children Prisons in Bolivia are very overcrowded – but not only with adults. The country’s laws state that children under six years old can stay in their… Read More By Nick Wyke, 08 May 2018 How solar power is saving lives in DRC Come nightfall, the residents of Madzangina lived in complete darkness. The village, in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has… Read More By Chris Szuskiewicz, 02 May 2018 Five ways to limit the impact of rubbish on the environment We all produce rubbish. Usually we don’t think about it. We just throw it away. But 2 billion people don’t have their waste collected and the world… Read More By Chris McDonald, 24 April 2018 Five survival strategies for drought-affected livestock herders in East Africa For many people in East Africa, the current drought is the worst in living memory. Pastoralists have been hit particularly hard by this drought,… Read More By Maria Andrade, 17 April 2018 Why ‘delivering the heart’ is a revolutionary act in Colombia Claudia* was 14 years old and at school when, suddenly, she saw a group of uniformed armed men pass the window. After a few minutes of insults and… Read More By Nick Wyke, 11 April 2018 How cows are catalysts for hope in Rwanda How do you start to bring together survivors of genocide with those who perpetrated the violence? Even for the most sensitive and diplomatic of… Read More By Cheryl Bannatyne, 21 March 2018 Rising up to inspire other women in DRC ‘It was decided because I was the eldest girl, I would not go to school like my brothers,’ says Birungi. ‘Instead I should stay at home to look after… Read More By William Quiñones, 26 February 2018 Learning to listen to and love gang members in Guatemala City My community of Santa Catarina Pinula in Guatemala City has been greatly affected by the spread of urban neighbourhoods. This growth has clearly… Read More By Sas Conradie, 22 February 2018 Are young people the key to community transformation? One of Tearfund’s corporate priority areas is church and community transformation. This means churches that improve the holistic well-being of their… Read More By Cally Magalhães, 15 February 2018 How drama is ‘breaking the chains’ for boys from Brazil In Brazil, children go to prison from the age of 12. Tragically, most of them are back in prison within a month of being released. After many years… Read More By Lucie Woolley, 01 February 2018 7 reasons why Tearfund works with and through the global local church The church occupies a unique place in the humanitarian and development sector. At its best, it is able to bring a combination of benefits to… Read More By Sirivuth Ann, 25 January 2018 Five steps to help prisoners make a fresh start on the outside When prisoners are released at the end of their sentence, starting a new life outside the prison gates can be incredibly challenging. Many… Read More By Jonathan Simpson, 18 January 2018 How the LIGHT Wheel is helping us reap a bigger harvest In my garden at home we have a mulberry tree. It is about 25 feet high with multiple branches going into the ground, yet when it bears fruit we only… Read More By Sas Conradie, 11 January 2018 Radical changes make farmer Ben an inspiration to young Africans I must admit, I was quite tired. That is after spending five hours on the road in a minibus from Nairobi to Kericho in Kenya. I then had a few… Read More By Stephen Taylor, 05 January 2018 Replacing honey with better burns treatment There is a high incidence of burns in East Africa due to the need to cook on charcoal fires and use kerosene for lighting. Knowledge of first aid for… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 18 December 2017 5 essential characteristics of a peacebuilder In our last blog, we looked at the way Christians are transformed through their relationship with God to become more like Jesus. In this post, we’re… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 13 December 2017 Disciples and Peacebuilders In the last post, we looked at peacebuilding as an essential part of God’s mission and using scripture to help us participate in that mission. This… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 07 December 2017 Peacebuilding as a part of God’s mission All of Tearfund’s work is rooted in our Theology of Mission, in which we find our understanding of our call, as Christians to follow Jesus and… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 05 December 2017 Thinking about theology for peacebuilding – 8 books you’ll want to read Hannah Swithinbank introduces a new series of blogs around the theme of peacebuilding and reconciliation, and recommends eight books to help you… Read More By Norman Molina, 28 November 2017 ‘Measure what you treasure' to make the most impact in your region Programme Effectiveness Training recently took place at the Tearfund Central American office, covering Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The idea… Read More By Claire Hancock, 16 November 2017 7 common reasons why some businesses fail Just having a good idea and motivation is no guarantee of success. Here are a seven of the most common reasons why businesses can fail: Read More By Bob Hansford, 02 November 2017 6 top tips to protect livelihoods from disasters Disasters affect nearly all aspects of life, but particularly livelihoods. Sometimes the damage done to people’s ability to earn an income is a… Read More By Sas Conradie, 26 October 2017 Why the church needs to get down to business in Africa Moeletsi Mbeki says in his excellent book, Architects of poverty: why African capitalism needs changing, that in a society where entrepreneurship is… Read More By Claire Hancock, 10 October 2017 9 key steps to a successful business Everyone deserves the opportunity to earn a livelihood, provide for their family and support their communities. Jobs and economic opportunities are a… Read More By Beth Huckstep, 04 October 2017 ‘A self-help group has helped to make my family’s poverty history’ Life for Regatu and her family in a village near the city of Adama, in Central Ethiopia, was once comfortable when her husband used to work in a… Read More By Sara Shaw, 28 September 2017 Why advocate on climate change? What is advocacy? Advocacy is about influencing people and public policies to bring about change. It involves influencing those in power to act more… Read More By Nick Wyke, 18 September 2017 Reaping the rewards of community film-making After a screen was found and an old projector repaired, our partners in Uganda were delighted to share a short film with a packed Owii Church and… Read More 12 September 2017 A journey towards wholeness: ‘The best 10 weeks of my life so far’ Youth unemployment is a huge problem in Nigeria. Half of the country’s population is under the age of 30, and the public sector cannot absorb the… Read More By Shaakira Muhammad, 06 September 2017 Where do people put their hope in a crisis? A new report* has revealed the importance of faith for people displaced by conflict. It also shows how humanitarian organisations could build on… Read More By Shaakira Muhammad, 15 August 2017 Power to the people: how one woman brought light to her community When Betty invested her self-help group loan in a solar panel she did more than just connect her village to electricity — she connected them to each… Read More By Nick Wyke, 08 August 2017 Football fosters forgiveness in the Middle East Would a football tournament organised by refugees and local youths in a high-tension zone in Lebanon achieve its goals of acceptance and forgiveness?… Read More 01 August 2017 Setting up shop with a little self-help from my friends In Afghanistan, women and girls often have few opportunities to work or develop a livelihood. Self-help groups bring together local women who meet on… Read More By Ben Chikan, 05 July 2017 'One month ago I didn't care — now I can feel women’s pain' This is a personal story of how a Tearfund Nigeria team member, who took part in a recent Transforming Masculinities training course in Jos, Nigeria,… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 22 June 2017 Made in the image of God — essays to inspire and challenge you I have a number of things to do in my job at Tearfund, but one activity that I particularly enjoy is spending time with my colleagues and our… Read More By Dr Julian Eaton, 05 June 2017 Toolkit: how to improve mental health in your community Religious or spiritual leaders are often the first people individuals turn to in times of personal crisis. They can bring wisdom, healing and… Read More By Maria Andrade, 01 June 2017 Churches go deeper in response to disasters Natural disasters are predicted to rise and cause more suffering in vulnerable communities, but that’s exactly where the church can help. Read More By Patricia Conteh, 25 May 2017 How united faith leaders helped to beat ebola Patricia Conteh was a Projects Officer for Tearfund in Sierra Leone when the Ebola virus hit the country in 2014. Here, she shares her memories of… Read More By Nick Wyke, 23 May 2017 Communities moved to tears by their own ‘disaster movies’ Educational films can be a great way to inform local communities about risks from potential natural disasters and health care issues. They are… Read More By S. Michael Houdmann, 18 May 2017 Should Christians go to doctors? There are some Christians who believe that seeking medical help shows a lack of faith in God. Some Christians wrongly think they should throw away… Read More By Sylvie Kokere, 12 May 2017 How Mother Buddies and their mobiles are saving lives and uniting families My name is Mama Eve* and I live in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I live in an area where many women and babies often die at birth… Read More By Mkhululi Sihlola , 11 May 2017 A prophet’s reward: ‘Six chickens and Elisha revived my dream to sew again’ For most of her life Mrs Thembani Masilela hadn’t given much thought to chickens. As a woman who grew up in rural areas she was brought up to ensure… Read More By Mark Simpson, 08 May 2017 The kids’ club that dares to hope in Rio’s ‘stinking’ margins Rio de Janeiro is South America’s third largest urban area but perhaps its most recognisable. The Christ the Redeemer statue that watches over the… Read More By Richard Lister, 05 May 2017 Christianity – ‘a disease’ that may be worth catching? ‘Christians are a disease’. It is hard to believe that this small group of believers in Nepal had such a bad reputation. Pastor Kancha Bahadur* and… Read More By Murray Burt, 03 May 2017 How to convert rain into safe drinking water In rural areas, the main water sources are normally groundwater borewells or surface water, rivers and lakes. However, an often overlooked, easily… Read More By Siri Wood, 27 April 2017 A helping hand for childhood immunisation Many people have difficulty remembering the schedule for childhood immunisation. This means that children often miss some or all of a series of… Read More By Uzo Okoli, Rod Mill and Isabel Carter, 24 April 2017 Do it yourself: 12 easy ways to keep mosquitoes out Keeping mosquitoes out of your home is one of the most important ways of protecting your family from malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. Here… Read More By Rhiannon Horton, 20 April 2017 Six ways that PEP* is changing education outcomes in Uganda Jeremiah 29:11 raises the question of whether people have a “hope and a future”. This is what God promises. This is also the crux of the review of… Read More By Sas Conradie, 18 April 2017 On a mission: but is it the right one? As Tearfund embarks on an exciting vision to upscale its involvement in Church and Community Transformation, Sas Conradie reflects on a rocky start… Read More By Keiron Forbes, 12 April 2017 ‘Think like a chicken’ and other top tips from a poultry expert Keiron Forbes has earned the name ‘Chickenologist’ from travelling around the world helping people to start chicken projects, solving problems with… Read More By Rosa Camargo de Bravo, 05 April 2017 How football (and chocolate brownies) are changing lives in Colombia Young footballers at Club Deportivo wear kits that say ‘Jesus is Lord’ on the back. Photo: Club Deportivo Young people and adolescents from… Read More By Desmond Lesjane and Adrienne Blomberg, 31 March 2017 Grace’s story: surviving sexual and gender-based violence in Liberia Grace, a 28-year-old woman from Nimba county in north-central Liberia, was living in a very abusive relationship with a 30-year-old male from Gbahn.… Read More By Chloé Quanrud, 29 March 2017 Self-help groups start ‘a new culture of sisterhood’ Tearfund’s approach to self-help groups (SHGs) – where women come together and save small amounts of money over time – places a consistent emphasis… Read More By Prabu Deepan, 23 March 2017 How a broken man became a ‘gender champion’ I met Bura last year, towards the end of September, in a small village called Ngiri, about eight hours drive from Bunia in Orientale province of the… Read More By Richard Lister, 10 March 2017 Learning to be good stewards of our lives and land Do you ever get angry and then feel embarrassed? I do. I remember driving with four church and community transformation (CCT) facilitators through… Read More By Julie Hefti, 23 February 2017 Toolkit: more art therapy ideas for vulnerable children In our last post we explored how art can be used to create a safe place for anxious and traumatised children. In the second part of this mini-series… Read More By Julie Hefti, 15 February 2017 Toolkit: art therapy for orphans and vulnerable children Creating art and talking about it can help children heal from difficult experiences. Activities can include drawing, painting, modelling, collage and… Read More By Zoe Murton, 07 February 2017 No child left behind in Chinese village Children with disabilities are among the most at risk of being placed in orphanages. Many parents do not know how to cope with a disabled child, and… Read More By Denford Munemo and Qobolwakhe Khumalo, 01 February 2017 How God helps you to care for orphans God created us with a heart, eyes, ears, mouth, hands and feet. ZOE (Zimbabwe Orphans through Extended Hands) staff use these inspiring ideas below… Read More By Krish Kandiah, 20 December 2016 Does God hate Christmas? How would you feel if I told you that God hates Christmas? Or that he is annoyed by Advent, Lent and Easter? What if I told you that prayer meetings… Read More 06 December 2016 ‘Footsteps 92 came at the right time’ At Tearfund Learn, our favourite thing is to hear stories from Footsteps readers... Read More 25 November 2016 16 Days of Activism The ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ Campaign runs from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against… Read More 18 November 2016 The woman who wanted a toilet On World Toilet Day we want to celebrate the life of one remarkable woman who dared to believe that she could make a difference. When Anita Narre… Read More By Lucie Woolley, 15 September 2016 Bridging the gap: Connecting communities, churches and governments to do effective advocacy at the local level Lucie Woolley, Tearfund's Advocacy Learning and Research Officer The church effect Local churches are not about the buildings, but about the people… Read More 26 August 2016 Lighting up the world In May 2016, Sandrine Umukunzi attended Uganda Gathering. The conference focused on how the church can respond to the challenges of gender-based… Read More 12 August 2016 Open eyes, open heart By Eunice Aguti Otim In May 2016, Eunice Aguti attended Uganda Gathering. The conference focused on how the church can respond to the challenges of… Read More 15 July 2016 What I learnt at Uganda Gathering By Etotu Daniel In May 2016, Etotu Daniel attended Uganda Gathering. The conference focused on how the church can respond to the challenges of… Read More By Norman Molina, 08 July 2016 Going the distance in Nicaragua How long would it take you to get to hospital, and how would you get there? According to a 2014 report, the average distance from home to an Accident… Read More By Oenone Chadburn, 24 June 2016 Is there life after the WHS? So right now, having read this title, you may be asking yourself two questions: 1) Was there life before the WHS? and 2) What on earth is the WHS?… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 20 May 2016 Love never gives up This is the second of a two-part series on Fernando and Nury, a couple working with children at risk in north-east Brazil. You can read the first… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 06 May 2016 When I needed a neighbour, were you there? This is the first of a two-part series on Fernando and Nury, a couple working with children at risk in north-east Brazil. Fernando is just good with… Read More 29 April 2016 Jazz and Jesus Saturday 30 April is International Jazz Day 2016 – and we have a great video about jazz and Jesus to share with you. A key aspect of jazz is… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 15 April 2016 Prosperity unpacked 5: Challenge How can we challenge ‘Faith’ teaching? This is the final part of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 08 April 2016 Prosperity unpacked 4: Appeal Why is ‘Faith’ teaching appealing to people? This is the fourth of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 01 April 2016 Prosperity unpacked 3: Blessing What does it mean to be blessed by God? This is the third of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity theology.… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 24 March 2016 Prosperity unpacked 2: Suffering What does ‘Faith’ theology say about suffering? This is the second of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 18 March 2016 Prosperity unpacked 1: Definition What is ‘Faith’ theology? This is the first of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity theology. I often get… Read More By David Westlake, 11 March 2016 Christ the centre: Part 3 This is part 3 of David Westlake’s reflections on sustaining the Christian distinctiveness of Christian organisations. You can read part 2 here.… Read More By David Westlake, 04 March 2016 Christ the centre: Part 2 This is part 2 of David Westlake’s reflections on sustaining the Christian distinctiveness of Christian organisations. You can read part 1 here.… Read More By David Westlake, 26 February 2016 Christ the centre: Part 1 I have been thinking a lot recently about keeping Christ at the centre of our organisations. So many organisations find that they are ‘less… Read More 12 February 2016 An interview with the Eco-bishops The Eco-bishops are a group of Anglican bishops from around the world who are speaking out together about climate change. At Tearfund we had the… Read More By Andrew Philip, 05 February 2016 'Let me tell you a story...' 'Let me tell you a story...' That little sentence holds such promise for me. Will I be intrigued, enriched or amused? Will my imagination be set… Read More By Sheryl Haw, 26 January 2016 The new Sustainable Development Goals Our guest writer Sheryl Haw, from the Micah Network, shares her perspective on the Sustainable Development Goals. On 25 September 2015, more than 200… Read More By David Westlake, 22 January 2016 What kind of worker are you? In my job I have the privilege of working with lots of wonderful people. Sometimes it feels as if everyone is working very hard under difficult… Read More 15 January 2016 The dream that became a nightmare In the USA, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Let’s keep this huge area of global injustice in our minds as we… Read More By Gideon Byamugisha , 08 January 2016 Fighting stigma together In 1992, Reverend Canon Professor Gideon B. Byamugisha became the first African religious leader openly to declare his HIV-positive status. At… Read More 18 December 2015 A high price for cheap choices This guest post first appeared on David Westlake’s blog in 2014. It is a timely reminder to us to consider our patterns of consumption during the… Read More By Peter Grant, 14 December 2015 If we can stop Ebola, can we stop violence against women? Imagine a country where no one shakes hands, where there are no football matches or concerts, and where you must have your temperature taken and wash… Read More By David Westlake, 09 December 2015 Restoring the broken Thursday 10 December 2015 is Human Rights Day. This day marks the anniversary of the United Nations Assembly adopting the Universal Declaration of… Read More By David Westlake, 04 December 2015 Helping your child understand the world International Volunteer Day is on 5 December. We believe in the value of volunteering, whether as individuals, with our families or in church groups,… Read More By Norman Molina, 01 December 2015 HIV in Honduras: awakening the church Today, World AIDS Day, we celebrate the work of a Tearfund partner in Honduras. Norman Molina explores the way churches are radically changing their… Read More By David Westlake, 27 November 2015 The Girl Effect David Westlake wrote this post a few years ago. As we are in the middle of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, it is… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 27 November 2015 Clean river, healthy community The community in which Igreja Batista Coqueiral (Coqueiral Baptist Church) is situated has a river running through it. Once, the river used to be… Read More By Elaine Storkey, 25 November 2015 Scars across humanity: An interview with Elaine Storkey Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a day focused on raising awareness of the fact that women around the… Read More By David Westlake, 20 November 2015 Jesus never asked us to serve the poor Jesus never asked us to serve the poor. He asked us to do something far more radical: he commanded us to seek his kingdom. It is impossible to seek… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 16 November 2015 Welcome to the TILZ blog Where do you go to find inspiration? What helps you to break through when you feel like you are stuck? How do you discover new ideas to use in your… Read More By Pete Portal, 16 November 2015 Facts vs truth: the most important battle Christians face? I live and work in a community called Manenberg on the outskirts of Cape Town. Manenberg is quite well known – though usually for all the wrong… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 13 November 2015 Introducing ‘Thinking Theology’ As we host this blog, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to find material and resources that will be helpful to you. One of the ways that… Read More By Hannah Swithinbank, 05 November 2015 What does it mean to think about Jesus? At Tearfund, we think carefully about the work we do and the way that we do it. In addition to our Quality Standards and commitments to various… Read More By Nigel Branken, 05 November 2015 I want authentic, true religion! The book of James contains a challenging message: Read More By Phil Bowyer, 05 November 2015 Developing a thinking environment On a visit to the UK about 18 months ago, a local pastor gave my wife and I the book Time to Think. While Rachel read and raved about it almost… Read More By David Westlake, 05 November 2015 How big is your gospel? In 2013 I wrote about an encounter in Thailand with a sex worker while I was at a conference for pioneer missionaries. It went like this: Read More By David Westlake, 05 November 2015 Reasons to be cheerful This is an amazing achievement. It still leaves 1.1 billion below the $1.25 per day definition of extreme poverty,* but it shows what can be done. It… Read More By David Westlake, 05 November 2015 Humility and development work Human beings seem to love a plan. In fact, the more educated, rich and powerful human beings get, the more we love a plan. And we especially love a… Read More Load More Posts
By Tearfund Learn, 06 December 2019 Q&A with Karen Soerensen, Country Director for Tearfund in Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen Our series of Q&As with country directors continues with Karen Soerensen, Country Director for Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen since 2017. Originally from… Read More
By Rev Josephine Chavaseki and Dr Sas Conradie, 28 November 2019 Churches meet community needs in Nairobi slums Redeemed Gospel Church Pipeline (RGCP) sits in the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums in Nairobi where more than 500,000 people live in extremely poor… Read More
By Rachel Paton, 19 November 2019 Listening to the local church in conflict-affected fragile states Listening and learning are closely related. By listening to other people’s perspectives with open hearts and minds, we position ourselves to learn… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 15 November 2019 Learning to work together – from building bike sheds to repairing roads It’s a long bike ride of up to two hours for some members of Emmanuel Church, in the Bardia District of West Nepal. It is also very hot outside the… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 08 November 2019 Q&A with Emmanuel Murangira, Country Director, Tearfund in Rwanda Our series of Q&As with country directors continues with Emmanuel Murangira, who has worked for Tearfund in Rwanda since 2008. He shares his thoughts… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 31 October 2019 Helping communities to flourish in Asia Helping communities to flourish is Ping’s* passion. But it is not easy when you live in a world where the voice of the church is largely restrained.… Read More
By Asha Kurien , 24 October 2019 Going local – strengthening humanitarian capacity through partnerships ‘We are a learning organisation, so we don’t run away from things,’ says Ruth Dul, the chief executive of the Christian Rural and Urban Development… Read More
By Naomi Foxwood, 16 October 2019 7 ways to support youth movements which change the world Across the world young people are rising up. They are demanding action on the environmental destruction, poverty and injustice that threaten their… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 04 October 2019 Q&A with Vincent Moyo, Country Director, Tearfund Malawi Our series of Q&As with country directors continues with Vincent Moyo, who has worked for Tearfund in Malawi since 2006. He shares his thoughts on… Read More
By Santiago Benítez, 26 September 2019 Cynthia’s message of hope for young people in Honduras Cynthia lives with her parents in the San Ramón neighbourhood of Siguatepeque, in Honduras. She is 22, works as a financial assistant and attends the… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 19 September 2019 Review of Footsteps 109: Youth The cover of the new Footsteps magazine is full of hope. It features nine young people from all corners of the globe and makes me curious to know the… Read More
By Theo Shaw, 06 September 2019 Love inspires a young man to help build a church I have heard a lot of transformational stories, but none has been quite so engaging as Albert’s. We met Albert on a field visit to Good News Baptist… Read More
By Jeunesse En Mission, 22 August 2019 Starting a chicken business in Mali Finding a job in Mali is not easy so, like many young people, Justin Traoré hoped to start a business of his own. However, starting a business… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 08 August 2019 Everywhere is rubbish Last year I was privileged to have visited Angola for two weeks. Travelling around the country made a deep impression on me and changed my view of… Read More
By Rachel Burnet, 02 August 2019 What does it take to make a ‘lazy’ man travel far? When Costa heard his name announced at church one Sunday he didn’t know what to expect. He was asked to stay behind after the worship service at… Read More
By Desalegn Demissie, 25 July 2019 Sustainable farming helps family face climate change in Ethiopia In recent years, climate change has meant Abebech* and her husband have faced some hard times. They are farmers in the village of Offa Esho Kebele in… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 18 July 2019 Privacy at last – latrines bring relief to villages in Afghanistan Afshin* is a farmer who lives in a small village in Afghanistan’s Central Highlands. There are 14 families in the village where his family and his… Read More
By Andrea Villarreal, 10 July 2019 Meet the woman standing up against corruption in Brazil Elda Valim lives in the resource-rich region around Cuiaba in Mato Grosso state, Northern Brazil. She grew up listening to her mother talking about… Read More
By Lahai Amara, 03 July 2019 Church programme brings harmony into the home Kadiatu Mansaray and her husband, Sarrah Mansaray, were known to community members as the couple who always argued with each other. They lived in the… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 27 June 2019 Q&A with Ashraf Mall, Country Director, Tearfund Pakistan Ashraf has worked for Tearfund for more than ten years. He steps down next month to take up a role with the Pakistan Partner Initiative working with… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 20 June 2019 Responding to children living with disabilities When my wife and I decided to get married, both of us were still students. So we had to find work that could put food on the table and a roof over… Read More
By Marah Danielle, 13 June 2019 In Brazil, the water finally flows Moises Frausino da Silva has faced many droughts in his lifetime and lived much of his life with a lack of water. He is a father of 11 children and… Read More
By Anna Ling, 06 June 2019 What is poverty and how should we respond? A misdiagnosis can lead to serious problems. For example, if we visit the doctor with a headache and he or she gives us some painkillers but doesn’t… Read More
By EFICOR, 30 May 2019 Enterprising couple are an inspiration to villagers in India Both Kandhi Gound and his wife, Rukman, have been living with disabilities since birth. They live with their son in a village in central India and… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 23 May 2019 Review of Footsteps 108: Living with disability When was the last time you saw someone with a disability on the cover of a magazine? Disability is all too often hidden away. Sadly, this is… Read More
By Sini Maria Heikkilä, Jackson Wachira and Alex Mwaura, 17 May 2019 Can markets help build resilience of pastoralists against drought? In Kenya, pastoralists’ communities live in some of the harshest environments and their livelihoods have been severely hit by recurring droughts. Read More
By Kal-Ignabet Pakagochy, 09 May 2019 Want better decision-making? Invite the women Ignekalbo Gilbert is proud that many positive changes have taken place in his village since it started a church and community mobilisation process… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 03 May 2019 How children can play their part in preventing polio from spreading As a result of routine vaccination programmes, polio has been largely eradicated in most parts of the world. But polio is found in some places. It’s… Read More
By Tearfund Staff, 18 April 2019 What does Easter mean for you? In part two of our Easter blog we hear from Tearfund employees around the world about how they celebrate this special time of year. The results are… Read More
By Tearfund Staff, 11 April 2019 What does Easter mean for you? In order to paint a picture of what Easter means to different people around the world we asked a handful of Tearfund employees to share their… Read More
By Josh Eaves, 05 April 2019 A football field provides common ground for young people in Lebanon Sport is an excellent way to reach young people, especially when they are discontented. Towards the end of 2018 the Foundation for Forgiveness and… Read More
By Tearfund Pakistan and Pak Mission Society, 29 March 2019 Meet the married E-guards who play a key role in cleaning up their community Mumtaz and Beenish are in their sixties. In fact, they are not quite sure of their exact ages. But they are sure about their love for their community… Read More
By International Nepal Fellowship staff, 21 March 2019 How clean water has transformed a village in Nepal In the Surkhet district of Nepal lies the village of Gadi. The village was one of the least developed in the area, so the community struggled to… Read More
By Diane Holt, 07 March 2019 Chickens and conversation help women unite in divided DRC community A group of women from Goma in DRC lived in a divided community. They suffered from poverty and marginalisation, and there was a climate of mistrust… Read More
By Emma Brown, 28 February 2019 How crickets are jump-starting community change in Cambodia Fresh hope has sprung from an unexpected source in rural Cambodia – cricket farming. While following an exciting church and community initiative,… Read More
By Marcela Guzman, 21 February 2019 Bringing light to a corner of the Caribbean Corozal is a village on the north coast of Honduras, located near the city of La Ceiba. It enjoys warm Caribbean weather, especially in summer... Read More
By Sas Conradie, 14 February 2019 How to live the lifestyle of love Last year, my dad passed away in South Africa after a short illness. One of his favourite passages in the Bible was 1 Corinthians 13. This ‘chapter… Read More
Compiled by Zoe Murton, 05 February 2019 Understanding female genital mutilation/cutting Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) describes the act of cutting, destroying or removing some or all of the external parts of the female… Read More
By Sarah Onduko, 01 February 2019 Changing mindsets around plastic bags in Kenya Until recently, the use of plastic bags was very common in Kenya. Whenever we went shopping, we knew our purchases would be wrapped nicely in… Read More
By Lydia Powell, 24 January 2019 Mobilising the church to be change in Kenya Through learning and adaptation, an early church and community mobilisation (CCM) pilot has grown into a national phenomenon. Today it is mobilising… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 10 January 2019 The challenge of replacing firewood with green energy in Angola When driving along the roads in southern Angola, you cannot miss them – hundreds of bags of charcoal and firewood being sold by women and sometimes… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 03 January 2019 Top five hope-filled blogs from 2018 and what not to miss in 2019 From bees and honey to polluted rivers and solar power, from disaster prevention to self-help groups, and from the herders of East Africa to young… Read More
By Kouassi Konan, 21 December 2018 Fruitful training brings hope and joy to cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast Award-winning British chocolatier Will Torrent will be pleased to know that chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise. The latest figures… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 19 December 2018 Remembering well – the importance of memory and healing in peacebuilding In my last post I ended by saying that ‘remembering well’ was the last step in the Embrace approach to peacebuilding that Tearfund uses. It is this… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 11 December 2018 Discovering how to embrace peace We have now talked about hospitality and moral imagination as ways of pursuing peace. Our third approach is one called embrace. This approach comes… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 05 December 2018 Would Jesus have felt comfortable at a five-star conference venue? Recently I attended a global Christian conference in Latin America. Shared rooms for the conference cost 750 USD per person for four days. That works… Read More
By Sini Maria Heikkila, 28 November 2018 Women rally to Evelyn’s cry to fight HIV and bring peace home For Evelyn Letio, peacebuilding in South Sudan means restoring peace within communities and between family members. As a coordinator and co-founder… Read More
By Jon White, 22 November 2018 Renewing the old from the inside out In an extra contribution to our mini-series of reflections on Jubilee by young theologians, we hear from an artist about the importance of renewal in… Read More
By Maria Andrade, 14 November 2018 Perseverance pays off for Guatemalan pastors in push for new health centre Read More
By Sini Maria Heikkila, 07 November 2018 Why women are vital to the peace process in war-torn South Sudan On 12 September, the sides at war in South Sudan signed a much-anticipated peace agreement. This is the latest effort to bring peace to the world’s… Read More
By Fwangmun Oscar Danladi, 31 October 2018 Restoring hope to displaced farming communities in Nigeria The Global Forum on Church and Poverty inspired me to begin to see Nigeria in the light of Jubilee. This, in turn, prompted me to start to fully… Read More
By Timothy KC, 25 October 2018 Searching for hope in the aftermath of violence During our gathering of young theologians in July, our visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial deeply impacted us to reflect on the different aspects… Read More
By Nell Goddard, 18 October 2018 ‘Over three short days, my theology was challenged and changed – and so was I.’ In July, ten young people joined a group of theologians and strategic thinkers from 18 different countries at a global forum in Kigali, Rwanda. They… Read More
By Asha Kurien , 11 October 2018 Is your government prepared to protect you from a typhoon or earthquake? The tsunami in Sulawesi in Indonesia, Super Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines, Hurricane Florence in the USA, and the floods in Kerala, India, have… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 04 October 2018 Four ways we can use our imagination in peacebuilding In the last post I talked about hospitality as an approach that can contribute towards peace. The second approach that Tearfund uses in its… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 26 September 2018 How hospitality can be a vital way into peacebuilding In our series on peacebuilding, we have talked about the characteristics of a peacebuilder and concepts that are important for peacebuilders to think… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 18 September 2018 The importance of power in peacebuilding In the last of a short set of posts looking at concepts for peacebuilding, I want to talk about power and how power works within relationships. Power… Read More
By Lucy Pieterse, 06 September 2018 ‘We are young. We have the power to change our community.’ A young man in Bangladesh is raising up tomorrow’s leaders on a diet of homegrown food and business skills. Read More
By Peter Shaw, 30 August 2018 Bee Happy – now the church is buzzing The 2015 earthquakes devastated communities across Nepal. As well as the sad loss of life, the quake destroyed infrastructure and livelihoods in many… Read More
By Sarah Onduko and Loida Carriel, 23 August 2018 When Bolivia met Uganda – seven ‘inspired’ lessons from a learning exchange visit The American zookeeper Jack Hanna once said: ‘The world is the true classroom. The most rewarding and important type of learning is through… Read More
By Lauren Kejeh, 15 August 2018 ‘We were here before the disaster, we were here during the disaster and we are here after the disaster.’ The power of the church The quote in our title is from a pastor in Honduras, speaking after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. He points out that while others… Read More
By Richard Lister, 02 August 2018 Grain gains – teff flatbread business grows out of self-help groups in Ethiopia I peer into darkness. I’m trying to see who is in this hut and what is going on, but there’s lots of smoke obscuring my view. Gradually, I make out… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 01 August 2018 Feeding a family of five – Sylvia’s story in Malawi Life was hard for Sylvia’s family. Her husband had abandoned her and she had only one bag of maize to feed five people. Read More
By Dr Viv Grigg, 20 July 2018 Slums and the struggle for security – a step-by-step guide to gain secure land rights and better services By 2020, UN Habitat predicts that 1.4 billion people could be living in slums. For me, this is the biggest challenge for urban ministry in our time.… Read More
By Susan Parajuli, 11 July 2018 Breaking new ground – joint land ownership in Nepal For United Mission to Nepal (UMN), gender justice has always been a priority. We believe that men and women are like two wheels of a cart. When we… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 04 July 2018 ‘I am human because I belong, I participate, I share' – community and Trinity in peacebuilding In my last post, I wrote about diversity and inclusion. In this piece I’m going to look at the idea of community – which is the place where diversity… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 26 June 2018 Same but different – the importance of diversity and inclusion to peacebuilding In the previous post on peacebuilding, we looked at the biblical understanding of peace and justice. This time, we are going to look at the ideas of… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 21 June 2018 Peace and justice – what the Bible says about these key goals of peacebuilding work In the previous post in our peacebuilding series, we looked at some of the characteristics of peacebuilders and how these are connected to the… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 14 June 2018 A wake-up call for discipleship that challenges the rich and powerful ‘Death-dealing forces […] are shaking the world order and inflicting suffering on many.’ This alarming warning was highlighted in the Arusha Call to… Read More
By Priscilla Souza, 07 June 2018 Churches and communities join forces to clean up polluted waters in Brazil The residents of communities around the Tejipió River in north-east Brazil suffer from regular floods. The factors that cause such floods are well… Read More
29 May 2018 ‘Changed people bring about change’ in Ivory Coast Edmond was a well-educated, up-and-coming pastor in his denomination. But when he was selected to serve in Nassian, a village in the north of Ivory… Read More
By Alice Keen, 25 May 2018 Celebrating our Birthday 1968 was an important year. A human being orbited the moon for the first time. The civil rights activist and pastor Martin Luther King was… Read More
By Rudolf Band and Salome Hengartner, 16 May 2018 A bridge to freedom for Bolivia’s prison children Prisons in Bolivia are very overcrowded – but not only with adults. The country’s laws state that children under six years old can stay in their… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 08 May 2018 How solar power is saving lives in DRC Come nightfall, the residents of Madzangina lived in complete darkness. The village, in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has… Read More
By Chris Szuskiewicz, 02 May 2018 Five ways to limit the impact of rubbish on the environment We all produce rubbish. Usually we don’t think about it. We just throw it away. But 2 billion people don’t have their waste collected and the world… Read More
By Chris McDonald, 24 April 2018 Five survival strategies for drought-affected livestock herders in East Africa For many people in East Africa, the current drought is the worst in living memory. Pastoralists have been hit particularly hard by this drought,… Read More
By Maria Andrade, 17 April 2018 Why ‘delivering the heart’ is a revolutionary act in Colombia Claudia* was 14 years old and at school when, suddenly, she saw a group of uniformed armed men pass the window. After a few minutes of insults and… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 11 April 2018 How cows are catalysts for hope in Rwanda How do you start to bring together survivors of genocide with those who perpetrated the violence? Even for the most sensitive and diplomatic of… Read More
By Cheryl Bannatyne, 21 March 2018 Rising up to inspire other women in DRC ‘It was decided because I was the eldest girl, I would not go to school like my brothers,’ says Birungi. ‘Instead I should stay at home to look after… Read More
By William Quiñones, 26 February 2018 Learning to listen to and love gang members in Guatemala City My community of Santa Catarina Pinula in Guatemala City has been greatly affected by the spread of urban neighbourhoods. This growth has clearly… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 22 February 2018 Are young people the key to community transformation? One of Tearfund’s corporate priority areas is church and community transformation. This means churches that improve the holistic well-being of their… Read More
By Cally Magalhães, 15 February 2018 How drama is ‘breaking the chains’ for boys from Brazil In Brazil, children go to prison from the age of 12. Tragically, most of them are back in prison within a month of being released. After many years… Read More
By Lucie Woolley, 01 February 2018 7 reasons why Tearfund works with and through the global local church The church occupies a unique place in the humanitarian and development sector. At its best, it is able to bring a combination of benefits to… Read More
By Sirivuth Ann, 25 January 2018 Five steps to help prisoners make a fresh start on the outside When prisoners are released at the end of their sentence, starting a new life outside the prison gates can be incredibly challenging. Many… Read More
By Jonathan Simpson, 18 January 2018 How the LIGHT Wheel is helping us reap a bigger harvest In my garden at home we have a mulberry tree. It is about 25 feet high with multiple branches going into the ground, yet when it bears fruit we only… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 11 January 2018 Radical changes make farmer Ben an inspiration to young Africans I must admit, I was quite tired. That is after spending five hours on the road in a minibus from Nairobi to Kericho in Kenya. I then had a few… Read More
By Stephen Taylor, 05 January 2018 Replacing honey with better burns treatment There is a high incidence of burns in East Africa due to the need to cook on charcoal fires and use kerosene for lighting. Knowledge of first aid for… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 18 December 2017 5 essential characteristics of a peacebuilder In our last blog, we looked at the way Christians are transformed through their relationship with God to become more like Jesus. In this post, we’re… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 13 December 2017 Disciples and Peacebuilders In the last post, we looked at peacebuilding as an essential part of God’s mission and using scripture to help us participate in that mission. This… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 07 December 2017 Peacebuilding as a part of God’s mission All of Tearfund’s work is rooted in our Theology of Mission, in which we find our understanding of our call, as Christians to follow Jesus and… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 05 December 2017 Thinking about theology for peacebuilding – 8 books you’ll want to read Hannah Swithinbank introduces a new series of blogs around the theme of peacebuilding and reconciliation, and recommends eight books to help you… Read More
By Norman Molina, 28 November 2017 ‘Measure what you treasure' to make the most impact in your region Programme Effectiveness Training recently took place at the Tearfund Central American office, covering Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The idea… Read More
By Claire Hancock, 16 November 2017 7 common reasons why some businesses fail Just having a good idea and motivation is no guarantee of success. Here are a seven of the most common reasons why businesses can fail: Read More
By Bob Hansford, 02 November 2017 6 top tips to protect livelihoods from disasters Disasters affect nearly all aspects of life, but particularly livelihoods. Sometimes the damage done to people’s ability to earn an income is a… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 26 October 2017 Why the church needs to get down to business in Africa Moeletsi Mbeki says in his excellent book, Architects of poverty: why African capitalism needs changing, that in a society where entrepreneurship is… Read More
By Claire Hancock, 10 October 2017 9 key steps to a successful business Everyone deserves the opportunity to earn a livelihood, provide for their family and support their communities. Jobs and economic opportunities are a… Read More
By Beth Huckstep, 04 October 2017 ‘A self-help group has helped to make my family’s poverty history’ Life for Regatu and her family in a village near the city of Adama, in Central Ethiopia, was once comfortable when her husband used to work in a… Read More
By Sara Shaw, 28 September 2017 Why advocate on climate change? What is advocacy? Advocacy is about influencing people and public policies to bring about change. It involves influencing those in power to act more… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 18 September 2017 Reaping the rewards of community film-making After a screen was found and an old projector repaired, our partners in Uganda were delighted to share a short film with a packed Owii Church and… Read More
12 September 2017 A journey towards wholeness: ‘The best 10 weeks of my life so far’ Youth unemployment is a huge problem in Nigeria. Half of the country’s population is under the age of 30, and the public sector cannot absorb the… Read More
By Shaakira Muhammad, 06 September 2017 Where do people put their hope in a crisis? A new report* has revealed the importance of faith for people displaced by conflict. It also shows how humanitarian organisations could build on… Read More
By Shaakira Muhammad, 15 August 2017 Power to the people: how one woman brought light to her community When Betty invested her self-help group loan in a solar panel she did more than just connect her village to electricity — she connected them to each… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 08 August 2017 Football fosters forgiveness in the Middle East Would a football tournament organised by refugees and local youths in a high-tension zone in Lebanon achieve its goals of acceptance and forgiveness?… Read More
01 August 2017 Setting up shop with a little self-help from my friends In Afghanistan, women and girls often have few opportunities to work or develop a livelihood. Self-help groups bring together local women who meet on… Read More
By Ben Chikan, 05 July 2017 'One month ago I didn't care — now I can feel women’s pain' This is a personal story of how a Tearfund Nigeria team member, who took part in a recent Transforming Masculinities training course in Jos, Nigeria,… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 22 June 2017 Made in the image of God — essays to inspire and challenge you I have a number of things to do in my job at Tearfund, but one activity that I particularly enjoy is spending time with my colleagues and our… Read More
By Dr Julian Eaton, 05 June 2017 Toolkit: how to improve mental health in your community Religious or spiritual leaders are often the first people individuals turn to in times of personal crisis. They can bring wisdom, healing and… Read More
By Maria Andrade, 01 June 2017 Churches go deeper in response to disasters Natural disasters are predicted to rise and cause more suffering in vulnerable communities, but that’s exactly where the church can help. Read More
By Patricia Conteh, 25 May 2017 How united faith leaders helped to beat ebola Patricia Conteh was a Projects Officer for Tearfund in Sierra Leone when the Ebola virus hit the country in 2014. Here, she shares her memories of… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 23 May 2017 Communities moved to tears by their own ‘disaster movies’ Educational films can be a great way to inform local communities about risks from potential natural disasters and health care issues. They are… Read More
By S. Michael Houdmann, 18 May 2017 Should Christians go to doctors? There are some Christians who believe that seeking medical help shows a lack of faith in God. Some Christians wrongly think they should throw away… Read More
By Sylvie Kokere, 12 May 2017 How Mother Buddies and their mobiles are saving lives and uniting families My name is Mama Eve* and I live in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I live in an area where many women and babies often die at birth… Read More
By Mkhululi Sihlola , 11 May 2017 A prophet’s reward: ‘Six chickens and Elisha revived my dream to sew again’ For most of her life Mrs Thembani Masilela hadn’t given much thought to chickens. As a woman who grew up in rural areas she was brought up to ensure… Read More
By Mark Simpson, 08 May 2017 The kids’ club that dares to hope in Rio’s ‘stinking’ margins Rio de Janeiro is South America’s third largest urban area but perhaps its most recognisable. The Christ the Redeemer statue that watches over the… Read More
By Richard Lister, 05 May 2017 Christianity – ‘a disease’ that may be worth catching? ‘Christians are a disease’. It is hard to believe that this small group of believers in Nepal had such a bad reputation. Pastor Kancha Bahadur* and… Read More
By Murray Burt, 03 May 2017 How to convert rain into safe drinking water In rural areas, the main water sources are normally groundwater borewells or surface water, rivers and lakes. However, an often overlooked, easily… Read More
By Siri Wood, 27 April 2017 A helping hand for childhood immunisation Many people have difficulty remembering the schedule for childhood immunisation. This means that children often miss some or all of a series of… Read More
By Uzo Okoli, Rod Mill and Isabel Carter, 24 April 2017 Do it yourself: 12 easy ways to keep mosquitoes out Keeping mosquitoes out of your home is one of the most important ways of protecting your family from malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. Here… Read More
By Rhiannon Horton, 20 April 2017 Six ways that PEP* is changing education outcomes in Uganda Jeremiah 29:11 raises the question of whether people have a “hope and a future”. This is what God promises. This is also the crux of the review of… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 18 April 2017 On a mission: but is it the right one? As Tearfund embarks on an exciting vision to upscale its involvement in Church and Community Transformation, Sas Conradie reflects on a rocky start… Read More
By Keiron Forbes, 12 April 2017 ‘Think like a chicken’ and other top tips from a poultry expert Keiron Forbes has earned the name ‘Chickenologist’ from travelling around the world helping people to start chicken projects, solving problems with… Read More
By Rosa Camargo de Bravo, 05 April 2017 How football (and chocolate brownies) are changing lives in Colombia Young footballers at Club Deportivo wear kits that say ‘Jesus is Lord’ on the back. Photo: Club Deportivo Young people and adolescents from… Read More
By Desmond Lesjane and Adrienne Blomberg, 31 March 2017 Grace’s story: surviving sexual and gender-based violence in Liberia Grace, a 28-year-old woman from Nimba county in north-central Liberia, was living in a very abusive relationship with a 30-year-old male from Gbahn.… Read More
By Chloé Quanrud, 29 March 2017 Self-help groups start ‘a new culture of sisterhood’ Tearfund’s approach to self-help groups (SHGs) – where women come together and save small amounts of money over time – places a consistent emphasis… Read More
By Prabu Deepan, 23 March 2017 How a broken man became a ‘gender champion’ I met Bura last year, towards the end of September, in a small village called Ngiri, about eight hours drive from Bunia in Orientale province of the… Read More
By Richard Lister, 10 March 2017 Learning to be good stewards of our lives and land Do you ever get angry and then feel embarrassed? I do. I remember driving with four church and community transformation (CCT) facilitators through… Read More
By Julie Hefti, 23 February 2017 Toolkit: more art therapy ideas for vulnerable children In our last post we explored how art can be used to create a safe place for anxious and traumatised children. In the second part of this mini-series… Read More
By Julie Hefti, 15 February 2017 Toolkit: art therapy for orphans and vulnerable children Creating art and talking about it can help children heal from difficult experiences. Activities can include drawing, painting, modelling, collage and… Read More
By Zoe Murton, 07 February 2017 No child left behind in Chinese village Children with disabilities are among the most at risk of being placed in orphanages. Many parents do not know how to cope with a disabled child, and… Read More
By Denford Munemo and Qobolwakhe Khumalo, 01 February 2017 How God helps you to care for orphans God created us with a heart, eyes, ears, mouth, hands and feet. ZOE (Zimbabwe Orphans through Extended Hands) staff use these inspiring ideas below… Read More
By Krish Kandiah, 20 December 2016 Does God hate Christmas? How would you feel if I told you that God hates Christmas? Or that he is annoyed by Advent, Lent and Easter? What if I told you that prayer meetings… Read More
06 December 2016 ‘Footsteps 92 came at the right time’ At Tearfund Learn, our favourite thing is to hear stories from Footsteps readers... Read More
25 November 2016 16 Days of Activism The ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ Campaign runs from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against… Read More
18 November 2016 The woman who wanted a toilet On World Toilet Day we want to celebrate the life of one remarkable woman who dared to believe that she could make a difference. When Anita Narre… Read More
By Lucie Woolley, 15 September 2016 Bridging the gap: Connecting communities, churches and governments to do effective advocacy at the local level Lucie Woolley, Tearfund's Advocacy Learning and Research Officer The church effect Local churches are not about the buildings, but about the people… Read More
26 August 2016 Lighting up the world In May 2016, Sandrine Umukunzi attended Uganda Gathering. The conference focused on how the church can respond to the challenges of gender-based… Read More
12 August 2016 Open eyes, open heart By Eunice Aguti Otim In May 2016, Eunice Aguti attended Uganda Gathering. The conference focused on how the church can respond to the challenges of… Read More
15 July 2016 What I learnt at Uganda Gathering By Etotu Daniel In May 2016, Etotu Daniel attended Uganda Gathering. The conference focused on how the church can respond to the challenges of… Read More
By Norman Molina, 08 July 2016 Going the distance in Nicaragua How long would it take you to get to hospital, and how would you get there? According to a 2014 report, the average distance from home to an Accident… Read More
By Oenone Chadburn, 24 June 2016 Is there life after the WHS? So right now, having read this title, you may be asking yourself two questions: 1) Was there life before the WHS? and 2) What on earth is the WHS?… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 20 May 2016 Love never gives up This is the second of a two-part series on Fernando and Nury, a couple working with children at risk in north-east Brazil. You can read the first… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 06 May 2016 When I needed a neighbour, were you there? This is the first of a two-part series on Fernando and Nury, a couple working with children at risk in north-east Brazil. Fernando is just good with… Read More
29 April 2016 Jazz and Jesus Saturday 30 April is International Jazz Day 2016 – and we have a great video about jazz and Jesus to share with you. A key aspect of jazz is… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 15 April 2016 Prosperity unpacked 5: Challenge How can we challenge ‘Faith’ teaching? This is the final part of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 08 April 2016 Prosperity unpacked 4: Appeal Why is ‘Faith’ teaching appealing to people? This is the fourth of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 01 April 2016 Prosperity unpacked 3: Blessing What does it mean to be blessed by God? This is the third of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity theology.… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 24 March 2016 Prosperity unpacked 2: Suffering What does ‘Faith’ theology say about suffering? This is the second of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 18 March 2016 Prosperity unpacked 1: Definition What is ‘Faith’ theology? This is the first of a five-part series by Hannah Swithinbank on how we can engage with prosperity theology. I often get… Read More
By David Westlake, 11 March 2016 Christ the centre: Part 3 This is part 3 of David Westlake’s reflections on sustaining the Christian distinctiveness of Christian organisations. You can read part 2 here.… Read More
By David Westlake, 04 March 2016 Christ the centre: Part 2 This is part 2 of David Westlake’s reflections on sustaining the Christian distinctiveness of Christian organisations. You can read part 1 here.… Read More
By David Westlake, 26 February 2016 Christ the centre: Part 1 I have been thinking a lot recently about keeping Christ at the centre of our organisations. So many organisations find that they are ‘less… Read More
12 February 2016 An interview with the Eco-bishops The Eco-bishops are a group of Anglican bishops from around the world who are speaking out together about climate change. At Tearfund we had the… Read More
By Andrew Philip, 05 February 2016 'Let me tell you a story...' 'Let me tell you a story...' That little sentence holds such promise for me. Will I be intrigued, enriched or amused? Will my imagination be set… Read More
By Sheryl Haw, 26 January 2016 The new Sustainable Development Goals Our guest writer Sheryl Haw, from the Micah Network, shares her perspective on the Sustainable Development Goals. On 25 September 2015, more than 200… Read More
By David Westlake, 22 January 2016 What kind of worker are you? In my job I have the privilege of working with lots of wonderful people. Sometimes it feels as if everyone is working very hard under difficult… Read More
15 January 2016 The dream that became a nightmare In the USA, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Let’s keep this huge area of global injustice in our minds as we… Read More
By Gideon Byamugisha , 08 January 2016 Fighting stigma together In 1992, Reverend Canon Professor Gideon B. Byamugisha became the first African religious leader openly to declare his HIV-positive status. At… Read More
18 December 2015 A high price for cheap choices This guest post first appeared on David Westlake’s blog in 2014. It is a timely reminder to us to consider our patterns of consumption during the… Read More
By Peter Grant, 14 December 2015 If we can stop Ebola, can we stop violence against women? Imagine a country where no one shakes hands, where there are no football matches or concerts, and where you must have your temperature taken and wash… Read More
By David Westlake, 09 December 2015 Restoring the broken Thursday 10 December 2015 is Human Rights Day. This day marks the anniversary of the United Nations Assembly adopting the Universal Declaration of… Read More
By David Westlake, 04 December 2015 Helping your child understand the world International Volunteer Day is on 5 December. We believe in the value of volunteering, whether as individuals, with our families or in church groups,… Read More
By Norman Molina, 01 December 2015 HIV in Honduras: awakening the church Today, World AIDS Day, we celebrate the work of a Tearfund partner in Honduras. Norman Molina explores the way churches are radically changing their… Read More
By David Westlake, 27 November 2015 The Girl Effect David Westlake wrote this post a few years ago. As we are in the middle of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, it is… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 27 November 2015 Clean river, healthy community The community in which Igreja Batista Coqueiral (Coqueiral Baptist Church) is situated has a river running through it. Once, the river used to be… Read More
By Elaine Storkey, 25 November 2015 Scars across humanity: An interview with Elaine Storkey Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a day focused on raising awareness of the fact that women around the… Read More
By David Westlake, 20 November 2015 Jesus never asked us to serve the poor Jesus never asked us to serve the poor. He asked us to do something far more radical: he commanded us to seek his kingdom. It is impossible to seek… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 16 November 2015 Welcome to the TILZ blog Where do you go to find inspiration? What helps you to break through when you feel like you are stuck? How do you discover new ideas to use in your… Read More
By Pete Portal, 16 November 2015 Facts vs truth: the most important battle Christians face? I live and work in a community called Manenberg on the outskirts of Cape Town. Manenberg is quite well known – though usually for all the wrong… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 13 November 2015 Introducing ‘Thinking Theology’ As we host this blog, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to find material and resources that will be helpful to you. One of the ways that… Read More
By Hannah Swithinbank, 05 November 2015 What does it mean to think about Jesus? At Tearfund, we think carefully about the work we do and the way that we do it. In addition to our Quality Standards and commitments to various… Read More
By Nigel Branken, 05 November 2015 I want authentic, true religion! The book of James contains a challenging message: Read More
By Phil Bowyer, 05 November 2015 Developing a thinking environment On a visit to the UK about 18 months ago, a local pastor gave my wife and I the book Time to Think. While Rachel read and raved about it almost… Read More
By David Westlake, 05 November 2015 How big is your gospel? In 2013 I wrote about an encounter in Thailand with a sex worker while I was at a conference for pioneer missionaries. It went like this: Read More
By David Westlake, 05 November 2015 Reasons to be cheerful This is an amazing achievement. It still leaves 1.1 billion below the $1.25 per day definition of extreme poverty,* but it shows what can be done. It… Read More
By David Westlake, 05 November 2015 Humility and development work Human beings seem to love a plan. In fact, the more educated, rich and powerful human beings get, the more we love a plan. And we especially love a… Read More