Stories

We came to this country later in our careers. Over the last five years our focus has been on childhood disability, and now our clinical work, teaching and research and our learning from these areas help provide input into national health policy. We’re still asking the same questions we were at the outset. Is our…

Nour is one of the new faces at our art group today. “I love drawing”, she says, “but I never get time to do it at home”. Her tangled black curls bob with each stroke of the pencil, with each sip from her tiny glass of tea. And she begins to share about the life…

A country in Central Asia UNICEF data: Only one-third of the population is literate. Fewer than half of the men can read. Fewer than one in five women can read. First day of six-week teacher training course Teacher: I have to admit that I did not want to come on this training during our school…

…and God uses the church to transform the world. Imagine a national church that began just over 20 years ago after years of domination by a regime that forbade any form of religious belief and practice. Now many people have welcomed the good news that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the…

In any country, local believers are the best people to reach out to their neighbours – in faith and in action. Whatever the church looks like, experience tells us that coming alongside these local believers is the most effective way to create wholistic change in their communities. In Central Asia, the church is young –…

Research shows that voluntourism to orphanages is harmful to children growing up in those institutions. Voluntourism refers to when people combine tourism with the desire to make a difference. They want to serve the people they have been visiting, often by volunteering at an orphanage. Despite their good intentions, this practice increases child protection and…

How on earth could we come alongside people with stories like these, and stand with them in appropriate ways? Even though we knew something about being foreigners and strangers, we were beginners in working with displaced people.

For the first time Sarah didn’t feel despised or discriminated against. Gradually she started to smile more, chat with other parents and, most importantly, enjoy her relationship with her son.