The partnership promises to transform the lives of impoverished families in a small, rural community in Malawi.

July 2007

A groundbreaking partnership between one of America's high-profile denominations and World Vision will soon be providing desperately needed food assistance to thousands of poor families in southern Africa.

Church of the Nazarene is teaming up with World Vision to walk alongside those struggling to pull themselves out of poverty in Mutendere, a rural community in northern Malawi — one of the world's poorest nations. Through this partnership, Church of the Nazarene congregations are adopting World Vision's youth-focused 30 Hour Famine as their own. Now, Nazarene congregations will participate in the Nazarene 30 Hour Famine, powered by World Vision. Funds raised through the Nazarene 30 Hour Famine will support World Vision's ongoing work in Mutendere.

Helping Families and Teaching Compassion

Larry Bollinger, executive director of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, says this partnership is expected to touch Nazarene youth as much as it helps to transform families living in dire poverty. "It will teach [Nazarene] young people about compassion while giving them the opportunity to think about the well-being of others in an age when everything around them is helping them to think about themselves," he says.

The dynamic partnership was launched earlier this month at Church of the Nazarene's national youth conference, where some 12,000 youth, their youth pastors and denominational leaders gathered July 10-15 in St. Louis. The conference offered opportunities for youth to learn more about AIDS in Africa by visiting the World Vision Experience: AIDS, and walking in the shoes of those whose lives are ravaged by HIV and AIDS. It also featured a presentation by World Vision's Princess Zulu, a 30-year-old native of Zambia, HIV-positive mother of two and international AIDS activist.

A Deeper Awareness Through Participation

Now, the Nazarene 30 Hour Famine is serving as a denominational tool to inspire and educate tens of thousands of youth to care for the poor while they raise funds by fasting for 30 hours. The denomination's national goal is for 2,500 Nazarene churches to participate in 30 Hour Famine in early 2008.

Debbie Diederich, World Vision's youth marketing director, said this cutting-edge partnership has huge potential to change lives. "Through this partnership, we hope that Nazarene youth will experience hunger firsthand and discover that they can make a significant difference in the lives of others," she said.

The 30 Hour Famine has served as an outreach to American youth since the early 1990s as a way for students in junior high, high school and college to help transform the lives of people living in poverty. By going without food for 30 hours and raising money through pledges, young people gain a deeper awareness of the needs in our world and realize that they can play a vital role in making a difference. In 2006, approximately 500,000 youth participated nationwide in the 30 Hour Famine, representing 16,000 groups — most of them churches. Together, they raised more than $11 million.

Seeking Sustainable Solutions

Church of the Nazarene, already active in ministry in Malawi, chose Mutendere to receive the funds Nazarene youth will raise through 30 Hour Famine. In June, Nazarene youth and leaders visited Mutendere, where they spent time among the people, and witnessed the community's determination to find sustainable solutions to the issues that tether them to poverty.

Among those challenges is the need for Mutendere parents to learn new ways to provide enough food for their families, and to earn income, not just for today, but for years to come. Currently, 85 percent of Mutendere's residents are subsistence farmers, surviving only on the food they can grow — often amid drought. As a result, malnutrition levels are high among children, with 48 percent of those younger than 5 being stunted.

Food and Income Provision

To address the critical need for more reliable and diversified food sources, Church of the Nazarene is targeting 3,000 Mutendere families in greatest need with activities aimed not only at improving food resources, but increasing income-generating opportunities as well. These interventions will focus on teaching families to grow new foods, such as soybeans and peanuts, and to build ponds in which to raise fish. Local farmers will be trained to multiply seeds for the next season's use, and families will learn to process food, helping to ensure nutrition is available beyond the growing season.

Long dedicated to caring for the poor, Church of the Nazarene leaders see this new work in Mutendere as an innovative way to further expand the denomination's compassionate ministry around the world. "The partnership in Mutendere will help our church build capacity in the field for church-based development work," Bollinger says, "and provide a practical witness to what the Church of the Nazarene is about."