Hungry For Life fundraising gala

In the batey communities near Vasca, Dominican Republic, many young people face limited opportunities for education and employment. The Crecer Program (Spanish for “To Grow”) is changing that by investing in their future – helping them discover their identity, build practical skills, and grow as leaders rooted in Christian values.

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The Crecer Youth program

Every Saturday, 50 adolescents aged 13-20 gather the community center in Vaca to participate in the Crecer Program. Led by 8 dedicated local youth leaders, the program focuses on three pillars:

Being (Ser): helping youth discover who they are-created and loved by God.
Doing (Hacer): building technical and vocational skills for future employment.
Growing (Crecer): Developing leadership and faith to positively impact their communities.

The 2025-2026 program includes:

      - Leadership workshops that build confidence and responsibility
      - English and communication classes that expand opportunity
      - Vocational training in gardening, agriculture, and egg production
      - Mentoring and life-planning support, including pregnancy prevention and faith-based guidance.

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The Crecer Camp

At the end of the training program in June the students will be invited to a youth camp. One of the key goals of the camp is to help participants – especially young women from marginalized communities – envision a future beyond cycles of poverty and exclusion. Through biblical teaching and mentorship, they are encouraged to pursue education, leadership, and life projects that can transform their communities.

This project aims to support the holistic well-being of 22 orphaned and vulnerable children residing at Matuta Ventures Children's Home. The initiative focuses on providing essential services in five critical areas: care, education, dormitory housing, clean water access, and a sustainable feeding program. The goal is to create a safe, nurturing environment that promotes physical health, emotional stability, and academic growth. By addressing these core needs, the project seeks to ensure that every child at Matuta Ventures has the opportunity to thrive, develop resilience, and build a foundation for a brighter, self-sufficient future. Through coordinated support, the initiative aspires to empower these children with dignity, hope, and the resources necessary to break the cycle of poverty and vulnerability.

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Boy's workshops

MACOL stands for Magasin Communaitaire de Lemuel (Lemuel Community Store). It is a local warehouse that stocks supplies in bulk and makes them available to the community at lower cost. The store provides sustainable jobs and will benefit families and small business owners for miles around by providing goods at a lower cost. A portion of the proceeds also supports community outreach.

Haiti Bible Mission (HBM) currently has four church plants in and around the city of Jeremie. Their heart is to plant churches where there is a need and develop pastors who are on fire for Christ and able to lead their flocks and foster healthy growth and outreach within each church. This is an effective way to reach many people in the community with the hope of Christ while using indigenous pastors from their own community.

Haiti Bible Mission’s (HBM) leadership development program starts with seeking out indigenous men and women who have leadership qualities and a heart to change their country, regardless of their background or education. Whether for ministry or their respective vocations, HBM comes alongside and helps develop them to become the best leaders they can be. Through this training, HBM empowers them to create lasting change in their community.

A community once overshadowed by Vodou and dominated by fear and hatred is now a community working together as a result of the gospel and pastoral training. Evangelism, discipleship and training are UCI's main focus and through their ministry over the years they have been able to lead 29 witch doctors to Christ, plant 17 churches, send out 3 national missionaries and train over 60 pastors.

Simple Acts of Kindness (SAK) supports single mother in engaging in income-generating activities, helping them make long-lasting changes in their family lives and raising awareness in the community about the need for social assistance for single moms.

Due to a number of interconnected issues, including a lack of knowledge and education, an inadequate social support system, and inequities, single mothers in Ethiopia are confronted with several socioeconomic difficulties. Women endure extraordinarily stressful lives.

In order to lessen the burden on women, SAK is trying to increase the income of single mothers who reside in Kore, a community that serves as a trash dump for Addis Ababa, by providing training and facilitating their participation in income-generating activities. Empowering the moms empowers the families.

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For many residents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, life has become harder. Conflict in northern Ethiopia has caused numerous people to be displaced, and the number of homeless people is growing. They are impoverished, homeless or experiencing financial hardship, mainly because food prices have increased by three or four times. Even though it is difficult every day for the homeless and children living on the streets to survive, holidays are the hardest. It is the holidays when they experience the deepest feelings of loneliness, abandonment, and lack of love because it feels like no one remembers the poor and instead gathers at their own houses to enjoy what they have with their friends and relatives.

Every year during Ethiopian holidays, Simple Acts of Kindness provides a delicious lunch for over 1,000 people and have fun by doing some games and activities with the street children. Just as with all their programs, SAK's network  of Ethiopian volunteers provide most of the support for the holiday lunches. Hungry For Life comes alongside by providing for any shortages.

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