You Send Joy and Jesus to Children Through Camp

Chris Burgin | Founder and CEO

Orphans and disadvantaged children are connected with caring volunteers when they attend camp.

Everyone has something that pulls their heartstrings when it comes to the children we serve. What is it for you? Maybe it’s giving orphans educational support or connecting children with mentors each month. Is it providing needed aid like hygiene items and school supplies?

For many, we often hear the answers of sending orphans to summer camp or making sure orphans hear the gospel. Guess what? When you send orphans and disadvantaged children to camp, you’re doing both of those! Last year, you sent 1,682 children to camp with 561 gospel presentations at camps around the world.

Allies supporter Coke Cockrell is one of those people in our Allies community that has a soft spot for giving children the gift of camp. He remembers going to camp as a young boy in Rio Vista, Texas. “It was a time to get away, make good memories, share life stories, and just have fun,” he said. “For (Allies) camps, it’s planting a seed and an introduction to knowing and loving Jesus, and having fun. I give my gift hoping to bring some fun in their lives and give someone a chance to do something they wouldn’t have a chance to do otherwise. That means everything to me.”

Experiencing time outdoors, like swimming in Zambia, combined with hearing the gospel makes summer camp more than just fun.

As we head into spring, it’s the time we rally together to bless orphans through this avenue in the upcoming year. Thank you again for breaking records last year and doubling the number of children that could attend camp.

I can’t wait to see what you make possible in 2024 and the stories that will come out of the blessing of summer camp in children’s lives!

Supplying Needed Aid

These girls in the Philippines display the hygiene items they received thanks to you!

Teaching children personal hygiene is another big part of mentoring program visits.

Valuable Lessons

This team in Tanzania planted 20 fruit trees with the children. They talked about the importance of preserving the environment while connecting them with nature during a visit last month.

Scenes from the Allies Mentoring Program

Take a look at how YOU are changing lives through caring mentors!

Angel Tree

You sent 192 orphans Angel Tree gifts for Christmas which were delivered during mentoring program visits

Health & Nutrition in Gambia

You’re providing orphans and vulnerable children with important lessons about how to take care of their bodies through diet and exercise. Allies mentors also talk to children about substance abuse prevention.

Spiritual Support

Another area of focus for Allies is spiritual support. You send kind volunteers to tell orphans and disadvantaged children that God loves them and that He is only a prayer away. Allies teams also use Bible lessons during visits and distribute Bibles and other gospel materials.

Teaching Life Skills

These Ukrainian children learned how tocook pizza during this visit. Orphans oftenleave an orphanage without basic life skillslike cooking. Your support sends Alliesvolunteers to prepare orphans for success in life.

Emotional Healing

In Bolivia, volunteers talked to 80 children about healing from past trauma and abuse. They used worksheets with simple graphics for the children to process things they had been through and heal from the pain. The Allies area leader said,

“Our aim is to create a safe and nurturing environment where these young minds can explore their feelings, understand the impact of emotional wounds, and discover strategies for healing and personal growth.”

You recently sent 500 pairs of boots for the Q’eros children. You can see the effect of the harsh weather on these tiny feet, as well as the joy on their faces from the new boots.

Building Centers for Brighter Futures

Heather Dunnaville | Communications

The core mission of Allies is helping orphans. They are most vulnerable to becoming victims of substance abuse, suicide, and human trafficking. But through our connections around the world serving orphans, we also find other children in desperate need. Thanks to partners like you, Allies spread to South America two years ago. Peru was the first country with the Allies Mentoring Program on that continent. The teams there have been faithfully working with orphans but were also led to help children in a remote area of the Andes Mountains.

The Q’eros people are considered the last descendents of the Incas, hidden from the world until the 1960s. The child mortality rate is 35% because of the harsh conditions, poor sanitation, and malnourishment. An Allies team began visiting the Q’eros this past fall, which was no easy journey. Volunteers drove eight hours followed by hours of walking to reach these people. When they first arrived, they found the children needed urgent medical care and had very little education. The Allies team delivered aid and taught lessons. But Allies volunteers discovered another way to transform their lives. The Q’eros speak an ancient language. If they learned Spanish, they could communicate with their neighbors. It would also open doors to educational and career opportunities. The mission is to build community centers for the Q’eros to make this a reality. These centers will include libraries and be a place where Allies volunteers can provide the Q’eros with educational support.

The Q’eros people speak an ancient language and live in a remote area of the Andes Mountains. Allies is working with Peruvian locals to build community centers for the Q’eros to learn Spanish and to create opportunities for the children’s futures.

Allies volunteers recently took a group of Q’eros youth on a field trip to the city of Cusco. They visited various sites in the city including a library. Heber, 12, dreams of studying, but was insecure due to his family background. His father is a farmer in the mountains, and his sister started a family at only 15 years old which is common. The field trip inspired Heber with a goal to study civil engineering. Our area leader in Peru wrote, “This is where a community library in the Q’eros nation comes into play, eagerly anticipated by children like Heber. Thanks to our efforts and your support, Heber no longer sees going to university as a distant dream, but it is now a tangible possibility!”

Thank you for allowing Allies to expand to Peru and for continuing to spread hope to not just orphans, but also the Q’eros children. We are excited to see the life change that will make a lasting impact for these people for generations to come — which is only possible because of you.