Being born with a cleft lip in South Sudan usually means a lifetime of shame. Many people in the country believe that the facial deformity is the result of a curse and treat those with a cleft lip as outcasts. Samaritans Purse began a cleft lip and palate surgical project in 2011 to send volunteer…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Warrior Mothers Grateful for Help in Colombia
In Colombia, Samaritan’s Purse is helping hundreds of mothers each month as we run a medical clinic, a food distribution program, and shelters for those on the move. Most of the women we help are Venezuelan migrants. Though their circumstances may be trying and painful, these women are undaunted, attempting to provide for their children…
Operation Christmas Child
A Young Girl in Ecuador Shares Her Amazing Testimony
Iglesia Nueva Generación in Cutuglagua, Ecuador, was predominantly a congregation of adults until they got involved with Operation Christmas Child. But when they coordinated an outreach event for children in June 2021, they were glad to see youngsters coming to the church, said volunteer Maria Yucailla. The event was successful and followed local health guidelines…
Health & Medical Ministries
Cleft Lip Project Celebrates 10 Years in South Sudan
People in the village told the young mother to toss her newborn daughter into the nearby river. They said both the child and family were cursed and would always be despised. But Dakeech believed her daughter, Nyani, to be a precious gift from God. She refused to end Nyani’s life because she was born with…
Women's Programs
Samaritan’s Purse Clinic Provides Expectant Mothers Needed Medical Care in Colombia
Many of the mothers-to-be who visit the Samaritan’s Purse maternal health clinic in Puerto Santander, Colombia, suffer signs of malnutrition as they and their families struggle to make ends meet. A majority of the women are Venezuelans who’ve fled their homeland in recent years and are trying to start a new life in the nation…
Animals, Agriculture & Livelihoods
Restoring Families and Futures with New Livelihoods
A Father’s Struggle Considered the poorest family in their village, Chheng and his loved ones were often looked down upon by the community. For Chheng, a husband and father to nine children, the need to provide a stable income was dire, but finding a good job in rural Cambodia seemed impossible. “My family was so…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Working in Oklahoma After Storms; Finishing Well in Texas
Heavy hail and violent winds wreaked havoc on the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area, leaving hundreds of neighborhoods without power and thousands of homeowners with looming questions on what is next. In the wake of this disaster, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers and support staff are on the ground providing relief to those most in need through home repairs…
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
A Water Engineer’s Life
Amanda Patterson is a communications intern for Samaritan’s Purse in Niger. One of the most remarkable things about interning abroad in a place where life is not always easy is being able to watch and learn from the staff. Some of these people have lived in their respective countries for a number of years, committing…
Feeding Programs
Fleeing from Boko Haram
Editor’s Note: Names have been changed throughout this article to protect identities. In the Diffa region of southeastern Niger, there is little sound. Apart from the side-to-side rocking of the moving Land Cruiser and subtle shifting of sand in the wind, the sun beats down on a sparse landscape largely devoid of movement. Motorcycles are…
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
A Village Without a Well
It’s nearing 120 degrees outside, and already the women have walked three miles in the desert heat. They’re only halfway to the well in the neighboring village, and there’s no shade to hide from the sun’s harsh rays. At the well they’ll wait in line, draw water, and pour it into their jerry cans. Then…
