Empowering Orphans To End The Cycle Of Poverty

CMO offers funding to encourage North Texas churches to develop partnerships with Zoe

The Center for Missional Outreach is pleased to announce a three-year partnership (beginning in 2019) with Zoe Empowers to empower nearly 800 orphans and vulnerable children each year to become fully self-sufficient and never need charity again. The CMO will support the formation of eight new Zoe empowerment groups each year by contributing $1,000 each toward the efforts of churches in the North Texas Conference that form new Zoe partnerships.

Zoe Empowers is a trusted ministry with a unique and powerful model. It is a General Board of Global Ministries Advance special serving orphans in six African countries and India. Zoe has helped more than 100,000 vulnerable children overcome extreme poverty and social threats such as trafficking to achieve complete self-sufficiency. The program’s holistic methodology focuses on empowering orphans, most of whom are responsible for younger siblings, to learn how to grow their own food, start businesses and leverage their growing economic security to improve other vital aspects of their lives.

Zoe Empowers is scalable, makes highly efficient use of donor dollars and focuses on independence rather than ongoing dependence on charity as the primary outcome for these orphans and vulnerable children.

Zoe Empowers has lessons to teach all of us about how to do ministry “with.” Inspired by examples of localized success in indigenous African communities, the distinctive model focuses on helping orphans in developing countries learn how to transition from perilous circumstances to complete independence in three years. The program requires only $7-8 per youth per month to help 100,000 orphans achieve independence without ongoing charitable dollars. That’s five to 10 times more efficient than traditional charities providing short-term aid and not focusing on lifelong empowerment. Empowerment is not only sustainable; it is also cost-effective.

“There are more than 150 million orphans globally, and many of them face the harshest conditions imaginable, including slavery, trafficking, starvation, homelessness and a lack of access to medical care and education,” said Gaston Warner, chief executive officer of Zoe Empowers. “Our goal is to end the debilitating economic and social spirals orphans face in so many parts of the world. Zoe empowers these children to become socially and economically strong, transforming entire communities in the process. Zoe’s model produces measurable results across every area of life, enabling these young people to permanently break the cycle of poverty and dependence forever.”

To learn more or partner, email Gaston Warner

Published: Tuesday, September 17, 2019