christmas Survive to
thrive guide
This Christmas
Bring hope and Joy TO STRUGGLING FAMILIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
Gift giving is a meaningful part of Christmas, but unfortunately, severe poverty deprives many women and children of this simple joy. For them, the Christmas season is often filled with the daily struggle to survive. You can truly make your gift-giving this holy season a meaningful experience by demonstrating Christ’s compassion to an impoverished family who may never have received a Christmas gift. With 12 different gift categories to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect fit no matter how God is calling you to give. No matter which you choose, your gift will go directly to those most in need.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. JAMES 1:17
christmas Survive to
thrive guide
12 WAYS
to give
1. MOST URGENT NEEDS This gift will provide aid where it’s needed most. Will benefit our Thriving Kids Initiative in Africa, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
7. HEALTHCARE & MEDICINES Your gift helps kids in poverty by providing essential medical and nutrition resources. Will benefit medical projects in the Dominican Republic, Malawi and Nicaragua.
2. FOOD & NUTRITION Provide the gift of food and fight to stop global hunger. Will benefit projects in Haiti, Malawi and Ecuador.
8. ANIMAL & AGRICULTURAL FUND This gift will give families the tools to put food on their own tables. Will benefit projects in Nicaragua and Haiti.
3. CLEAN WATER This gift will provide clean, safe water to remote villages. Will benefit 14 communities in rural Zambia.
9. ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT FUND Help hardworking entrepreneurs start or sustain their small businesses. Will benefit projects in Malawi and Zambia.
4. CLEAN-BURNING STOVES Provide a family with a new smoke-free stove that eradicates respiratory illness. Will benefit a housing project in Guatemala.
10. WOMEN & CHILDREN IN CRISIS FUND Help vulnerable women and children reclaim their lives. Will benefit projects in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Haiti.
5. NEW HOMES Help construct a sturdy cement house for a family with vulnerable children. Will benefit a housing project in Malawi.
11. CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES FUND This gift will help kids with disabilities enjoy full lives. Will benefit projects in Haiti, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and Guyana.
6. EDUCATION Provide the gift of education to a child in a developing country. Will benefit education projects in Haiti, Ecuador and Uganda.
12. EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND Provide the gift of humanitarian aid and disaster response for emergencies. Will benefit projects in Haiti and Guatemala.
CrossInternational.org/GiftCatalog
INCREASE YOUR IMPACT BY GIVING MONTHLY!
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MOST URGENT NEEDS
THRIVING KIDS INITIATIVE
This gift will provide aid where it’s needed most. Will benefit: • Africa • The Caribbean • Central & South America The wisest man who ever lived said, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). That’s why, at Cross International, we believe that the best way to help children thrive is to take a similar three-cord approach: creating stable families, creating stable communities and growing a faith life. RECOMMENDED GIFT
A regular monthly gift of $35 is a powerful way to show the spirit of Christmas!
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By giving to our Thriving Kids Initiative, you’re not only meeting our Most Urgent Needs, you are also sharing the love and care rooted in the truth of Jesus Christ.
FOOD & NUTRITION
Provide the gift of food and fight to stop global hunger. Will benefit:
• • • • •
Divine Shelter Schools, Haiti MEBSH, Haiti Children’s Club of Solino, Haiti The Moses Project, Ecuador Ambuya Development Center, Malawi
No child should have to wonder where their next meal will come from. Yet every 15 seconds around the world, another child dies from hunger and related causes. By providing the gift of food you are saving the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in countries like Haiti, Malawi and Ecuador. Your gift will support the provision of meals and other services that are essential for survival. Conditions among these vulnerable children, families and communities are extreme, and a generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.
RECOMMENDED GIFT $25 could provide food to last a child for 30 days. $75 could provide food to last a child for 90 days.
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CLEAN WATER
This gift will provide clean, safe water to remote and rural villages. Will benefit: Kachere Water Is Life, Zambia
RECOMMENDED GIFT
Any amount helps. $582 would help launch the construction of a new community hand-pump well.
In the Chipata district of eastern Zambia, thousands of women and children travel great distances to collect their water from dirty riverbeds or unprotected hand-dug pits shared by cattle, dogs and wild animals. Our ministry partner, the Kachere Development Program, has an ambitious plan to install 14 community water systems, providing 2,355 families with clean water. Your generous gift will alleviate thirst, safeguard their health and provide them with easy access to safe, drinkable water for the first time in their lives.
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CLEAN BURNING STOVES
Provide a family with a new smoke-free stove that eradicates respiratory illness. Will benefit: Hope of Life Housing, Guatemala
One of the leading health threats in developing countries is smoke from cooking fires. Contact with smoke significantly increases cases of pneumonia. Sleeping near open fires is also dangerous, potentially leading to death from asphyxiation. These health conditions can be completely eliminated. With your support, and with the help of our ministry partner, Hope of Life, Guatemalan families will receive new clean-burning eco-stoves that reduce wood use by 60% and include a ventilation system that will eradicate chronic respiratory illness caused by long-term smoke inhalation.
RECOMMENDED GIFT
Any amount helps. $425 would install a new clean-burning stove in a Guatemalan home, drawing harmful smoke out of the kitchen.
RECOMMENDED GIFT
Any amount helps. $567 would help launch the construction of one of these new homes.
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NEW HOMES
Help construct a sturdy cement house for a family with vulnerable children. Will benefit: Ambuya Housing, Malawi
Nothing brings dignity to a poor family more than having a safe, sturdy home. Sadly, most poor families in rural Malawi must settle for much less. Mired in poverty, they are forced to live in unsafe shacks fashioned from mud and thatch. You can provide the life-changing gift of a safe new home. Our ministry partner in Malawi, Ambuya Development Center, has been working diligently to help families improve their lives. Each stormproof house includes a cement foundation, strong cinder block walls, and a metal roof that can withstand earthquakes.
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EDUCATION
Provide the gift of education to a child in a developing country. Will benefit: • Divine Shelter Schools, Haiti • New Academy of Excellence, Haiti • MEBSH, Haiti • New World Christian School, Ecuador • HEED Uganda
The gift of an education is an investment that reaps long-term dividends for a child’s future. By opening doors for the children of the poor to enroll in Christian schools and get the same educational opportunities as their more economically well-off peers, you are giving not just a hand-out but a “hand-up.” Your holiday gift will help a marginalized child in a developing country attend a Christian school where he or she will be nurtured mentally and spiritually. Please help support one of RECOMMENDED GIFT these critically-needed $35 would help pay for children’s education for one day. educational outreaches $175 would help pay for children’s education for one week. this Christmas.
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ANIMAL AND AGRICULTURAL FUND
This gift will give families the tools to put food on their own tables.
Will benefit: • Agros International, Nicaragua • Haiti Opportunities, Haiti RECOMMENDED GIFT
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HEALTHCARE & MEDICINES Your gift helps kids in poverty by providing essential medical and nutrition resources.
Will benefit: • Good Samaritan Hospital, Dominican Republic • CURE Hospital, Malawi • Amigos for Christ Healthcare, Nicaragua
We are committed to providing healthcare where it is needed the most. By working with hospitals, clinics and medical outreaches in developing countries, we can provide concerted care for those who might otherwise suffer. Recently, this commitment has taken on a whole new meaning as COVID-19 has dealt a blow to global health and forced the medical community to double up and adapt its processes to ensure that those less fortunate are adequately served. Gifts from friends RECOMMENDED GIFT like you enable us to continue providing $50 of support could the medicines and support provide lifesaving that are needed. medicines or healthcare services for a vulnerable child.
$40 of support could be a new beginning for a small farmer or livestock owner.
One out of every eight people in the developing world don’t have enough food to eat. The sad fact is, most rural farmers in developing countries don’t have the necessary tools and implements to grow enough food to feed their families, much less have a surplus on hand to sell for profit. Without the agricultural support to successfully grow crops and breed animals, poor farmers stay locked in the cycle of poverty. By supporting this fund, you can help families break free of this cycle — transforming lives for generations. When farming families get the tools they need, it means more food, more profits and more hope.
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ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT FUND
Help hardworking entrepreneurs start or sustain their small businesses. Will benefit: • Ambuya Microenterprise, Malawi • Kachere Microenterprise, Zambia
RECOMMENDED GIFT
A generous gift of $120 from a friend like you can change the life of a business owner in a developing country.
One in 10 people worldwide survive on less than $1.90 a day. And many families in impoverished communities have never been able to save money, get loans to start a small business, or even learn better farming practices.
Your gift to this fund can go a long way towards helping impoverished, but highly motivated, entrepreneurs break the cycle of poverty. When hardworking people get access to opportunities, we have found time and again that they’re empowered to change their own futures — and pass those skills along to the next generation. 10
WOMEN & CHILDREN IN CRISIS FUND Help vulnerable women and children reclaim their lives.
• Arms of Love, Nicaragua Will benefit: • Hope of Life Child Rescue, Guatemala • Togetherness in Christ, Haiti • Casa de Vida, Guatemala • Casa Bernabe, Guatemala
Your holiday gift will help protect a victim of gender-based violence, provide education, or meet other needs to ease the daily struggle for survival. Your gift will also lift marginalized women and children out of poverty, equipping them to support themselves and their families. Inspired by Jesus’ love, we work shoulder to shoulder with our overseas partners, empowering them to create change that lasts so that the women and children they serve will be able to stand confidently on their own.
RECOMMENDED GIFT
$47 could be a new beginning for a vulnerable woman or child. $92 could help a struggling mother and her children start a new life.
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CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES FUND This gift will help kids with disabilities enjoy full lives. Will benefit: • New Academy of Excellence, Haiti • Kupenda for the Children, Kenya • Hope Walks, Zambia • CURE Hospital, Malawi • Ruimveldt Children’s Home and Care Center, Guyana
The UN estimates that between 93 and 150 million children worldwide live with a disability or deformity. But in developing countries, these children are often unable to attend school, play outside or get access to specialized resources. Negative stigma or superstition abound. In the case of deformities, most are treatable, but too many families in low-income countries can’t access the treatment the child needs. Your holiday gift to the Children with Disabilities Fund will ensure that these kids have a chance to reach for their Godgiven potential — equipping them to attend school, play with others and participate in community activities. Be an advocate for these children and ensure that these kids receive the treatment they deserve, so they can enjoy life to the fullest. RECOMMENDED GIFT
$97 of support could help pay for a procedure or make it possible for a child to receive the necessary therapy.
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EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND
Provide the gift of humanitarian aid and disaster response for emergencies. Will benefit: • Haiti Earthquake Relief, Haiti • COVID Response, Guatemala
When hurricanes, floods, accidents, pandemics or other catastrophic emergencies occur, we are called to address the urgent needs of those who are most vulnerable. RECOMMENDED GIFT
$36 would pay for three emergency wound care kits, which will give aid to disaster victims.
By supporting this Emergency Relief Fund, you can help empower Cross International to mobilize our network of partners on the ground — including the recent earthquake in Haiti and the ongoing COVID response being mounted by our ministry partners throughout the world. Be a part of the humanitarian response effort. Your gift will reduce the suffering and help families rebuild the life they once knew.
A Christmas Gift TO HELP PEOPLE THRIVE
CrossInternational.org/GiftCatalog
MONTHLY GIVING is a small way to have a
BIG IMPACT!
Your regular monthly support empowers our ministry to respond to urgent needs and fulfill our long-term projects across the world. Become a monthly supporter today and experience the joy of impacting lives every month.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7
CrossInternational.org 1280 SW 36th Avenue, Suite 303 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 800-391-8545