GLOBAL PROGRAM UPDATE: REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT RESPONSE
NAZARENE COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES
Your Impact Through Refugee and Immigrant Response Currently, 79.5 million people have been forcibly moved from their homes, a number higher than any time in recorded history. Those who have fled are in nearly every world area; violence, climate crises, extreme poverty, and persecution are all driving people to seek safety. Those who flee often end up living in poverty without sufficient food, clothing, or shelter. They find themselves unable to use their training and skills, and children often miss years of schooling. In fact, half of those living as refugees are children, which makes them particularly vulnerable to human trafficking and other forms of violence. The number of refugees has doubled in the last decade. Globally, local Nazarene churches are responding to the current needs as well as developing new strategies to reduce displacement and meet the increasing needs of those forced to migrate. Together, you are joining them in responding to Christ’s call to welcome God’s children.
In Brazil, a Spanish-speaking Nazarene church provides food, shelter, and community to refugees.
Stories from Brazil
Across the Americas, churches are providing assistance, job training, medical care, and more to those who are hoping to immigrate.
In a Bangladesh refugee camp, Nazarene safe spaces for children provide education and counseling to Rohingya children.
William, 52, was sleeping on the streets near a bus station when he heard someone preaching in Spanish. He and his family had come to Boa Vista, Brazil, from Venezuela and were seeking better medical care for his pregnant daughter. She needed antibiotics, and there weren’t any available in Venezuela, where years of inflation and crises were causing extreme food insecurity. The family was struggling, though. They knew their money wouldn’t last, and they were just a few individuals in the streams of refugees coming into Brazil. They found themselves living on the streets in the border city, unable to speak the language of the new country to find work. They are also people of strong faith; when they heard the pastor preaching in their language, they approached him. Through him, they were connected to the Hispanic Nazarene Church, where those living as refugees could stay in a shelter, eat hot meals, take Portuguese classes, and more.
In Croatia, churches are helping those seeking asylum after fleeing extreme violence.
In Lebanon, Nazarene schools help children living as refugees make up for years of lost education.
“By the mercy of our Lord, the Hispanic Nazarene Church opened their doors,” William says. Learn more at ncm.org/refugee-immigrant-support