We are Samaritan’s Purse…
Most people know about us because of Operation Christmas Child – a project that has reached over 77 million children in 130 countries with Christmas gift since 1990. What many do not realise is how these gifts enable our local partners (who deliver the shoe boxes) to connect with families and communities, build relationships, discover and meet other needs in these communities.
The story of the Good Samaritan ([youversion]Luke 10:30-37[/youversion]) gives a clear picture of God’s desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, “Go and do likewise.”
For over 35 years, Samaritan’s Purse as an international relief agency, has done it’s utmost to follow Christ’s command by going to the aid of the world’s poor, sick, and suffering. We reach out to hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. Our work in Australia and New Zealand has been running since 1995.
We form part of the larger international network, but focus on our immediate Southeast Asian and Pacific neighbours, including Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands as well as to Indigenous Australians in the Kimberleys and Northern Territory.
As a Christian not-for-profit organisation, Samaritan’s Purse provides the opportunity to practically demonstrate God’s love through showing mercy and bringing hope to those in greatest need. We have three main areas of focus:
- Giving children, their families and communities a message of hope, love and joy during the Christmas season through Operation Christmas Child.
- Bringing disaster relief to victims of natural disaster, war, disease and famine. We offer food, water, medical assistance, hygiene items and temporary shelter to give people the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
- Empowering community development through building schools, providing wells, installing water filters, initiating programs that promote nutrition, health and education, improving sanitation to prevent disease and offering vocational training and income generating programs to help people break the cycle of poverty, giving them hope for a better tomorrow.
As our teams work to assist some of the most needy children and families in communities across the world, people often ask, “Why did you come?” The answer is always the same: “We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus said, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” ([youversion]Luke 6:31[/youversion]) and so we do, regardless of their background. “We love because He first loved us” ([youversion]1 John 4:19[/youversion]).