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FROM FAITH TO ACTION

Background

In July 2006, Firelight published its first major advocacy document aimed at promoting family- and community-based responses among the growing numbers of US faith-based organizations interested in addressing the crisis of vulnerable children in Africa.

From Faith to Action: Strengthening Family and Community Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children informs readers about the limitations of institutional care, offering examples of the strategies used by community- and faith-based organizations to ensure that children remain in family care.

The report was written and published by Firelight Foundation, with financial support from UNICEF, American Jewish World Service, the Bernard van Leer Foundation, and Save Africa's Children/Pan African Children's Fund.

In the year following the launch of the full-color, 32-page publication, more than 15,000 copies were distributed through the 23 organizations that signed on as endorsers. From Faith to Action was also shared at a number of influential faith-based gatherings.

Due to its successful distribution and continuing demand, From Faith to Action was updated and reprinted in Fall 2008, with additional endorsers including: Better Care Network, Global Action for Children, Africa Faith and Justice Network, and the Presbyterian Church of the USA.

Why From Faith to Action?

From Faith to Action was born in response to an urgent need.

As extended family members struggle to provide for the increasing numbers of children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS, the traditional family safety net is weakening as the death toll continues to rise and resources are stretched to the limit.

In the midst of this mounting crisis, faith-based and community groups have been a source of hope by responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. But one of the biggest challenges faced by these groups is that that their work is under-reognized and under-funded.

From Faith to Action in Brief

From Faith to Action describes the strategies used by community- and faith-based groups in Sub-Saharan Africa to support the families and communities providing care for the 13 million children affected by HIV/AIDS. The report brings to life the important work done by these organizations and offers a guide to US-based groups and individuals seeking to contribute resources to supporting vulnerable children.

The key message of From Faith to Action is that investing in community-based approaches allows children to be provided and cared for within families--where they grow best--and reduces the number of children who are left without care or are placed in institutions. While recognizing that institutional care is sometimes needed as a temporary response for children who have no other means of support, the report illustrates the ways in which a growing number of institutions are adapting their programs to become more family- and community-based.

Viewing, Downloading and Printing

Online version of the second edition
High-resolution PDF version of the second edition
High-resolution PDF version of the Twelve Strategies for Supporting Orphans & Vulnerable Children

Second edition published Fall 2008
Authors: Kerry Olson, Zanele Sibanda Knight, Geoff Foster
Editor: Laura Sutherland
Contributors: Jennifer Astone, Jennifer Anderson-Bähr, Caitlin Brune, Suzana Grego, Ruth Messigner, Jan Williamson
Graphic design: Marianne Wyllie
Photography: Karen Ande, Jennifer Anderson-Bähr, Jennifer Astone, Jim Hayes, Jennifer Lentfer, Joop Rubens

To receive a hardcopy, please contact Firelight Foundation:

740 Front Street, Suite 380
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
United States of America

Phone: +1-831-429-8750
info@firelightfoundation.org

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