Cultivating hope

YWAM’s impact on children and communities

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has long been committed to uplifting communities, and their work with the children at Hand in Hand through the farming sustainability project is a testament to their values and DNA. Since 1978, YWAM has served the most vulnerable, reaching the least, the last and the lost.

Through the gardening project, students and the wider community are empowered with practical tools to make a tangible impact. Parents receive training in skills like woodwork and needlework, enabling them to establish small enterprises and microbusinesses. In doing so, they become courageous founders of their own ventures, navigating uncertainty while generating income to support their households and children. This approach creates lasting change, breaking cycles of generational habits, assumptions and challenges, as well as offering parents and children a path towards self-improvement and agency over their destinies.

These efforts demonstrate how YWAM’s projects provide practical tools to enrich both the school and society at large.

The produce grown at the YWAM base makes a significant difference in the children’s lives. It brings farm-to-table meals to the students, ensuring a healthy meal each day while sowing seeds of hope. One notable initiative is a garden that doubles as a soup kitchen, helping the school achieve self-sufficiency while serving the broader community. These efforts demonstrate how YWAM’s projects provide practical tools to enrich both the school and society at large.

YWAM’s journey began with the garden, and over time, they have actively engaged in transforming the lives of countless children through personal care, mentorship and the message of Jesus. Volunteers from across the globe, representing diverse cultures, languages and backgrounds, come together, bringing unique contributions that broaden the children’s perspectives and reveal the movement’s greater vision.

These volunteers approach their work with a deep understanding. The children are young, inquisitive, gifted and full of potential. They are more than mere statistics. They are minds eager to learn. By addressing physical needs, like hunger, and nurturing intellectual and spiritual growth, YWAM provides the children with a holistic foundation for a bright and empowered future.

Bianca McCallum