Children like these small girls often have their lives saved as they lie lifeless in their mother’s arms. The quick action of our partner using just £5 donated by one of our friends placed in the emergency fund for the Dorcas HIV Centre in Ethiopia means immediate help can be found.

Families like these first attend the Dorcas drop-in when they are at their most vulnerable. Children may be extremely malnourished or in need of medical attention. Housing may be overcrowded and food may be scarce. The dedicated partners at Dorcas manage the funds we place with them very carefully, assessing each case to determine how the family or individual can best be helped. Hundreds of families have been transformed by their care.

For families in poverty, children who grow up to be strong and healthy are appreciated for the work they can do to support the family. This often means children who had the opportunity to attend school leave before getting the chance to complete their education. Further education opens doors to life-long opportunities and community change. For £15 per month PovertySwap can help a hard-working student complete what was started, opening doors to high schools, university or vocational training.

One of our most powerful and effective partnerships for transforming lives is in co-operation with Dorcas, Ethiopia and the local authority to provide seed funding, training and support for women with HIV/Aids to start a small business. Women are encouraged to think how they can support their own family into the future. Several hundred families have found new lives through this unprecedented opportunity. Just £35 creates a different future for a woman and her family. £500 empowers a group of working women to transform their community.

The Fikir Nursery and School, Ethiopia was established in 2013, welcoming 25 children from the poorest village families into an attractive but very basic learning facility.  The newly built school now offers 150 children a year excellence in education from 3 years old.  Children who previously would have had no opportunity to ever attend school.  Children do well, achieving good grades and fostering dreams of futures that will end the grip of poverty on their families and community.

Children and their families in Roma communities in Romania often live in harsh, unforgiving conditions. We support a family worker with outreach programmes amongst those communities in churches, schools, villages and camps. £10-£20 monthly enables that work and makes a deep impression on children’s hearts. We recently heard of a young man who had the chance to get into crime. He told us that because of attending groups like this he was able to make a better decision for his life.

In the high and winding pathways of the Himalaya Mountains live some of the poorest people in the world. At risk of trafficking, lacking education, living under superstition and fear the simple hardworking life of some can also be in the shadow of impending natural disasters, like earthquakes and floods that come without warning and leave devastation. We have a number of partners in Nepal who can advise us of immediate need and visionary project ideas. Donations from £1 to £1000 have rebuilt homes, united families, empowered little girls to attend school and helped widows to feed their children.