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Click here to read the full report, “Compendium of Case Studies on Faith-Based and Community Engagement to Achieve U.S Development Goals”
Reaching 400,000 people with food transfers in Ethiopia. Preventing the spread of Ebola by providing safe and dignified burials for more than 2,000 people in Sierra Leone. Medical, legal and socio-economic support aids thousands of victims of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Four out of five people around the world believe in something beyond themselves. To understand and effectively engage any society, one must understand the religious beliefs that lie beneath it. In the foreign aid sector, FBOs and faith communities are trusted by those they serve, enabling them to harness and expand networks and resources in ways different from governments and secular organizations.
FBOs comprise a small but outsized segment of USAID’s impact around the world. Their role is vital in providing lifesaving healthcare, disaster relief services, building community resilience, and effecting positive behavior change. Their impact illustrates the significant value in scaling up USAID’s work by increasing partnerships with those on the frontlines of a better world.
U.S. FBOs are also significant funders, contributing billions of dollars annually to foreign assistance. FBO revenue dedicated to foreign assistance totaled $5.75 billion[i] (FY15), and does not include local church and community giving, matching funds, or the immense mobilization of volunteers.
To open more opportunities for engagement, the U.S. Strategy on Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement was created in 2013 to ensure FBOs are able to fairly compete for federal funding based on program eligibility and not hindered by religious affiliation. By creating a more “level playing field” of opportunity, treatment and expectations, U.S. government agencies like USAID also benefit from effective partnerships and impactful projects.
As effective USAID partners, FBOs have a story to tell:
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA): The ASOTRY Project in Madagascar helped increase food access in a country where 83% of households are food insecure. This 3-prong 5-year program resulted in 1) more than 80,0000 people trained in child health and nutrition; 18,000 children under age 2 enrolled in growth monitoring; and Care Group visits to nearly 26,000 homes with pregnant and lactating women or children under 5; 2) over 15,000 farmers learned improved practices; 3) 55 communities got improved roads, irrigation, tree nurseries and training in climate risk reduction.
Aga Khan Foundation: The Yetu Initiative in Kenya taught several hundred local organizations how to mobilize community assets to increase their organizational growth and sustainability. The project raised nearly $400,000 dollars from local individuals, businesses, foundations and governments to meet local development needs.
Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH): Uganda has one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally. Working with the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau, CCIH helped train local leaders, including nearly 80 diverse religious leaders, to effectively address issues of family planning, contraception, and healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies to protect the health of women and children.
Central African Republic (CAR) Interfaith Peacebuilding Partnership (CIPP): Against the backdrop of ethnic conflict, CIPP is a unique inter-religious consortium of 5 leading FBOs representing Catholic, Muslim and Protestant organizations. Led by Catholic Relief Services, it includes Aegis Trust, Islamic Relief Worldwide, La Plateforme des Confessions Religieuses de Centrafrique and World Vision. To help the country recover from crises and conflict, they’ve committed 5 years of technical and financial support to engage thousands of community members in a wide range of social cohesion initiatives. Actions include modeling partnerships, micro-enterprises, savings groups, youth employment, trauma healing groups, gender-based violence workshops, and peace education.
Food for the Hungry: FH Ethiopia’s Development Food Aid Program focused on chronically food insecure households, reaching more than 430,000 people with nutritious food, and many beneficiaries with maternal/child health and nutrition training, water, sanitation through public toilet construction, tree planting and resource management, and training in agricultural and food security.
IMA World Health: The USHINDI Project supported victims of sexual and gender-based violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Psychosocial and medical services were provided with 90% of medical services sought for rape. 61% of rape survivors received medical attention within the crucial 72 hours. Legal services brought nearly 3200 cases to court with 500 judgments resulting in an increase in demand for legal services, likely due to demonstrated success. In addition, public awareness outreach and messaging reached 2.2 million community members and school age children in 10 zones. Village Savings and Loans were set up to help survivors reintegrate into communities.
Lutheran World Relief: The Gender in Agriculture from Policy to Practice (GAPP) targeted women’s food insecurity due to less access to agriculture-related technology, production and funding. Focusing on training women in Honduras to be leaders in agriculture, LWR broke through cultural and institutional barriers, not just by training women to advocate for themselves, but also by training advocates in positions of authority. Local governments and rural credit institutions changed public lending policies and practices and increased funding and loans to 170 women-led agricultural enterprises as a result. GAPP was so successful that LWR offers a toolkit for replication.
Nation Peace Council of Sri Lanka: The Reconciling Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Religious Differences Project is working to heal the remnants of a 26-year war that has left Sri Lanka a deeply divided nation along ethnic and religious lines. It established District Inter-religious Committees (DIRCs), comprised of faith leaders, media, youth and women’s groups, and government officials, to mitigate disputes and build networks across 9 districts. Of 105 issues brought before DIRCs, 52 were taken up and 79% of those were resolved. In a sign of support, the Sri Lankan government has validated formation of government inter-religious reconciliation committees in all districts across the nation.
Programa Inter-Religioso Contra a Malaria (PIRCOM): Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Baha’i faith leaders capitalized on the prestige of community faith leaders in Mozambique to change attitudes and behaviors about malaria treatment and prevention. Phase 1 trained 27,000 local religious leaders who reached an estimated 2 million community members with malaria messaging, expanded to more than 3.3 million people through community radio.
Samaritan’s Purse: Emergency Response and Economic Recovery for Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) improved diets and food security for nearly 290,000 people through agriculture education and production, resilience training and diversifying foods. Trusted local FBOs and churches offered information and safe space for trainings, meetings, distributions and voucher fairs.
World Hope International: Preventing Ebola Through Faith and Cultural Leadership helped Sierra Leone bury its dead with dignity, in accordance with strong cultural and religious traditions, but safely so contact with the deceased, considered a sign of respect, did not further spread Ebola to families and communities. Trained ceremonial burial teams called Cultural Burial Liaisons (CBLs), assisted traditional leaders in safe burial practices for nearly 2200 people killed by Ebola. Over 400,000 people engaged in Ebola prevention activities. The role of religious communities in supporting life-saving behaviors during an emergency was critical to saving lives and an important takeaway for future crises.
World Vision International: The Integrated Birth Spacing Project in Senegal engaged local faith leaders and community advocates to talk openly about what was once sensitive. Informing family members that family planning and healthy spacing and timing of births can lower mortality and increase health for mothers and children was highly valued universal messaging. Community health workers, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, were trained in counseling and family planning services. Over 100,000 people were reached during this project and World Vision has since expanded it to almost 40 countries.
World Relief: Tangiraneza/Start Well Innovation in Child Survival engaged local leaders in Rwanda to expand the Ministry of Health’s ability to implement high impact maternal, newborn and child health interventions at the community level. Community health workers, village leaders, female and faith leaders were grouped into 536 Integrated Care Croups (ICG). ICG members were trained to make home visits to educate families on nutrition, kitchen gardens, newborn care, and key disease prevention actions like handwashing and building latrines. Overall, minimal diet needs and diet diversity greatly improved. More than 330,000 community members were reached including more than 41,000 children.
Reaching 400,000 people with food transfers in Ethiopia. Preventing the spread of Ebola by providing safe and dignified burials for more than 2,000 people in Sierra Leone. Medical, legal and socio-economic support aids thousands of victims of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Four out of five people around the world believe in something beyond themselves. To understand and effectively engage any society, one must understand the religious beliefs that lie beneath it. In the foreign aid sector, FBOs and faith communities are trusted by those they serve, enabling them to harness and expand networks and resources in ways different from governments and secular organizations.
FBOs comprise a small but outsized segment of USAID’s impact around the world. Their role is vital in providing lifesaving healthcare, disaster relief services, building community resilience, and effecting positive behavior change. Their impact illustrates the significant value in scaling up USAID’s work by increasing partnerships with those on the frontlines of a better world.
U.S. FBOs are also significant funders, contributing billions of dollars annually to foreign assistance. FBO revenue dedicated to foreign assistance totaled $5.75 billion[i] (FY15), and does not include local church and community giving, matching funds, or the immense mobilization of volunteers.
To open more opportunities for engagement, the U.S. Strategy on Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement was created in 2013 to ensure FBOs are able to fairly compete for federal funding based on program eligibility and not hindered by religious affiliation. By creating a more “level playing field” of opportunity, treatment and expectations, U.S. government agencies like USAID also benefit from effective partnerships and impactful projects.
As effective USAID partners, FBOs have a story to tell:
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA): The ASOTRY Project in Madagascar helped increase food access in a country where 83% of households are food insecure. This 3-prong 5-year program resulted in 1) more than 80,0000 people trained in child health and nutrition; 18,000 children under age 2 enrolled in growth monitoring; and Care Group visits to nearly 26,000 homes with pregnant and lactating women or children under 5; 2) over 15,000 farmers learned improved practices; 3) 55 communities got improved roads, irrigation, tree nurseries and training in climate risk reduction.
Aga Khan Foundation: The Yetu Initiative in Kenya taught several hundred local organizations how to mobilize community assets to increase their organizational growth and sustainability. The project raised nearly $400,000 dollars from local individuals, businesses, foundations and governments to meet local development needs.
Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH): Uganda has one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally. Working with the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau, CCIH helped train local leaders, including nearly 80 diverse religious leaders, to effectively address issues of family planning, contraception, and healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies to protect the health of women and children.
Central African Republic (CAR) Interfaith Peacebuilding Partnership (CIPP): Against the backdrop of ethnic conflict, CIPP is a unique inter-religious consortium of 5 leading FBOs representing Catholic, Muslim and Protestant organizations. Led by Catholic Relief Services, it includes Aegis Trust, Islamic Relief Worldwide, La Plateforme des Confessions Religieuses de Centrafrique and World Vision. To help the country recover from crises and conflict, they’ve committed 5 years of technical and financial support to engage thousands of community members in a wide range of social cohesion initiatives. Actions include modeling partnerships, micro-enterprises, savings groups, youth employment, trauma healing groups, gender-based violence workshops, and peace education.
Food for the Hungry: FH Ethiopia’s Development Food Aid Program focused on chronically food insecure households, reaching more than 430,000 people with nutritious food, and many beneficiaries with maternal/child health and nutrition training, water, sanitation through public toilet construction, tree planting and resource management, and training in agricultural and food security.
IMA World Health: The USHINDI Project supported victims of sexual and gender-based violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Psychosocial and medical services were provided with 90% of medical services sought for rape. 61% of rape survivors received medical attention within the crucial 72 hours. Legal services brought nearly 3200 cases to court with 500 judgments resulting in an increase in demand for legal services, likely due to demonstrated success. In addition, public awareness outreach and messaging reached 2.2 million community members and school age children in 10 zones. Village Savings and Loans were set up to help survivors reintegrate into communities.
Lutheran World Relief: The Gender in Agriculture from Policy to Practice (GAPP) targeted women’s food insecurity due to less access to agriculture-related technology, production and funding. Focusing on training women in Honduras to be leaders in agriculture, LWR broke through cultural and institutional barriers, not just by training women to advocate for themselves, but also by training advocates in positions of authority. Local governments and rural credit institutions changed public lending policies and practices and increased funding and loans to 170 women-led agricultural enterprises as a result. GAPP was so successful that LWR offers a toolkit for replication.
Nation Peace Council of Sri Lanka: The Reconciling Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Religious Differences Project is working to heal the remnants of a 26-year war that has left Sri Lanka a deeply divided nation along ethnic and religious lines. It established District Inter-religious Committees (DIRCs), comprised of faith leaders, media, youth and women’s groups, and government officials, to mitigate disputes and build networks across 9 districts. Of 105 issues brought before DIRCs, 52 were taken up and 79% of those were resolved. In a sign of support, the Sri Lankan government has validated formation of government inter-religious reconciliation committees in all districts across the nation.
Programa Inter-Religioso Contra a Malaria (PIRCOM): Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Baha’i faith leaders capitalized on the prestige of community faith leaders in Mozambique to change attitudes and behaviors about malaria treatment and prevention. Phase 1 trained 27,000 local religious leaders who reached an estimated 2 million community members with malaria messaging, expanded to more than 3.3 million people through community radio.
Samaritan’s Purse: Emergency Response and Economic Recovery for Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) improved diets and food security for nearly 290,000 people through agriculture education and production, resilience training and diversifying foods. Trusted local FBOs and churches offered information and safe space for trainings, meetings, distributions and voucher fairs.
World Hope International: Preventing Ebola Through Faith and Cultural Leadership helped Sierra Leone bury its dead with dignity, in accordance with strong cultural and religious traditions, but safely so contact with the deceased, considered a sign of respect, did not further spread Ebola to families and communities. Trained ceremonial burial teams called Cultural Burial Liaisons (CBLs), assisted traditional leaders in safe burial practices for nearly 2200 people killed by Ebola. Over 400,000 people engaged in Ebola prevention activities. The role of religious communities in supporting life-saving behaviors during an emergency was critical to saving lives and an important takeaway for future crises.
World Vision International: The Integrated Birth Spacing Project in Senegal engaged local faith leaders and community advocates to talk openly about what was once sensitive. Informing family members that family planning and healthy spacing and timing of births can lower mortality and increase health for mothers and children was highly valued universal messaging. Community health workers, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, were trained in counseling and family planning services. Over 100,000 people were reached during this project and World Vision has since expanded it to almost 40 countries.
World Relief: Tangiraneza/Start Well Innovation in Child Survival engaged local leaders in Rwanda to expand the Ministry of Health’s ability to implement high impact maternal, newborn and child health interventions at the community level. Community health workers, village leaders, female and faith leaders were grouped into 536 Integrated Care Croups (ICG). ICG members were trained to make home visits to educate families on nutrition, kitchen gardens, newborn care, and key disease prevention actions like handwashing and building latrines. Overall, minimal diet needs and diet diversity greatly improved. More than 330,000 community members were reached including more than 41,000 children.