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thrive-magazine.ca<br />
thrive / 7<br />
PARTNERING<br />
FOR JUSTICE by Denise Wicks<br />
There are many reasons that FAIR develops<br />
partnerships with other organizations.<br />
The main purpose of the ongoing<br />
partnership with International Justice<br />
Mission (IJM), announced in 2015, has<br />
been to expand the ability of Fellowship<br />
churches to engage in bringing justice to<br />
the oppressed. This is being accomplished<br />
through education and conference opportunities,<br />
as well as two appeals focused on kids caught in online<br />
sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) in the Philippines.<br />
The first appeal, Rebuilding Innocence, was launched January<br />
2017 and was focused on aftercare for OSEC survivors. FAIR received<br />
over $270,000 for this project, which helped launch a foster<br />
care program for children rescued from OSEC. This means<br />
that survivors can heal from the physical, mental, emotional,<br />
and spiritual injuries caused by their experiences in a loving<br />
home with specially trained foster parents instead of living in<br />
a facility setting. Funds raised through Rebuilding Innocence also<br />
contributed to the renovation and expansion of an aftercare<br />
facility where survivors live for the first few weeks after they<br />
have been rescued. It’s an essential place for survivors to begin<br />
their healing journey, meet with social workers, medical professionals,<br />
and police and lawyers who will begin prosecution.<br />
The second appeal, Rescue Me, was launched January 2020 with<br />
a focus on providing the funds necessary to rescue children<br />
from OSEC in the Philippines. Despite the global interruption<br />
of the COVID-19 pandemic, FAIR received $67,000 towards this<br />
need. IJM and local authorities continued their rescue operations,<br />
and as of November 2020, 59 victims had been rescued,<br />
nine suspects had been arrested, 16 perpetrators were convicted,<br />
and 41 survivors restored.<br />
We’re so thankful to be able to witness the Lord rescuing and<br />
restoring children in the Philippines through this partnership.<br />
Although some days it may seem like a small number of people<br />
are being impacted, each rescue causes ripple effects. It sends a<br />
message to perpetrators that what they are doing is unacceptable<br />
and will be met with justice. With every child rescued<br />
through FAIR’s partnership with IJM, there is a step taken to<br />
restore the innocence that God intended.<br />
— Denise Wicks is FAIR’s Projects and Promotion<br />
Coordinator.<br />
CHILD SPONSORSHIP<br />
We are now halfway through the second year of The Fellowship Child Sponsorship Program, and FAIR is thankful to<br />
report that there are currently 253 sponsors committing to 332 sponsorships. Since the beginning of the fiscal year<br />
(September 2020), FAIR has received $60,000 through the sponsorship program for the four ministry locations in<br />
Honduras, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. You can learn more about The Fellowship Child Sponsorship Program or become<br />
a sponsor by visiting fellowship.ca/childsponsorship.
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