Be Love Sponsorship Sunday is a chance for your church family to celebrate their combined impact for children around the world… as Syndal Baptist Church did recently!

“Most years we have a Be Love Sponsorship Sunday,” says Bill Brown, Senior Pastor of Syndal Baptist Church.

“It helps us partner with God in His mission in the world. It reminds us of the privileged life we live and that we have a responsibility to love others and be channels of generosity to others.”

14 children were sponsored through the Syndal Baptist Church event.

“It’s great to sponsor through Baptist World Aid because of their commitment to Jesus and His mission, to ethical sourcing and support, and to integrity in all that they do,” he says.

“I have had the privilege of travelling with Baptist World Aid leaders and seeing, first hand, the excellent work that is accomplished.”

This month, Baptist churches across Australia will join Syndal Baptist Church in celebrating their combined impact for children around the world and sharing Shanto’s incredible story… and you can be part of it.

This Be Love Sponsorship Sunday, Baptist World Aid is sharing Shanto’s incredible story.

2017 BWA Child Sponsorship from Baptist World Aid Australia on Vimeo.

Shanto* is 10 years old. He lives in Bangladesh with his mum and dad, and his two sisters.

When I met Shanto earlier this year, he was happy, healthy, and strong. He goes to school and loves to spend time playing with his friends. In short, Shanto’s life is everything that a young boy’s life should be, and that’s incredible… because just three years ago, things were very different.

Married when they were only teenagers, Shanto’s parents had always been very poor.

“The financial condition was the main challenge,” Shanto’s mother, Hana*, explained to me. “We could not earn daily.”

Without a regular income, Shanto’s parents struggled to buy vegetables for their children to eat. And that meant Shanto and his older sister were often getting sick and missing school. But then our Christian partner in the field, Baptist Aid, started a Child Sponsorship project in Shanto’s community, and when he and his sisters joined a child club… everything changed.

“We are learning so many things,” Shanto tells me, “We learned to wash our hands with soap. We learned that we have to put on sandals before going to the toilet.”

Shanto’s mum even received training of her own. She learned book-keeping and management, and how to be a tailor – everything she needed to know to start her own business!

Now, Hana and her husband use their day labourer wage to buy food and vegetables to keep Shanto and his sisters healthy, so they can go to school. And the extra money from Hana’s business means they can afford school supplies and uniforms for all their children.

But when you sponsor a child like Shanto, your support means so much more than a happy and healthy family. Your generosity means children like Shanto can grow big dreams!

“When I grow up, I want to be a teacher,” says Shanto, “So that children can learn many things.”

Hana has seen the impact of education for her family. It protects her daughters from early marriage and prevents sickness in her community… so she knows it can also help Shanto’s dream to come true.

“We will provide him everything he needs to one day be a teacher,” she says, proudly.

And when he does, Shanto will be helping even more boys and girls to have a brighter future.

Shanto’s story truly is incredible. It’s a story about the love of an Australian sponsor, helping to end poverty for not just one child, but a whole family, an entire community, and the next generation –the fullness of life God intends!

Register to host a Be Love Sponsorship Sunday at your church. Go to: baptistworldaid.org.au/be-love-sunday.

*Names changed for privacy and protection.

Source: BUV News

Sanctuary resident, Oluwa* recently undertook his dream internship with renowned architectural firm, CHT Architects.

Nigerian born Oluwa came to Australia seeking asylum in August 2016 with qualifications, experience and a passion for design, construction and art.

Through Baptcare, Oluwa secured a four-week internship with CHT Architects where he was introduced to the culture and atmosphere of a typical Australian workplace and exposed to a range of technologies and skillsets required to work as an architect in an Australian practice.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity that came my way through the help of Baptcare. I am very passionate about trying to enhance my career in architecture and Baptcare was there to open the door, provide me with an introduction and help me see my vision.”

Over four weeks Oluwa rotated between each of CHT’s teams to gain as much exposure as possible and to learn across a broad variety of projects and stages. He also received a good introduction to industry standards, codes and systems to help him adapt to the specific regulations of the Australian workforce.

“Through this experience, what I have learnt is enormous. I have gained confidence in regards to architectural practice and have been exposed to key programs used within the industry, such as Revit software. It has shown me than no what you face, if you put your mind to something, you can achieve anything.”

Since completing the internship Oluwa is still living at Sanctuary where he is furthering his learnings of Revit and pursuing his other passion – painting. Evolved from his interest in architecture he is currently painting one of Melbourne’s iconic buildings Flinders Street Station which he hopes to exhibit.

“Since arriving in Australia, Baptcare have provided me with a landing cushion. They have made me feel at home. Through this opportunity, I have been able to become part of the Australian community and able to express myself in my own way, making my own impact. And for that I cannot thank them enough”.

We thank CHT Architects for providing this wonderful opportunity to one of our Sanctuary residents, adding to Oluwa’s fullness of life which is always Baptcare's aim and we can’t wait to see what Oluwa does next.

* Name changed to respect the person's privacy

Source: BUV News