Jump to content

Samaritan's Purse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sd ca (talk | contribs) at 15:39, 13 August 2007 (Moved last addition down 2 paragraphs for flow.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Samaritan's Purse
Founded1970
FounderDr. Bob Pierce
TypeFaith Based
FocusCrisis Relief & Development
Location
Area served
World Wide
MethodDirect Aid / Program Funding
Key people
Rev. William Franklin Graham III
Revenue
> US$300,000,000 [1]
WebsiteSamaritan's Purse International
Canada
United Kingdom
Germany
Australia & New Zealand
Ireland
Netherlands

Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization engaged in crisis relief and community development. Founded in 1970 and active around the world, Samaritan's Purse offers aid to the victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine in response to an evangelical interpretation of the teachings Jesus Christ. The organization is based in Boone, North Carolina, USA, and is headed by Franklin Graham, the son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham.

Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ.[1]

Bob Pierce founded Samaritan's Purse in 1970. His mission for this organization was "to meet emergency needs in crisis areas through existing evangelical mission agencies and national churches"[2]. Franklin Graham, whom Pierce met in 1973, became the President of Samaritan's Purse in 1979 following Pierce's death in 1978.

Samaritan's Purse operates a number of projects including: Operation Christmas Child, a program where shoe boxes are packed by with personal hygiene, school supplies, and toys, and distributed to nearly 8 million children annually in 95 countries; World Medical Mission[3], a program that sends doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals to distressed areas of the world; Turn on the Tap, a fund raising initiative to supply household water filters in the developing world; plus other programs helping the AIDS/HIV afflicted, orphans, community development, and evangelism.

Turn on the Tap

Turn on the Tap is an initiative to raise funds for Samaritan's Purse's Household Water Program. The campaign (spearheaded by the UK and Canadian divisions of Samaritan's Purse[4][5]) aims to to implement 65,000 BioSand Water Filters by 2010.[6]

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that unsafe water is responsible for approximately 1.6 million deaths annually, 90 percent among children.[7] The WHO further believes that increased access to safe water, and improved health and hygiene would significantly reduce the amount of disease in developing countries.[8]

The Household Water Program run by Samaritan's Purse incorporates recipient engagement, health and hygiene training, and BioSand Water Filters to address the lack of safe water.[9] The UK version of the campaign is also focusing on a wider range of solutions that includes household water treatment (BioSand Water Filters) as well as provision of hand dug wells, springs, boreholes and borehole rehabilitation, and other appropriate solutions.[10].

A 2007 study conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that BioSand Water Filters can reduce the incidence of diarrheal illness by up to 40 percent.[11]

BioSand Water Filters

The BioSand Water Filter used by Samaritan's Purse was developed by Dr. David Manz of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is an adaptation of the process of slow sand filtration. Contaminated water is poured in the top of the filter and passes through layers of sand and gravel by gravity until collected by a standpipe at the bottom of the filter. A biological layer which forms in the top one or two centimetres of sand aids in the filtration process by digesting most organic contaminants, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. The collected water is up to 99 percent pure.[12]

Operation Christmas Child

History

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) was begun by Dave and Jill Cooke of Wrexham, Wales in 1993 to send gifts and supplies to children in Romanian orphanages.[13] The program was adopted by Samaritan's Purse in 1993[14], when 28,000 shoe boxes were delivered to children in war-torn Bosnia[citation needed]. Since then, Samaritan's Purse has collected and distributed more than 46 million boxes to boys and girls in over 130 countries.[15]

Process

The project generally begins in the month of September and finishes with a worldwide collection week near the end of November. Groups, families, and individuals in 11 developed nations[16] pack shoe boxes with gifts selected for a child of a specific age range and gender (such as "Boy, 10-14 years old" or "Girl, 2-4 years old"). The most common items placed in the boxes are school supplies, small toys, and hygiene products. The boxes are then collected by Samaritan's Purse and shipped to third-world countries, where they are distributed mostly by National Leadership Teams comprised of local pastors and civic leaders drawn from religious, government, and community organizations.[17] When culturally appropriate, the boxes are distributed with an evangelical pamphlet called "The Greatest Gift of All", describing the New Testament story in the local language.[18] In 2006, the program delivered 7.6 million boxes to children in 95 countries.[19] Tens of thousands of volunteers process the boxes in Operation Christmas Child collection points and warehouses during the holiday season.[citation needed]

Prescription for Hope

Other Projects

Criticism

In the early 2000's, critics questioned the altruism of Operation Christmas Child, noting that Evangelical Christian literature has been distributed with the shoe boxes, and have alleged that the project's underlying aim is the proselytization of non-Christians.[20][21] Rev. Franklin Graham, the head of Samaritan's Purse, was also criticized for calling Islam "a wicked religion,"[22] leading to opposition campaigns by Islamic leaders.[23]

Samaritan's Purse responded to many of these concerns by highlighting their evangelical focus and their long history of interfaith cooperation.[24] Samaritan's Purse UK also released a leaflet clarifying their intent and methods.[25]

Samaritan's Purse has received praise for their work, especially their relief operations along the golf coast after Hurricane Katrina[26][27]. They currently have a four star rating from Charity Navigator.[28]

References

  1. ^ Samaritan's Purse, "Who We Are", 2007, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ Samaritan's Purse, History, 2007, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  3. ^ Holbrooke, Richard; Furman, Richard (February 10]]), "A Global Battle's Missing Weapon", New York Times {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |acccessdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link) (Furman is a founder of World Medical Mission)
  4. ^ http://www.turnonthetap.ca
  5. ^ http://www.turnonthetap.org
  6. ^ Samaritan's Purse Canada, Water: Turn on the Tap, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ World Health Organization; Water, Sanitation and Health (November), Water, sanitation and hygiene links to health, Facts and figures updated November 2004, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  8. ^ World Health Organization; Water, Sanitation and Health, Burden of disease and cost-effectiveness estimates, retrieved August 2, 2007{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Samaritan's Purse Canada (2007), "Turn on the Tap", Brochure {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  10. ^ Turn on the Tap Water Supplies, retrieved August 11, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ Office of Global Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (March 18), Biosand filter reduces diarrheal disease in Dominican Republic villages, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  12. ^ http://www.manzwaterinfo.ca/
  13. ^ Operation Christmas Child, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ Operation Christmas Child, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ Operation Christmas Child, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. ^ Boxes are packed in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
  17. ^ Operation Christmas Child - FAQ, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ Operation Christmas Child - FAQ, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ Operation Christmas Child, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ BBC News (October 23), Shoe box charity in religious row, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  21. ^ The Guardian (December 18), "Presents imperfect", Guardian Unlimited, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  22. ^ Muir, Hugh (November 29), "Co-op cuts Christmas box link with US charity", Guardian Unlimited {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  23. ^ icWales (November 5), Red-faced MP dumps Islam-bashing charity, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  24. ^ Vardy, David (November 18), "Being good Samaritans", Guardian Unlimited, retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  25. ^ Samaritan's Purse UK, Operation Christmas Child: Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), retrieved August 7, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  26. ^ Charity Navigator (2006), Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later - Samaritan's Purse, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  27. ^ Elliott, Hannah (August 29), "Inexperienced charities complicated post-Katrina relief, watchdog says", Associated Baptist Press {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  28. ^ Charity Navigator (2005), Samaritan's Purse, retrieved August 2, 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samaritan%27s_Purse&oldid=150973234"