well hello have you all ever had
something you really didn’t want to do
but you felt like you
to ask you that’s how I got suckered
into working with this orphan
empowerment program I I knew that this
was one of the cruelest humanitarian
crises of our age over a hundred million
orphans living and dying in extreme
poverty suffering from disease and
starvation and trafficking abuses that
break the imagination everything bad you
hear about happening to children happens
to these children but my friend asked me
and so I came on Zoey’s orphan
empowerment board I was a little
skeptical at first because I’ve been
working in the doing good for Humanity
sector for about 20 years and whenever
something sounded too good to be true it
always was so when my friend told me she
had found this organization working with
the most vulnerable children on the
planet and moving these children from
life-threatening poverty to sustainable
self-sufficiency across every area of
life with an 85 percent rate of success
in just three years I distinctly
remember thinking wow that’s really
unlikely but because my friend asked me
I came on Zoey’s orphan empowerment
board and then I learned more about the
work and more about the results and I
was sold
I believe Zoe’s approach has the power
to change the world for a hundred
million orphans it’s not just about what
Zoe’s accomplishing although that’s
better than anything I had ever seen or
even imagined it’s the way they’re
accomplishing it by living into a
paradox of working with the most
vulnerable children in the world who are
at the same time some of the most
talented some of the strongest children
in the world
Zoe discovered a way to do less for
these orphans so that they had room to
do more for themselves
now this orphan empowerment model didn’t
just fall from the sky it was born from
the experience of those who had suffered
reaching out to those who are suffering
Zoe first began as just a regular relief
outreach to African orphans doing all
the traditional charity
but after several years they had some
extra funding to invest and so they put
out Ward that they were looking for
something truly effective in working
with orphans and they were introduced to
epiphany Mushu Amana epiphany and a team
of Rwandan social workers had developed
this radically different approach to
engaging orphans in their area after the
1994 genocide in her country epiphany
who had grown up as a vulnerable child
herself dedicated her life to helping
the thousands of orphans so she went to
work where the resources were for some
large Western aid organizations you’d
recognize the names and she worked for
each for several years but became
disillusioned with the work and this is
what she said
she said I would watch as these generous
people would come to my country and they
would give things to my people that my
people desperately needed and then I
watched as my people became so good at
receiving that they forgot how to do
anything and when the grant dried up or
the focus shifted these children and who
might invested my life were now worse
off than before
because they’d become dependent upon
this outside aid so frustrated by this
cycle of relief and dependency on the
shoestring budget epiphany in her
Rwandan colleagues developed a
three-year community-based empowerment
program helping these young people to
permanently move beyond charity so do
you want to know how it works let me
warn you it’s a little different for
example with tens of thousands of
orphans and vulnerable children
currently enrolled in Zoe’s program
there are no orphanages so it doesn’t
own a building anywhere in the world
and Zoe doesn’t give these orphans food
even though they’re hungry because Zoe’s
goal is to help them to get their own
food and and this is a big one there’s
roughly one staff working directly with
the children per thousand orphans that’s
not a budget limitation that’s the sweet
spot where this program works best
now all that might sound a little
strange but it’s about that paradox
these young people must take the lead in
their own
out of poverty they must feel like
they’ve accomplished it with some
support from behind Zoe’s discipline not
to do anything for these young people
that they could otherwise do for
themselves creates a space for them to
work hard and succeed within a
supportive structure but still by their
own initiative now one important factor
is that all zoe staff are from the
country where they serve like Jabez here
in India the very first action of Zoe’s
indigenous staff even before they meet
with any Wharf ins is to go and speak
with the community leaders Zoe will not
even enter a village without support
from the local leadership so much so
that the invitation of the first Zoe
meeting doesn’t come from Zoe but from
the village chief and at that first
meeting Zoe’s staff begin working to
redefine expectations these young people
these orphans they expect to be given
food they quite understandably expect to
be given aid instead they hear about
hope and the possibility that tomorrow
could be better than today they hear
testimonials from Zoe participants
further along in the program and then
they’re encouraged to share their own
stories with one another one of the most
debilitating aspects of extreme poverty
is that even with so many orphans these
children often feel completely isolated
they may be sick
dirty begging they may steal food in
order to feed their siblings and keep
them alive
neighbors begin avoiding them and the
orphans themselves start self
segregating themselves from other people
so to hear their story of suffering
coming from the lips of another child
lets them know that in this place in
this group they’re understood and are
not alone so those were willing to give
all this a try are gathered together
into empowerment groups of 60 to 100
vulnerable things and vulnerable
children inside that 60 to 100 number
there’s 20 to 30 child headed households
for example a 15 year old girl with
twelve-year-old brother and an
eight-year-old sister would be such a
household a household might be a single
street child or sibling group of eight
but each household is led by an eldest
child who’s at least 12 years of age on
up to 20 years old
these empowerment groups are at the
heart of Zoe’s program they don’t live
together but they work side by side to
pull themselves and each other
permanently out of extreme poverty they
elect group leadership and nominate a
volunteer adult mentor from their
community who walks with them over the
next three years
Zoe stands behind these groups of young
people with access to the small
trainings and resources they need to get
what they need so instead of giving them
food oil will help train them to grow
their own food and to start businesses
where they can buy their own food over
the course of this time what we find is
that these children begin to understand
how empowerment works and begin to take
ownership of their own lives
now one critical element that epiphany
and her team understood in designing
this program is that poverty is not a
single issue simply providing education
or micro loans or clean water will not
in most cases free these young people
from poverty poverty is an octupus of
issues and if these orphans somehow
fight free from one tentacle another
three are there to take its place
Zoe addresses at least eight major areas
of life in a roughly simultaneous and
holistic way in the context of a loving
supportive community and what are those
eight areas it’s a big number you all
gonna hang in there with me yep as I
mentioned these orphans are often
starving so they must become food secure
where they can grow and buy their own
food escaping exposure they need safe
secure housing which they either rent or
own combating the constant threat of
death from disease hygiene is taught so
they’re not getting sick in the first
place and access to health care provided
for when they do fall ill
ending the heinous abuses they suffer
child rights are addressed so they know
what their rights are and how to enforce
them and woe to the person who messes
with the Zoey whorfin after their group
has been trained in their rights it’s
like the wrath of God is descended upon
them because so many of them have
dropped out of school formal education
is offered or access to vocational
training a formal education is is no
longer realistic so that no child has to
beg or work as slaves again
Zoey extends micro grants in the first
year micro loans in the second and third
year which are actually paid back to
their own group each household comes up
with a business proposal which they
submit to their group for approval
they even cooperate on group projects
while at the same time supporting each
other’s individual businesses now in the
first year they start very simply but by
the second and third year they’re
hardened capitalists with much more
sophisticated entrepreneurial
enterprises so that no child ever ever
has to feel invisible or less than human
Zoey also addresses what I like to
technically call the squishy things
things like hope a sense of being a
valued member of the community feeling
loved and accepted these squishy things
may actually be the most important if
you do not have hope that tomorrow can
be better than today why work for a
better tomorrow and finally in addition
to being physically and emotionally well
Zoey wants these orphans to also be
spiritually whole because of their
suffering many feel that God does not
exist or if God does exist that perhaps
God hates them so Zoey staff share with
these orphans that they’re not beyond
the love of God now Zoey treats all
orphans exactly the same regardless of
their religious beliefs but over the
course of their three years in the
program they will see in here the most
loving and inviting foundations of
Christianity however one of the most
inspiring aspects for me in the program
is how quick to generosity these young
people are well might think because of
their suffering and what they’ve been
through that they would be out for
themselves instead if a young person in
their group is too traumatized from
abuse or malnutrition to think clearly
the other group members will bring them
on as a business partner refusing to let
each other fail and as soon as their own
situations begin to stabilize they start
adopting and employing additional
orphans passing along their trainings
and sharing their resources you can see
the bonds of cooperation in that five
six seven years after graduation these
groups continue meeting and working
together but it’s it’s not the structure
or even the economic efficiency is
always programmed that’s most impressive
it’s what these incredible young people
do with this program that makes it truly
special allow me to introduce you to
call Dean one of the many orphans who’ve
earned my admiration and captured my
heart I remember when I first met
Claudine it was in Rwanda she shared her
story with our group her father died
first followed several months later by
her mother both passed from hiv/aids
related illnesses although she would
never say that because of the stigma of
the disease during their protected
illnesses the mud hut in which they all
live collapse from disrepair so at the
age of five years old Claudine found
herself both orphaned and homeless and
she had a three-year-old sister and a
six-month-old baby to care for one of
our group gasped Claudine how did you
survive
it was difficult she said I would wake
up in the morning and I would strap the
baby onto my back and I would leave my
middle sister wherever we had slept the
night before and I would go into the
village and beg for food for ten years
Claudine lived like that as she grew
older she would beg for work instead of
food but too many nights they slept
hungry and one particularly dark time
caught he thought they would all die and
so she sent her middle sister off to
find work as a house girl in a larger
community an occupation that carries its
own dangers but Claudian thought at
least she might survive
at the age of 15 years old a friend told
Claudia about an orphan program coming
to their village at that point someone
in our group said Oh Claudine tell us
about your first Zoe meeting expecting
her to gush about the experience oh it
was a difficult day Claudine said we
hadn’t eaten in two days and I came to
the meeting with my sac expecting them
to give us food but they explained to us
as oh it was an empowerment program that
didn’t give food but she stayed and she
heard the staff talk about hope and she
heard orphans in their second and third
year share their stories and then she
hung on every word as all were invited
to share their own struggles and
Claudine realized that in this group she
was among people who understood her
suffering well Claudine decided to give
the program a try and she took to it
immediately she learned about health and
hygiene and her rights she started a
business selling used clothing with
several of the girls from her group and
then started a second business making a
sorghum drink which I’ve sampled and I
think it must be an acquired taste but
it sells well in the market and she was
even able to re-enroll her youngest
sister back in school but Claudine set
her sights even higher she apprenticed
for six months as a tailor and then
started a successful dressmaking
business she was doing so well that she
began helping other young people in her
group who were struggling in their own
businesses and Zoe was able to help her
find and reunite with her middle sister
Claudine began speaking in churches
about God’s power to redeem a life even
as broken as hers but then after several
months more her group became concerned
about her Claudine seem to be regressing
she was hungry again and tired so they
alerted the zone Zoe program facilitator
who went and visited Claudine in her
home and immediately spotted the problem
Claudine had adopted six additional
orphans the Zoe facilitator said
Claudine why have you done this it is
too much for you you were just getting
your own life back together I know said
cordeen I didn’t mean to do it it was an
accident I saw these young people
wandering the streets and their mother
had died four months before and I would
what it was like to be where they were
and I thought how can I speak in
churches about God’s power and turn my
back on these young people so I invited
them to my home just to give them a meal
just to tell them that I loved them and
after we’d eaten and talked they
wouldn’t leave so I asked him if they
wanted to live with me and they said
they did so Claudine was tending sick
children through the night because from
sleeping outside they had bug
infestations and various maladies and
then during the day she would sew and
sleep between jobs
so the Zoey facilitator told her group
what she had done and her group met and
decided to help build a house for
Claudine and when I returned in three
months later Claudine had a new larger
home for her new extended family and
some of the orphans she’d adopted were
beginning businesses of their own and
REE enrolling in school you could once
again see an upward trajectory for that
family this is what makes Zoe’s programs
so powerful it allows these young people
the dignity of not only receiving help
but of passing that help along to others
with over 10,000 orphans and vulnerable
children currently graduating every year
from Zoe’s program these young people
are moving from being a problem in their
area to being young entrepreneurs and
leaders lifting the whole community with
the work they do we try to raise our own
children so that someday they can care
for themselves why should I work with
other people’s children be any different
I hope you’ll allow yourselves to get
suckered into doing less for orphans
because together with Claudine and
millions of young people like her we really can change the world
something you really didn’t want to do
but you felt like you
to ask you that’s how I got suckered
into working with this orphan
empowerment program I I knew that this
was one of the cruelest humanitarian
crises of our age over a hundred million
orphans living and dying in extreme
poverty suffering from disease and
starvation and trafficking abuses that
break the imagination everything bad you
hear about happening to children happens
to these children but my friend asked me
and so I came on Zoey’s orphan
empowerment board I was a little
skeptical at first because I’ve been
working in the doing good for Humanity
sector for about 20 years and whenever
something sounded too good to be true it
always was so when my friend told me she
had found this organization working with
the most vulnerable children on the
planet and moving these children from
life-threatening poverty to sustainable
self-sufficiency across every area of
life with an 85 percent rate of success
in just three years I distinctly
remember thinking wow that’s really
unlikely but because my friend asked me
I came on Zoey’s orphan empowerment
board and then I learned more about the
work and more about the results and I
was sold
I believe Zoe’s approach has the power
to change the world for a hundred
million orphans it’s not just about what
Zoe’s accomplishing although that’s
better than anything I had ever seen or
even imagined it’s the way they’re
accomplishing it by living into a
paradox of working with the most
vulnerable children in the world who are
at the same time some of the most
talented some of the strongest children
in the world
Zoe discovered a way to do less for
these orphans so that they had room to
do more for themselves
now this orphan empowerment model didn’t
just fall from the sky it was born from
the experience of those who had suffered
reaching out to those who are suffering
Zoe first began as just a regular relief
outreach to African orphans doing all
the traditional charity
but after several years they had some
extra funding to invest and so they put
out Ward that they were looking for
something truly effective in working
with orphans and they were introduced to
epiphany Mushu Amana epiphany and a team
of Rwandan social workers had developed
this radically different approach to
engaging orphans in their area after the
1994 genocide in her country epiphany
who had grown up as a vulnerable child
herself dedicated her life to helping
the thousands of orphans so she went to
work where the resources were for some
large Western aid organizations you’d
recognize the names and she worked for
each for several years but became
disillusioned with the work and this is
what she said
she said I would watch as these generous
people would come to my country and they
would give things to my people that my
people desperately needed and then I
watched as my people became so good at
receiving that they forgot how to do
anything and when the grant dried up or
the focus shifted these children and who
might invested my life were now worse
off than before
because they’d become dependent upon
this outside aid so frustrated by this
cycle of relief and dependency on the
shoestring budget epiphany in her
Rwandan colleagues developed a
three-year community-based empowerment
program helping these young people to
permanently move beyond charity so do
you want to know how it works let me
warn you it’s a little different for
example with tens of thousands of
orphans and vulnerable children
currently enrolled in Zoe’s program
there are no orphanages so it doesn’t
own a building anywhere in the world
and Zoe doesn’t give these orphans food
even though they’re hungry because Zoe’s
goal is to help them to get their own
food and and this is a big one there’s
roughly one staff working directly with
the children per thousand orphans that’s
not a budget limitation that’s the sweet
spot where this program works best
now all that might sound a little
strange but it’s about that paradox
these young people must take the lead in
their own
out of poverty they must feel like
they’ve accomplished it with some
support from behind Zoe’s discipline not
to do anything for these young people
that they could otherwise do for
themselves creates a space for them to
work hard and succeed within a
supportive structure but still by their
own initiative now one important factor
is that all zoe staff are from the
country where they serve like Jabez here
in India the very first action of Zoe’s
indigenous staff even before they meet
with any Wharf ins is to go and speak
with the community leaders Zoe will not
even enter a village without support
from the local leadership so much so
that the invitation of the first Zoe
meeting doesn’t come from Zoe but from
the village chief and at that first
meeting Zoe’s staff begin working to
redefine expectations these young people
these orphans they expect to be given
food they quite understandably expect to
be given aid instead they hear about
hope and the possibility that tomorrow
could be better than today they hear
testimonials from Zoe participants
further along in the program and then
they’re encouraged to share their own
stories with one another one of the most
debilitating aspects of extreme poverty
is that even with so many orphans these
children often feel completely isolated
they may be sick
dirty begging they may steal food in
order to feed their siblings and keep
them alive
neighbors begin avoiding them and the
orphans themselves start self
segregating themselves from other people
so to hear their story of suffering
coming from the lips of another child
lets them know that in this place in
this group they’re understood and are
not alone so those were willing to give
all this a try are gathered together
into empowerment groups of 60 to 100
vulnerable things and vulnerable
children inside that 60 to 100 number
there’s 20 to 30 child headed households
for example a 15 year old girl with
twelve-year-old brother and an
eight-year-old sister would be such a
household a household might be a single
street child or sibling group of eight
but each household is led by an eldest
child who’s at least 12 years of age on
up to 20 years old
these empowerment groups are at the
heart of Zoe’s program they don’t live
together but they work side by side to
pull themselves and each other
permanently out of extreme poverty they
elect group leadership and nominate a
volunteer adult mentor from their
community who walks with them over the
next three years
Zoe stands behind these groups of young
people with access to the small
trainings and resources they need to get
what they need so instead of giving them
food oil will help train them to grow
their own food and to start businesses
where they can buy their own food over
the course of this time what we find is
that these children begin to understand
how empowerment works and begin to take
ownership of their own lives
now one critical element that epiphany
and her team understood in designing
this program is that poverty is not a
single issue simply providing education
or micro loans or clean water will not
in most cases free these young people
from poverty poverty is an octupus of
issues and if these orphans somehow
fight free from one tentacle another
three are there to take its place
Zoe addresses at least eight major areas
of life in a roughly simultaneous and
holistic way in the context of a loving
supportive community and what are those
eight areas it’s a big number you all
gonna hang in there with me yep as I
mentioned these orphans are often
starving so they must become food secure
where they can grow and buy their own
food escaping exposure they need safe
secure housing which they either rent or
own combating the constant threat of
death from disease hygiene is taught so
they’re not getting sick in the first
place and access to health care provided
for when they do fall ill
ending the heinous abuses they suffer
child rights are addressed so they know
what their rights are and how to enforce
them and woe to the person who messes
with the Zoey whorfin after their group
has been trained in their rights it’s
like the wrath of God is descended upon
them because so many of them have
dropped out of school formal education
is offered or access to vocational
training a formal education is is no
longer realistic so that no child has to
beg or work as slaves again
Zoey extends micro grants in the first
year micro loans in the second and third
year which are actually paid back to
their own group each household comes up
with a business proposal which they
submit to their group for approval
they even cooperate on group projects
while at the same time supporting each
other’s individual businesses now in the
first year they start very simply but by
the second and third year they’re
hardened capitalists with much more
sophisticated entrepreneurial
enterprises so that no child ever ever
has to feel invisible or less than human
Zoey also addresses what I like to
technically call the squishy things
things like hope a sense of being a
valued member of the community feeling
loved and accepted these squishy things
may actually be the most important if
you do not have hope that tomorrow can
be better than today why work for a
better tomorrow and finally in addition
to being physically and emotionally well
Zoey wants these orphans to also be
spiritually whole because of their
suffering many feel that God does not
exist or if God does exist that perhaps
God hates them so Zoey staff share with
these orphans that they’re not beyond
the love of God now Zoey treats all
orphans exactly the same regardless of
their religious beliefs but over the
course of their three years in the
program they will see in here the most
loving and inviting foundations of
Christianity however one of the most
inspiring aspects for me in the program
is how quick to generosity these young
people are well might think because of
their suffering and what they’ve been
through that they would be out for
themselves instead if a young person in
their group is too traumatized from
abuse or malnutrition to think clearly
the other group members will bring them
on as a business partner refusing to let
each other fail and as soon as their own
situations begin to stabilize they start
adopting and employing additional
orphans passing along their trainings
and sharing their resources you can see
the bonds of cooperation in that five
six seven years after graduation these
groups continue meeting and working
together but it’s it’s not the structure
or even the economic efficiency is
always programmed that’s most impressive
it’s what these incredible young people
do with this program that makes it truly
special allow me to introduce you to
call Dean one of the many orphans who’ve
earned my admiration and captured my
heart I remember when I first met
Claudine it was in Rwanda she shared her
story with our group her father died
first followed several months later by
her mother both passed from hiv/aids
related illnesses although she would
never say that because of the stigma of
the disease during their protected
illnesses the mud hut in which they all
live collapse from disrepair so at the
age of five years old Claudine found
herself both orphaned and homeless and
she had a three-year-old sister and a
six-month-old baby to care for one of
our group gasped Claudine how did you
survive
it was difficult she said I would wake
up in the morning and I would strap the
baby onto my back and I would leave my
middle sister wherever we had slept the
night before and I would go into the
village and beg for food for ten years
Claudine lived like that as she grew
older she would beg for work instead of
food but too many nights they slept
hungry and one particularly dark time
caught he thought they would all die and
so she sent her middle sister off to
find work as a house girl in a larger
community an occupation that carries its
own dangers but Claudian thought at
least she might survive
at the age of 15 years old a friend told
Claudia about an orphan program coming
to their village at that point someone
in our group said Oh Claudine tell us
about your first Zoe meeting expecting
her to gush about the experience oh it
was a difficult day Claudine said we
hadn’t eaten in two days and I came to
the meeting with my sac expecting them
to give us food but they explained to us
as oh it was an empowerment program that
didn’t give food but she stayed and she
heard the staff talk about hope and she
heard orphans in their second and third
year share their stories and then she
hung on every word as all were invited
to share their own struggles and
Claudine realized that in this group she
was among people who understood her
suffering well Claudine decided to give
the program a try and she took to it
immediately she learned about health and
hygiene and her rights she started a
business selling used clothing with
several of the girls from her group and
then started a second business making a
sorghum drink which I’ve sampled and I
think it must be an acquired taste but
it sells well in the market and she was
even able to re-enroll her youngest
sister back in school but Claudine set
her sights even higher she apprenticed
for six months as a tailor and then
started a successful dressmaking
business she was doing so well that she
began helping other young people in her
group who were struggling in their own
businesses and Zoe was able to help her
find and reunite with her middle sister
Claudine began speaking in churches
about God’s power to redeem a life even
as broken as hers but then after several
months more her group became concerned
about her Claudine seem to be regressing
she was hungry again and tired so they
alerted the zone Zoe program facilitator
who went and visited Claudine in her
home and immediately spotted the problem
Claudine had adopted six additional
orphans the Zoe facilitator said
Claudine why have you done this it is
too much for you you were just getting
your own life back together I know said
cordeen I didn’t mean to do it it was an
accident I saw these young people
wandering the streets and their mother
had died four months before and I would
what it was like to be where they were
and I thought how can I speak in
churches about God’s power and turn my
back on these young people so I invited
them to my home just to give them a meal
just to tell them that I loved them and
after we’d eaten and talked they
wouldn’t leave so I asked him if they
wanted to live with me and they said
they did so Claudine was tending sick
children through the night because from
sleeping outside they had bug
infestations and various maladies and
then during the day she would sew and
sleep between jobs
so the Zoey facilitator told her group
what she had done and her group met and
decided to help build a house for
Claudine and when I returned in three
months later Claudine had a new larger
home for her new extended family and
some of the orphans she’d adopted were
beginning businesses of their own and
REE enrolling in school you could once
again see an upward trajectory for that
family this is what makes Zoe’s programs
so powerful it allows these young people
the dignity of not only receiving help
but of passing that help along to others
with over 10,000 orphans and vulnerable
children currently graduating every year
from Zoe’s program these young people
are moving from being a problem in their
area to being young entrepreneurs and
leaders lifting the whole community with
the work they do we try to raise our own
children so that someday they can care
for themselves why should I work with
other people’s children be any different
I hope you’ll allow yourselves to get
suckered into doing less for orphans
because together with Claudine and
millions of young people like her we really can change the world
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