3 ways we turned things upside-down at our Singapore launch event
Last Sunday, Alongsiders International held the first of our international launch events in Singapore. Here are 3 key ways we tried to approach the event differently...
Petals fly in the traditional Khmer blessings dance
Last Sunday, Alongsiders International held the first of our international launch events, in Singapore. We are marking a new season where we will begin to respond to invitations to establish this movement in partnership with church networks in other countries.
From start to finish it was a different kind of event, reflecting the new paradigm in transformation that Alongsiders is pioneering.
Here are 3 key ways we tried to approach the event differently...
1. We celebrated what the poor are doing for themselves
From start to finish we celebrated what Cambodians call, "the spider repairing its own web." In other words, the Alongsiders movement is a movement rising up from amongst the poor themselves to reach out to the world's most vulnerable children.
Our Alongsiders have grown up in the slums and rural villages in which they minister and this launch event highlighted their stories of courage and perseverance.
Sreyta's and Chenda's heartfelt stories of overcoming orphanhood with the help of an Alongsider, inspired us all to recognize that God is pleased to use the vulnerable. Each of them is now in turn walking alongside another little girl in a similar position.
We also watched the new short film which artfully highlights the stories of Alongsiders who have been faithful over so many years.
2. We got independent external researchers to measure our impact
Over the past few months an independent team of researchers have tirelessly traveled across Cambodia to measure the impact of Alongsiders in the lives of their little brothers and sisters.
Significantly, they also researched the lives of similar children in the same villages without Alongsiders. This control group allowed us to compare the impact of Alongsiders in a number of areas.
The results are quite stunning and a preliminary report was released at the event describing the depth of impact spiritually, emotionally, socially, physically, and educationally.
For example, the researchers asked the control group whether they felt hopeful about the future. Only 59% said Yes. When they asked the little brothers and sisters, 99% said they felt hopeful about the future.
Similarly, when we looked at school attendance, only 55% of the control group were currently in school compared to 99% of our little brothers and sisters.
3. Alongsiders commissioned the Singaporean church - the poor bless the rich!
Yes - at the end of the evening young folks from the Alongsiders movement were beautifully and prayerfully commissioned by church leaders from Kingdom Community Church in Singapore. We laid hands on the young women from Cambodia as representatives of the wider movement and asked God to bless the spreading of this movement into Asia, Africa and beyond.
Then, in a beautiful, "upside-down Kingdom" moment, the leaders of the church asked the young Alongsiders to pray and commission them to be Alongsiders themselves!
So, our impoverished neighbors laid hands on their affluent friends and asked God to move in their lives and churches.
By the end of the evening, we had been blessed by traditional Khmer dancing, testimonies, research results, vision casting and a short video. But more importantly we were inspired by a new way of doing mission - starting at the bottom.
The delicious dessert we ate afterwards was simply the icing on the cake of a feast of good times, tears and laughter.
Thanks to all those who helped pull it together and to each person who came and participated.
The best is yet to come.
Launch events across the world this month
Alongsiders is excited to be officially launching beyond Cambodia this month with the establishment of Alongsiders International.
Alongsiders is excited to be officially launching beyond Cambodia this month with the establishment of Alongsiders International.
Join us in Singapore, Cambodia or Canada for one of our launch events.
On Sunday September 15, we will gather at the Centre for Performance Transformation in Singapore at 5pm for an inspiring evening that will include the premiere of our new short film, traditional Khmer dancing and testimonies from Alongsiders, as well as a message by Alongsiders Founder and International Director, Craig Greenfield. There will be an opportunity to partner with Alongsiders financially and in prayer. Tickets are limited and can be purchased online from Eventbrite.
On Wednesday September 25, our Canadian launch event will take place at the Imperial Theatre in Vancouver's Chinatown at 7pm. LA-based spoken word artist Micah Bournes will share some of his inspiring rhymes, we will premiere the new Alongsiders short film and Craig Greenfield will speak. Grab your tickets from Eventbrite and come be part of the celebration.
Originally we planned to hold a celebration in Cambodia on September 7th, however a major political protest was announced for that day and so festivities have been rescheduled for November. We plan to bring together little brothers and sisters and their Alongsiders from all over the country to celebrate what God has been doing.
In New Zealand, Howick Community Church will be supporting the launch of Alongsiders at their Sunday morning service on September 15th.
Six months in a slum – an intern’s perspective
In the days following her mother’s death, I remember longing to know how Dai, my 8 year old neighbor in this Phnom Penh slum, was doing.
In the days following her mother’s death, I remember longing to know how Dai, my 8 year old neighbor in this Phnom Penh slum, was doing.
You can only imagine how I felt, when after the death, I heard a familiar voice cry my name, “Han-NA”!
Turning around quickly, I received the emphatic hug of a small friend, whose presence perhaps provided as much comfort to me as it might have provided to her.
When I think about Dai’s future, I cannot help but wish that someone would guide her in the coming years—someone who shares the language and background, someone committed to her in the difficult time ahead without a mother, someone who will point her to an ever-present hope in God.
Dai is one of a significant number of children, in my community alone, that could use such a person in their life... someone to walk alongside.
As children face the brunt of neglect and injustice in most of the world, the Church is called to respond. Perhaps then, rather than fighting the wrong battles, the Church can be the kind of people who live like Jesus, in coming alongside the forgotten— communicating to the world, thus, that the ones the world has rejected… are loved, valuable, and absolutely worthwhile.
I am still not quite sure how I got connected with Alongsiders exactly, but the connection was a God-send, undoubtedly. My deep-seated desire to see local churches actively engaging in the reconciliation and redemption of lives in their community, particularly through discipleship and education, is exactly what I found happening in Cambodia, through Alongsiders.
As a fourth year student at Wheaton College, Illinois, getting to be a part of what is happening in Cambodia through a six-month internship, is an absolute privilege. These crucial six months are an opportunity to glimpse of what God is doing in the world, in the heart of marginalized communities, and a time to experience the difficult tension between the “Developed” and “Developing” Worlds.
The experience provides a platform to
question, what it means to live, responsibly, as a Christian in a divided
world, and further, to think through principles that I will carry with me for the
rest of my life.
Every so often, one gets the opportunity to witness something in life that
makes the heart come alive, that is so obviously steeped in God’s presence that
it brings us to our knees, that is so extraordinary that it can only be the
Kingdom of God.
Within the last two months in Cambodia, I have experienced a few of these moments, in places, perhaps, least expected. Some of these have been with my Cambodian family in our urban slum—moments of deep grace when I had nothing to offer, but a throbbing head, a lingering fever, and a few Khmer words.
I have also had the privilege to bear witness to an extraordinary group of local young people committed to the life of one vulnerable child each, at the epicenter of the system’s injustices.
I have been able to see a Church alive and active, in the discipleship of their community’s at-risk children.
Quite frankly, the Life—in every sense of the word— that is being shared, is nothing short of remarkable.
It is that Life that I wish for my friend, Dai
[Written by Hanna Tzou, currently interning with Alongsiders in Cambodia. Contact us for more information about internship opportunities in 2014.]
Visual Story-telling: equipping one generation to reach the next
Because our context is one with low rates of literacy, and because we are working with young children, we needed to develop lessons that could be delivered visually.
The Alongsiders movement holds the exciting promise of equipping one generation to reach the next.
Built into our model is a powerful strategy of learning - not just for the sake of learning - but learning in order to pass on wisdom to someone else.
Rooted in a relational discipleship model, we believe our training is more likely to be internalized and thus create change in individual lives and communities.
Because our context is one with low rates of literacy, and because we are working with young children, we needed to develop lessons that could be delivered visually, through contextualized story-telling rather than through lists of information or rote learning.
We want to inspire and connect with each vulnerable child at a heart level, while also training our Alongsiders who are eager to learn.
One morning, as we began to develop our thoughts about a new curriculum, we met with Pastor Sokha, a talented Khmer artist. He shared his passion for visually presenting truths and we talked about the idea of creating a comic book for each lesson - encapsulating each lesson in a powerful and easily accessible visual story.
Each comic book would end with a group activity, to ensure the knowledge would be put into practice (the power of peer pressure again!), and a set of questions which each pair could work through to earn a certificate at the end of the year.
At the end of that meeting, I hurried to another meeting with some out of town visitors who wanted to know how they might help Alongsiders. I asked the Canadian visitor what he did in Vancouver. And he shared that he was an artist, an illustrator in fact, for Marvel Comics!
God has a great sense of humor and a beautiful way of providing the resources and people we need to do his work amongst the most vulnerable children in the world.
We are in the process of developing a three year curriculum that will see each of our hundreds of Alongsiders work through 27 life-changing lessons with their little brother or sister, in the context of a caring relationship.
Soon we will announce the names of those on the amazing advisory group that is coming together to give input on the curriculum. Just another example of God's provision.
Love is the deepest human need. So how do we meet it?
The poorest child in the world is not the child without an Xbox, or even the child without shoes, but the child without someone who believes in them, loves and walks alongside them.
The deepest human need is the need to be loved. As Mother Teresa said over and over again, "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is truly the most terrible poverty."
In the developing world there are
millions of vulnerable and marginalized children. Each of those children is unique, but every single one of them longs to be loved, accepted and welcomed.
The poorest child in the world is not the child without an Xbox, or even the child without shoes, but the child without someone who believes in them, loves and walks alongside them.
Every parent knows that truth deep in our soul.
Yet the need for love is perhaps the hardest need of all to meet. For love cannot be bought or traded, pressured or forced. It can only be offered freely.
So we are faced with a dilemma. The old ways of bringing development and change using money and resources do not work to meet this deepest need of marginalized children.
To build a road or a well we can simply pay workers to accomplish the task.
To provide shoes or school uniforms or school buildings, we can use money to purchase what we need then distribute it to those in need.
But we cannot take such a TRANSACTIONAL approach to meet these children's need to be loved. We cannot hire staff to love them.
So, instead we must take a TRANSFORMATIONAL approach. We must appeal to the deepest stirring within the human heart, the place where the Holy Spirit is at work in each person. We must inspire, we must envision, and we must cast a Kingdom vision.
Alongsiders works with passionate young Christians in the developing world to accompany marginalized children.
Those young Christians are not paid for the hours, days, months, years that they journey alongside these children. They give of themselves, open their families, and welcome the kids into the wider support network of the church.
They do this because they are motivated by a vision, by God and by compassion.
This is the basis of a movement, rather than a development project.
This is what happens when the Holy Spirit flows through one generation to impact the next.
This is what love looks like.
The power of groups
This unique model of working in groups distinguishes Alongsiders from other mentoring programs and reflects the deep commitment we have to building community - a central value for many people in developing world cultures.
A few days ago we met with Alongsiders group leaders from across Cambodia.
It was an inspiring time of sharing what God is doing in each of their communities.
This unique model of working in groups distinguishes Alongsiders from other mentoring/discipleship programs and reflects the deep commitment we have to building community - a central value for many people in developing world cultures.
This is how it works....
Young Christians from a local church who want to become Alongsiders form themselves into groups of 5-10 people (though some groups are larger).
Each group receives training and orientation from leaders in the wider Alongsiders movement. (Each individual Alongsider is matched with one marginalized child in their own community for a long term transformational relationship.)
As shown in the micro-credit field, working together in solidarity groups provides an ongoing level of peer encouragement and sustainability that brings benefits to everyone involved.
Think of it as positive peer pressure!
But building community goes way beyond just working in groups.
When a marginalized child is matched with an Alongsider, they gain not just a relationship with a loving big brother or sister - but a relationship with the whole local church support network.
That's why we work through churches. Because they are able to offer spiritual, social and emotional support far beyond what any one individual could offer.
Alongsiders is building community, and opening a space for the most marginalized children to participate in that community.
Isn't that what Jesus meant when he said, "Whenever you welcome a little child in my name, you welcome me." (Matthew 18:5).
Surprising highlights from this Alongsiders camp
Imagine feeling sand between your toes for the first time in your life. Imagine seeing the vast, vast ocean for the first time in your life...
Imagine feeling sand between your toes for the first time in your life.
Imagine seeing the vast, vast ocean for the first time in your life.
This is the amazing experience of many of the children at the Alongsiders Cambodia 2013 camp.
About 250 are gathered, both vulnerable children and the young Christians who have committed to walk alongside them. As usual we reached our maximum capacity and have turned people away. They have come from all over Cambodia.
We are gathered to celebrate what God is doing through the Alongsiders discipleship movement, to learn, be inspired, worship, laugh and have LOTS of fun.
The theme is JOY and it is written all over their faces.
It means so much to the young Cambodian Christians who gather here to see that there are hundreds of others who have made the same commitment across the country. Many of them come from small rural town and villages in provincial Cambodia. It is a time to pour teaching and training into them. To inspire them to continue the long commitment to one child. And it is a time to encourage them with stories of hope and wonder, and the spirit of God.
And it means so much to the children who come with their mentors, the Alongsiders. Many of these children have never been outside their village or province. They rarely, if ever, would have the opportunity to visit the coast and swim in the ocean. They come excited and awed. They feel special.
They feel loved.
Here are some of the highlights of camp this year:
- A 30 minute power cut pitched the room into darkness on the final night. Cell phones provided the only light to the stage and we were treated to a spontaneous (and hilarious) stand up comedy routine until the lights came back on.
- Raucous dancing broke out several times during worship. Kids on the stage, arms in the air, leaping and praising God. Traditional Khmer dancing mixed with who knows what. Truly beautiful worship.
- Scrumptious sea food was served three meals a day. Fish of many kinds, squid, prawns, octopus...YUM! It was a blessing to feast like this for so many children who have known what it is to have nothing to eat.
- This camp was 100% organized and run by young Cambodian leaders. These are the young people who will impact their nation for good. We must invest in them as they invest in the next generation.
- Speaking of next generation... It was awesome to gather a very special group of people and celebrate them - those who had once been mentored as kids and have now grown up and become Alongsiders mentoring someone else.
Why we registered in Singapore
Alongsiders International is now incorporated in Singapore. We chose Singapore as an ideal place to establish our initial legal foundations for a number of key reasons.
Alongsiders International is now incorporated in Singapore. We chose Singapore as an ideal place to establish our initial legal foundations for a number of key reasons.
Firstly, Alongsiders was birthed in Asia rather than the West. From the beginning we have focused on empowering local leadership from within Asia, and in the future from throughout the developing world. So it only seems right that we would establish a headquarters in Asia rather than in North America.
Singapore holds a key position in the region, as a well-established developed country, with the kind of robust legal and financial infrastructure needed to host an international organization. Though we are about catalyzing movements rather than establishing institutions, we still need secure legal and financial foundations to strengthen the work we do.
Singapore is blessed with resources that we hope can be mobilized to enrich the lives of their poorer neighbors. It is a short plane ride from anyplace in South East Asia. For example, Singapore has a highly educated population that can travel quickly and easily in the region to "train trainers" within the Alongsiders movement.
Finally, Singapore is well connected with Cambodia, where Alongsiders started 9 years ago. Our international leadership team is now based in Cambodia working together with the leadership of Alongsiders Cambodia to establish movements to reach the world's most vulnerable children throughout Asia and beyond.
10 ways to motivate volunteers without using money
Many countries have no established culture of volunteerism. In that context it can be hard to imagine how to mobilize young people to mentor at risk kids, without using money.
Many countries have no established culture of volunteerism.
Or they may have been influenced by a negative NGO culture that creates dependency and undermines the motivation to help others without incentives.
In that context it can be hard to imagine how to mobilize young people to mentor at risk kids, without using money.
Fear not! There are lots of ways to challenge, mobilize and inspire people without using financial incentives, which can undermine the movement by introducing mixed motives.
Here are 10 proven ways to inspire and mobilize that have worked well for us:
1. Storytelling.
Stories are a powerful way of connecting
with people at different levels. These may include testimonies of orphans or children at risk who have been blessed by their mentors, or the stories of mentors who have been blessed by participating in the movement.
2. Role modeling.
You can not lead where you have not been and you cannot teach what you have not seen. Do it yourself and then encourage others
to do likewise.
3. Positive peer influence.
Harness the power of friendships by encouraging
the mentors to work in groups and gather their friends into the movement.
4. Video.
What the eye doesn't see the heart
cannot grieve over. Show young people the situation of orphans and vulnerable
children in their nation through the use of video and multimedia.
5. Preaching.
An anointed sermon on God's heart for
the poor, as well as suggestions about practical ways to serve, can move young
people to action.
6. Music.
Encourage your young people to write songs about God's
heart for the poor and orphans and distribute these on CD or online. Music moves the heart in a way statistics and information cannot.
7. Newsletter or Facebook.
Send out an inspirational newsletter
several times a year containing testimonies, activities to complete with mentees, news and other interesting articles. This can also be accomplished
through Facebook if people have internet access.
8. Prizes.
T-shirts, certificates and other small
items will give a sense of identity and achievement.
9. Encouragement.
Follow up groups of volunteers on a
regular basis providing encouragement and advice face to face.
10. Events.
Training workshops and camps for Alongsiders and the children they mentor bring them together and inspire for the season ahead.
How we came up with our logo
The Alongsiders logo design contest attracted more than 130 entries. We had designers from all over the world creating some beautiful and thoughtful symbols to represent who we are. But we chose THIS one.
The Alongsiders logo design contest attracted more than 130 entries. We had designers from all over the world creating some beautiful and thoughtful symbols to represent who we are.
In the end, we chose this logo, by a young Pakistani designer - for its smooth, graceful lines and evocative symbolism.
This shade of green symbolizes our down-to-earth grassroots approach to movement making. Alongsiders is committed to working at a grassroots level with young Christians who are embedded in poor communities.
The graceful dip and flow of the lines suggests humility and servanthood - two Biblical principles that are central to our ethos and the posture of each mentor. We seek to pass this stance on to those we disciple.
Finally, each figure reaches out to the other, a representation of that deep longing for connection within each human heart. In the words of Mother Teresa, "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty." So we seek to walk alongside those who walk alone, reaching out to the world's most vulnerable children, and extending the radical welcome of Christ.
We'd love to hear your thoughts and observations about the new logo in the comments below. What do you think?
Now a youth leader - Theara's Story
We first met Teara and his siblings when their mother was dying. The last few months of her life were hard and they struggled to survive in a tiny shack that had a broken roof and walls.
Teara and his "little brother"
We first met Teara and his siblings when their mother was dying. The last few months of her life were hard and they struggled to survive in a tiny shack that had a broken roof and walls.
Together with neighbors their home was rebuilt. Teara was so proud of the simple structure. Finally they had a home they could call their own.
But tragedy struck the first night they slept in their new home. A huge fire swept through the slum and they lost everything, including the only photos of their mother who had died a month before.
Eventually, Teara
and his siblings moved in with a Christian lady who opened her home to them and provided
guidance and love. They were matched up with mentors from Alongsiders Cambodia. Things finally were beginning to look up.
Over the years Teara became a keen member of the local church, eventually being entrusted with leadership amongst the youth.
Now, at 21 years old, Teara has officially become an mentor himself to an orphaned boy in the community, through the Alongsiders movement. He shared with us how he spent three months praying that God would show him which boy to choose out of his village.
When I visited Teara recently, I sat on the floor of his tiny home, eating rice and fish with Teara and his "little brother". They talked and laughed and I could see how much joy Teara's mentoring brought to this little boy.
Teara spoke of how he understood the challenges of beig orphaned, and how it was time to pass on some of the love he has received by being welcomed into the church family.
The second generation - Sros' Story
“I grew up without a father and we were very poor and it was difficult to get by. One day, a young man, Lee, who was older than me, asked me if I wanted to become his little brother…
Sros (in blue) and Piset at an Alongsiders camp prayer time.
“I grew up without a father and we were very poor and it was difficult to get by. One day, a young man, Lee, who was older than me, asked me if I wanted to become his little brother…
Lee encouraged me to study hard, not to lose hope, and listen to my mom. He was always warm and friendly to me, just like my dad used to be. He invited me to attend church with him and when I believed in Jesus, my whole life changed. My studies at school, character, and obedience to my mom all improved.
Now I have my own little brother, Piset who is 12 years old. I believe this is the plan of God that God had me take on this boy as my little brother. I plan to fulfil my duties as a mentor to the best of my abilities and encourage, visit, and spend time with him, and follow up on his studies.
I really want to express my thanks for Alongsiders where I first received love, especially the love of Jesus.”