BURMA has been torn apart by years of civil war, and the horrifying truth is that for years, children as young as eight were forced to fight in tribal armies. Recently, government policy was amended to raise the legal conscription age to twelve. While this may not sound like a victory, we see it as a step in the right direction. Global Celebration supports two orphanages where former soldiers are now experiencing loving care. We visit each year and watch as they grow into worship leaders, artists, teachers, and pastors. Many come to our homes as early as three years old, receiving an education that will keep them safe and give them the skills they need to avoid the perils of war and one day transform their nation. Help us take the AK-47s out of their hands and give them the childhood they deserve.

CAMBODIA fell victim to a mass-genocide in the 1970s that killed 25% of the population, wiping out almost a whole generation. Today 11% of the country is still orphaned. There are not enough orphanages to house the enormous need, leaving innocent little ones to find their way on the streets. Street-children are vulnerable to kidnapping and many of them find themselves trafficked to neighboring Thailand as sex slaves. We have been helping our amazing field partner’s dream to establish Christ-centered children’s homes in every district of the nation become a reality by sponsoring a new center. The home just opened this year, and will keep providing the safety, love, and support of a family to children who only knew extreme poverty. We also sponsor one rescue team each month to go to Thailand and bring back the children who have been trafficked into sex-slavery.

INDIA is home to over 1.2 billion people, with only 2.3% of them Christians. The caste system and other Hindu customs keep people trapped in degrading systems of poverty. Present-day realities include leper colonies, sex trafficking, temple prostitution of children, debt slavery, and vulnerability to all kinds of danger and disease. Over 18 million children make a living on the street. Our work here began in the garbage dumps and leper colonies. While ministering to the poorest of the poor, we fell in love with these precious people, and met Indian pastors who had the same heart. Out of that relationship, we started our own orphanage, rescuing children from the very dumps and leper colonies where our hearts first broke. Since then, our reach has expanded to minister to temple prostitutes and untouchables across India.

MOZAMBIQUE has a long history of political turmoil, economic instability, and natural disaster. We have been ministering there for more than 10 years, visiting the poorest of the poor, hosting outdoor evangelistic feeding crusades, digging wells, and supporting orphans. Now, the chains of poverty are being broken! We are partnering with Rolland and Heidi Baker as we sponsor 200 little children to attend Iris Global’s public school. We’ve committed to make sure they have everything they need from preschool all the way until they graduate high school, preventing them from ending up on the streets. They are fed twice each day, receive needed medical care, and encounter the love of Jesus. We sponsor their food, uniforms, school supplies, and teachers’ salaries. Our kids just completed their first year and before we know it, they’re going to change the world!

NICARAGUA is the second poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Communism, war, and other factors have left Nicaragua a fractured, broken country, and the distribution of wealth is one of the most imbalanced in the world. Half the population lives below the poverty line, which means that these families struggle to make an existence for less than $2 a day. Global Celebration first fell in love with this nation 12 years ago. When we learned that one of every two children suffers the abuse of extreme poverty, we created a safe environment for these precious children to heal, laugh and play. They are no longer hungry, abandoned and forced to find their own way, and instead of resorting to a life of crime and prostitution, they get a quality education and hope for their future.

PHILIPPINES is a beautiful island paradise, ravaged by the evils of human trafficking and brokenness. In poor regions of southern Philippines, tribal wars and political groups have enslaved children to use in their armies. Red light districts and prostitution rings mark most large cities and towns. Even shocking black market “industries” like child organ trafficking and mail-order bride services, as well as natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding all affect a child’s likelihood of growing up in a happy, healthy home. But our field partners are ministering at ground zero to bring children out of conflict zones and into lifestyles of love that move beyond blood feuds and repeating cycles of brokenness. Through education, community development and brave love, over 30 rescued Filipino child soldiers are getting a second chance at a happy life in Jesus’ arms.

THAILAND is a beautiful country in Southeast Asia that is famously known as the land of a thousand smiles. Hidden behind those smiles though is a country full of hurting, broken people. This year, the US State Department ranked Thailand as one of the world’s five worst centers of modern slavery, on par with North Korea and Syria. Here, forced sexual exploitation of women, children, and even men is so woven into the very fabric of society that the economy thrives on it. According to the Thai Immigration Bureau, 70% of men visiting Thailand are specifically there for sex tourism. So when we visit, we bring the good news of our loving Father who makes the orphans his sons and daughters. We sponsor a home, tucked away in the mountains, where 30 children are encountering the freedom of Jesus.