Care for Life is a great non profit organization that creates an unparalleled opportunity for a variety of community members in the Beira region of Mozambique to bring themselves out of the poverty cycle. The program that Care for Life helps the communities implement allows for self-reliance that lasts for years and a lifetime.
I worked with Care for Life as an intern from January to April of 2017. During my internship, I cultivated an understanding and passion about what makes Care for Life so different from many other non-profit organizations. Care for Life's self-reliance philosophy is simple and extremely effective.
Many people in the Beira region of Mozambique live in extreme poverty for a variety of reasons. The purpose Care for Life serves in Mozambican villages is to create the opportunity for their program participants to progress from living in impoverished conditions to becoming self-reliant and independent. In order for true lasting change to occur, the participants in the villages must be educated about how to cultivate these changes for themselves rather than being given something.
Care for Life's "Family Preservation Program" offers the educational framework that enables family-based development and growth through becoming self-reliant. There are eight areas of emphasis that help the participants to develop their independence: 1. Education, 2. Health & Hygiene, 3. Food Security & Nutrition, 4. Sanitation, 5. Income Generation, 6. Home Improvement, 7. Psycho-Social Well-Being, and 8. Community Participation.
I am still volunteering for Care for Life because I have read and heard about the countless successful outcomes this organization has helped to facilitate. Care for Life does not come to Mozambican villages simply to hand out supplies and money and then leave. They find villages that are ready to work hard. They work with local leaders who are willing to hold the participants accountable to their own goals of becoming self-reliant. I know this organization has helped change many lives in and around Beira, and I am excited to see where it continues to grow to be able to help even more people lift themselves out of poverty.
Review from Guidestar
While working for another NGO in Beira, Mozambique, I was able to see Care for Life in action. This organization finds effective, creative ways to keep families together. Many families living in rural Mozambique are broken apart due to disease and poverty. CFL has worked with thousands of families to keep children out of orphanages, crops planted, kids in school and families together.
This is community building, grass root work at its finest. I am proudly a volunteer for CFL today.
Review from Guidestar
I am currently serving as the Funding Director for Care for Life. The thing that most impresses me about this organization is their dedication to making a difference in the lives of people half way around the world. They have put together a structured process to create a sustainable and self reliant future where it may have not existed with out them.
I look forward to working with Care for Life and would encourage you to do that same. Its a great organization.
Review from Guidestar
I have been familiar with Care For Life for many years and have seen the profound impact on the lives of people who have gone to Mozambique as volunteers and only heard of the many stories of lives changed for the better there. There are so many who cannot go to Africa but want to help in small ways. Whatever we can do to help alleviate suffering and teach individuals how to improve the quality of their lives, we must do. .....Lynette Peterson
As an intern to Care For Life, I have an opportunity than before to closely learn about the organization and its activities. CFL is a complex organization that strives to restore self-esteem to the poorest people from less advantaged communities in Mozambique. As a Mozambican student in the USA, I found Care For Life as the best organization to eventually work for when I return to Moz because CFL helps people(my people form MOZ) to help themselves. I highly recommend CFL as the best nonprofit.
I teach Social Entrepreneurship at the college-level. I am impressed with Care For Life's model. They have migrated away from giving and now mainly reward after individuals , families and villages have met pre-determined goals. I hope other NGOs check out CFL's model and adopt in in other countries.
I got involved with Care for LIfe over a year ago doing volunteer graphic and web design work for them. I quickly learned how amazing and different this organization is compared to other non-profit organizations. None of the advisory board or volunteer gain any of the monetary donations that come in—100% of the donations go to the families in need in Mozambique. This organization is truly and sincerely dedicated to improving the lives of Mozambicans by simply teaching them how to take care of themselves because they just haven't been taught how to in the past. I am amazed every day by what this organization does!
Care For Life is an amazing organization if you want a life changing experience for yourself. Going to Africa will make a person realize the impact individuals have on them. Going to the baby orphanage is to me, the most amazing part. I became attatched to the children. They have so much light in their eyes and just want love and attention. The babies and kids, right when you enter, come running up to you with arms wide open. I became extremely sttatched to one baby and saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest things I have ever done! Care For lifes teachings and tactic help the people realize they can do everything themselves. When you teach the children weaving and sewing they just want to learn and listen. You love these children in a matter of minutes and form a bond with them that is undescribeable. I love Care For Life and Africa. I would do it again without any hesitation.
I have always wanted to help those in extreme poverty but never knew how best to do it. I read about Care for Life in the Deseret News and I felt that their methods were effective and brought about permanent change. I read more about them on their website. I was impressed by their statistics and their focus on family and self-sustenance. I love that they do not give handouts but teach families and communities to make goals and accomplish them. After people meet their goals Care for Life rewards them with things they could not have obtained on their own, but they still had to earn it. Its a beautiful system and I believe it is the answer to extreme poverty worldwide. We have many resources to help people but unless we change lives and teach people to take care of themselves, those resources will be wasted. I felt like finding this organization was an answer to prayers. I'm not able to volunteer abroad but I looked at their website and found an opportunity to be a photo editor. I edit photos taken by volunteers in Mozambique so they can be used for the media. Now I feel like i am making a real and permanent difference. I love to edit photos of those people in Mozambique and see the joy in their faces. I know that Care for Life has brought them hope for the future and joy in the present.
I worked with Care For Life in Mozambique during May-June 2012. I was so impressed not only with the approach that Care For Life takes in helping villages in Africa, but more importantly their results. So many health and family issues, based on the statistics, are wildly improved for the villagers. I walked among the residents of several villages near Beira, Mozambique and talked with many adults and children. Every person explained that their lives were better after Care For Life began working with them. I personally observed the Care For Life personnel in action. I think they do a marvelous job and yet their resources are, apparently, quite limited. I was honored to have been of some little help.
I started working with Care for Life in 2011 working with their social media. Within no time I was planning ways I could learn Portugese or get myself to Africa to help in Mozambique. I've always been skeptical of non-profits because I worry about what happens when the organization moves on from the people they have been helping. Everything I have seen about the way they organize the Family Preservation Program is geared toward self-sufficiency for the people of Mozambique. Everyone can feel good about a program that teaches people how to garden and create a better life for themselves -- without a single handout. That's incredible.
Care For Life's focus on teaching, training, and supporting vulnerable children and families so that they can quickly and effectively support themselves not positively effects lives now, but also for many years to come. Care for Life helps families by teaching them the skills needed and giving them the opportunities for growth and stability whether it is regarding shelter, employment, or food and sanitation. I volunteered in Mozambique one summer and helped as rebuild houses and huts for vulnerable families who had been selected by the organization. The most memorable family was just two young brothers, both parents had died of AIDS. They were too young when their parents had died to learn how to manage a home. Our work helped establish them in the community and gave them skills to keep their living space sanitary and safe. Care For Life not only helped pay for their new house that as volunteers we built, but they followed the two boys and helped teach and train them along the way to ensure they had what they needed to keep moving forward. The organization's use of monetary and volunteer resources is incredible, with little to no slack or waste.
After consulting several NGOs throughout the world, I found Care For Life and was so impressed that I offered to work pro bono. They truly make a lasting impact and have a proven record of success not only while they're working within a community but years after they've left a community. Never have I seen self reliance so instilled with the individual. I recently have taken a seat on their board and only hope to spread the great work they're doing to lift more than the tens of thousands they've already empowered.
I observed Care For Life in action in Beira, Mozambique. My wife and I were serving as the Country Directors for the LDS Humanitarian Services in Mozambique and Angola. We observed the changes in the community of Mbatwe, where one of the most striking differences was the change in the number of funerals. Before CFL began their training and education, there was normally 4-5 funerals a month (about 50 per year). After 3 years as participants, that number dropped to about 6-8 per year! That obviously helped increase the happiness reflected by the community. That kind of success is a result of very dedicated staff members, and indicates that their approach to helping the community is working!!!
This non-profit organization isn't focused on handouts, it is focused on teaching life-changing skills that can be implemented from generation to generation. To me, one of the most important things you can do for someone is teach them self-sufficiency and give them opportunities to provide for themselves and their families. Care for Life has changed so many lives because it focuses on the individual and teaches the essential life skills. It is a wonderful organization.
This is my second year volunteering with Care For Life. My first experience was completely life-changing, and I knew then that this wouldn't be a one time thing. The work CFL does is too important, and it is the only model of its kind--an organization that enters a community already with an exit strategy. They know that you've done your job when you are no longer needed, and the communities they leave are infinitely better off than they were before. You can instantly tell the difference between a Care For Life village and a non-Care For Life Village. The yards are clean, the dishes are off the ground on a rack, water is being treated, there are mosquito nets, there are latrines, and people are starting small businesses. It is a truly incredible work, and I'm glad to be a part of it. CFL is a relatively new organization, and has to deal with everything that working in a third world country entails, but overall I have been extremely impressed and I see myself working a lot with Care For Life in the future.
I have seen first hand that Care for Life does exactly as its mission says- alleviates suffering, fosters self-reliance, and instills hope. They are an organization that intends to make a lasting positive impact on families in Mozambique. I was so impressed to see the programs truly making a difference when I volunteered in Mozambique in 2007. I would highly recommend CFL to anyone who is looking to work with an exceptional non-profit organization.
"Teach a man how to fish, he'll fish for a lifetime." That is exactly what Care for Life does. I became involved with this organization because I believe in its purpose. It has a high success rating and is effective in the communities they work in. The people of Mozambique notice and act on change, and that is how I know that this organization is of worth.
Care For Life simply has the most effective program I've seen in the business of helping families and communities to become financially self-sustainable. They do not engage in hand-outs but in educational endeavors that truly help people to help themselves. This is an organization founded in principles and values that are time proven and effective. If you want substance over style and effective use of your dollars, Care For Life is the organization to donate to.
I decided to engage in a volunteer internship with Care for Life. In my time with them so far (one month), I have been so impressed with the programs and work that Care for Life does in Mozambique. CFL really focuses on engaging a whole community in their program that covers 8 basic areas (ex: education, health, economics, etc.) and really focuses on helping all members of a family (no matter what form that family takes) to gain knowledge and skills so that they can sustain themselves long after CFL has left their community. Because nothing is given away for free and everything is based on a system of earning rewards through goal-setting with each individual family, the effects are longer-lasting and pride is restored in communities that are so used to receiving handouts from other organizations that create dependency. With a specific program timeline that is fully explained to community leaders before entering a particular community and continued monitoring after they leave, CFL really works to make sure that they do not become a permanent part of a community that is dependent on them for support. I have been so impressed by this organization and its focus on working with families and would recommend that anyone go to their website to learn more and see how they can help as well.