2021 has been an incredible year. At Forward Edge, our hearts swell with gratitude for all God has done. His awesome faithfulness through another difficult year has been such a blessing to witness. Children around the world are discovering their true worth and purpose and growing in intimacy with Jesus, and that is the greatest blessing of all.
Today, we celebrate some of the top highlights from this year:
Children help their families in Cuba – In Cuba, food and medicine costs have skyrocketed this year. As a response, several of the children in our program there decided to help their families by starting their own small businesses for extra income. Alexis is a young man who learned from a relative how to make aluminum rings out of useless coins. Once finished, he gives them to a friend to sell. María is a young woman and another shining example of generosity: She plants cactuses of different kinds in old containers, and once the plants are established, neighbors come buy them. María then joyfully gives the money to her grandma to buy the loaves of bread they need for the day. We’re inspired by the resourcefulness and generosity of these children!
Our preschool in Kijabe, Kenya has a new building and expanded. Thanks to Forward Edge partners, we were able to build a preschool building complete with two different classrooms and a teacher’s office this year! Before, the students were crammed in an old dining hall. This expansion has allowed the school to almost double in size. Our preschool welcomed 23 children over the summer and is equipping them with the vital early education needed to succeed in primary school and beyond!
Our first-ever “Over The Edge” event was a success – On August 21st, the Forward Edge family rappelled down the side of the Portland Astoria building in downtown Portland, OR to raise money for children in our programs. In total, there were 68 rappelers and a total of $195,000 raised. For those of you able to join in person, you know just how special this day was.
We had our best Worth & Purpose Virtual Banquet to date – In October, the Global Forward Edge Family gathered virtually and in-person to look back on the miraculous ways God has built the ministry of Forward Edge since 1983, hear the heartwarming story of Peter, and announce the new CEO of Forward Edge, Tim Ainley. Together, we raised over $400,000 to support and expand our programs for the vulnerable! Our deepest thanks to everyone who was able to join!
Siloé School opened in Oaxaca, Mexico! – Over the summer, Siloé School, a private Christian elementary school for children in our program officially opened. In November, the school hosted an Awards Ceremony to recognize students with the best bimonthly grade point average. Students have already improved a great deal academically since the school opened a few short months ago. Praise God!
Operation Enduring Homes is still thriving in Mexico – Missionaries Tom and Wendy Hogan lead this homebuilding ministry in conjunction with our Mexico children’s program. So far they have completed 11 new homes for families in most need! The block factory they manage along with the construction of homes provides jobs for 11 families in the community. We’re so thankful for this life-changing program.
Of course, there are many cherished and truly beautiful moments from this year, and we simply can’t count them all. We hope you enjoyed looking back on these moments as much as we did. Cheers to a fantastic year ahead in 2022!
Imagine a child, seven years old, living in a garbage dump and watching both her mother and father die slowly of AIDS-related illnesses. This was reality for Erminia before she joined Forward Edge’s program for at-risk girls in Nicaragua called Village of Hope. If Erminia had continued to grow up
In the extremely poor village of Kijabe, Kenya, there lives a crippled widow named Mary. After her husband died of AIDS a few years ago, she struggled to find food. While she suffers from HIV, too, Mary’s greatest challenge is a nerve problem in her legs. She has to use crutches
Sell a Home, Save a Child (SAHSAC) Member Troy Daniels, accompanied by his business partner Veronica, joined us on a mission trip to our Mexico children’s program, Trigo y Miel and the Siloé school, to witness the direct impact of his contributions. In our interview, he shared his experience, his
It started with a simple nudge—a last-minute feeling that I was forgetting something important. Rushing through the airport, I couldn’t shake the urge to buy a Bible. I didn’t know why, or who it was for, but I trusted the feeling. A week later, in a small village in Ghana, that Bible found its way into the hands of Talata, a girl who had never heard of Jesus. This is the story of how God’s quiet whispers and a small act of obedience became part of something much bigger than we could have imagined.
19 yrs. old
Entered the program: January 2019
Gerald and his mother live in a two-bedroom house in a safe neighborhood near a police station. They use a one-bulb solar panel for lighting, and a charcoal stove to prepare meals; water is fetched from a tap which is nearby. Gerald’s mother is a vegetable vendor and has a permanent stall in one of the markets which is close to home; she is the sole provider for the family. The family is catholic and takes time to pray and recite the rosary together.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
