Showing posts with label crista. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crista. Show all posts

World Concern efforts in Haiti focus on rehabilitation

Friday, June 25, 2010


from World Concern staff

As the six-month anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that shook Haiti approaches next month, Shoreline-based World Concern welcomed Haiti Country Director Christon Domond to its headquarters on June 21 and 22. Domond was here to coordinate with staff in planning ongoing disaster response efforts in the Port-au-Prince area where World Concern works.

Photo: ChristonDomond: World Concern Haiti Country Director Christon Domond meets with staff members at the organization’s Seattle headquarters to plan the next steps in helping people in Haiti rebuild their lives.

Domond has served as a leader for World Concern in Haiti for more than 20 years and was working in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit on Jan. 12. Staff there was able to provide immediate response to the disaster with medical supplies, food and water that was stored in World Concern’s warehouse. Now, the organization is employing local workers to repair houses so families have permanent shelter and are off the streets. More than 400 homes have been repaired. They’re also providing cash grants to business owners to rebuild their businesses and begin earning income again.

Despite the overwhelming need—Domond estimates 400,000 people are still displaced and without a home—aid in Haiti is making a difference. “We have moved from emergency to recovery to rehabilitation. We are now in this phase,” said Domond. Projects during the first year after the quake will aim to help children return to school and rebuild or relocate churches, since churches serve as “a reference point in a community for services and a place of socialization,” he said. Churches are either being repaired, or if the damage is too severe, given a temporary facility in which to meet. World Concern has repaired 38 churches so far.

As World Concern begins work in new neighborhoods, they meet with community leaders to determine the greatest needs, then employs local engineers in each community to oversee the repair work. They are currently repairing approximately 80 homes per week. Families are selected to have their homes fixed based on need he explained. “When we arrive in a community, the only thing we decide is to serve the poorest—whatever religion or culture—only the poorest,” he said.

Restoring livelihoods for Haitians is also a priority for World Concern, as getting people back to work will allow them to feed and provide for their families. Domond said many families have been helped through the 450 grants that have been given out so far to replace business equipment damaged in the quake.

Port-au-Prince remains in crisis as tens of thousands of people are still living in camps around the capital city. “We are now in the rainy season and some of these camps are a mess. Some are trying to find a relative’s house where they can live,” he said. “Now it’s time for them to go to a relative’s house.” Many would rather remain in the camps because they receive food and medical care—things that could be scarce or non-existent outside the city.

Domond and his staff are grateful for the financial support they’ve received through donations, but he urged those here in the U.S. to “continue to pray … Haiti will be in crisis for the next 20 to 25 years,” he said. “There is a lot to do.”
Nevertheless, Domond is not overwhelmed by the amount of work that’s ahead in Haiti. “This is the reality. Now there is a challenge,” he said in his strong Creole accent.

The World Concern staff in Haiti works many long hours—understandable, considering the situation before them. But Domond says he doesn’t keep track or pay much attention to that. “I like what I’m doing, providing services to those in need,” he said. “I’m very happy to work with them and serve them.” He will, however, be able to take a much-needed week-long vacation while in the U.S.

For more information on World Concern’s work in Haiti and around the world, visit the website

Photos:  Haitians employed by World Concern help repair houses so families can get off the streets and back into permanent shelter. The work enables laborers to earn money to support their own families.

World Concern, part of CRISTA Ministries, is a Christian humanitarian organization that helps lift people out of poverty through activities including microfinance, agriculture, disaster response and small business development. World Concern works with the poor in 24 countries, with the goal of transforming the lives of those we touch, leading them on a path to self-sustainability. Worldwide, World Concern offers life, opportunity and hope to more than six million people.


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CRISTA's World Concern sends baby blankets to Uganda

Tuesday, June 22, 2010


 World Concern is a division of CRISTA Ministries whose corporate offices are at 19303 Fremont Avenue N in Shoreline. CRISTA's motto is Loving God by Serving People.

Donations from Northwest companies bring comfort and meet vital needs in Uganda
by Derek Sciba,World Concern Marketing Manager

A shipping container filled with soft organic flannel baby blankets and new clothing is being unpacked in Uganda now, having made the voyage half way around the world from Seattle. The donated items will bring comfort to moms and babies in rural maternity clinics and meet the needs of refugees in displacement camps.

The infant receiving blankets, along with additional bolts of fabric, were donated by Swaddle Designs, a Seattle company that makes high quality baby blankets coveted by moms and celebrities alike.


"Newborns need to be protected," said Susan Talbot with World Concern. "These blankets will make them feel secure and loved."

The blankets and fabric will be distributed by World Concern through its partner organization, Pilgrim Africa, and will soon be wrapped around newborns in remote bush areas during outreach visits.

The shipment also contained 10,000 articles of new clothing from Tukwila-based ExOfficio, worth a quarter million dollars, which will be given to Ugandan refugees with the greatest need—many of whom have nothing. Included among those receiving clothing are former child soldiers who face years of emotional healing and are struggling to rebuild their lives after being forced into war.

World Concern strives to support, not disturb, local economies. Those assisted by these donations are identified as people who would not otherwise be able to purchase goods in the open marketplace.

World Concern is grateful to companies like Swaddle Designs and ExOfficio for their generous gifts that will have far reaching effects and meet such practical needs of suffering people.

For more information on donating to World Concern, please visit the website.

Photos courtesy World Concern

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1000 runners take a stand against human trafficking

Saturday, May 1, 2010

By Derek Sciba | World Concern Marketing Manager

Women and children who are sold into slavery struggle to be noticed or heard. But about 1,000 Seattle runners listened on Saturday. They took a stand by participating in World Concern's "Free Them" 5k run and walk, held at the CRISTA campus in Shoreline.

The 5k run raised about $80,000 to protect children in high-risk situations. More than 1 million people are trafficked every year.

"People are trafficked at the intersection of poverty and greed," said World Concern donor relations director Jacinta Tegman. "The runners out here today are making a statement and they are making a difference."


Christian humanitarian organization World Concern works to protect vulnerable women and children from being trafficked in SE Asia. Its programs include safety training within villages, job development, and care for those who have been victimized.

Police officer Rickie Anders ran in the 5k and knows that prosecution for trafficking is rare, especially in the developing world.

"It's just a crime and people need to be talking about it," says Anders. "People have always put a price tag on other people, and it just has to stop."

Women and children who are trafficked are treated as property, sold for a price, and used as laborers or sex workers. Often the victims of trafficking are children who are seeking a better life in another country. Traffickers will promise women and children that good jobs await, but in the end, the victims find that the promises were all lies.

Every year, World Concern helps lift people out of poverty through activities including microfinance, agriculture, disaster response and small business development. World Concern works with the poor in 24 countries, with the goal of transforming the lives of those we touch, leading them on a path to self-sustainability.

Worldwide, World Concern offers life, opportunity and hope to more than six million people. World Concern is part of the CRISTA family of ministries.

Learn more at the website.
Photos by Derek Sciba

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SL Planning Commission continues discussion of Crista Master Plan process

Sunday, February 21, 2010

By Ann Erickson
Firlands Good Neighbors League

The February 18 Shoreline Planning Commission meeting discussing recommendations for the Crista Master Plan Process has been continued to March 18. This meeting was continued from the January 21 meeting. The discussion continues as Crista Ministries and neighbors express their views to the Commissioners and, in turn, the Commissioners ask probing questions regarding traffic, parking, pedestrian safety, noise, construction disruption, size of the new practice field, usefulness of an on campus access road and access to parking for the planned Early Childhood Center.

Residents still can submit written comments to the Planning Commission about any issues that concern them. Comments should be sent to Steve Szafran, 17500 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133 or by email. The Crista Master Plan and related documents and comments can be seen at the City of Shoreline website, or at Firlands Good Neighbors League website.

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Crista Master Plan to be reviewed at planning commission meeting on Thursday, January 21

Sunday, January 17, 2010

from the Firlands Good Neighbor League

Firlands Good Neighbor League (FGNL) urges everyone who lives near Crista Ministries to join us in attending the next Shoreline Planning Commissioners meeting, 7 pm to 9:30 pm, Thursday January 21, City Hall Council Chambers, 17500 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133. It will be an open record public hearing as they prepare recommendations to the City Council for the Crista Master Development Plan. This will be our last opportunity to speak out on issues such as traffic, pedestrian safety, density, construction noise, loss of green space and tree replacement.

There is a public comment opportunity for neighbors to speak. FGNL has several speakers organized to participate. In all likelihood it will take more than one Planning Commissioners' meeting to hear all comments and address all the issues involved in appropriately preparing this master plan. The Planning Commission meets every two weeks and FGNL plans to have a presence at these meetings.

Written comments may also be submitted by mail to Steve Szafran, City of Shoreline Planning Department, 17500 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline WA 98133, fax 206-546-8761, or email. The mitigations, Master Plan and other relevant documents can be seen on our website.

Firlands Good Neighbor League is a volunteer group of neighbors who have been monitoring the Master Plan process and have successfully influenced the proposed mitigations. We wish to protect our quality of life, the nature of our neighborhood and our property values.

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King's Schools' Superintendent honored

Wednesday, November 11, 2009


Eric Rasmussen, superintendent of King’s Schools, was honored as Corban College’s Distinguished Alumni of the Year. Mr. Rasmussen graduated from Corban College magna cum laude in 1987.
 
Eric is the superintendent of King’s Schools, a private Christian school that serves approximately 1,600
students in preschool through Grade 12 with 2 locations – King’s Schools in Shoreline and Crosspoint Academy in Bremerton. In his capacity as superintendent, he is responsible for the direct supervision of all programs and facilities at the school and oversees a staff of over one hundred faculty and administrative personnel. He was named the superintendent in May of 2002, having served as the King’s High School principal and interim superintendent from 2001 to 2002, as the King’s Junior High School principal from 2000 to 2001, and as the King’s Junior High geography teacher for eleven years prior to 2000. King’s Schools is a ministry of CRISTA, an umbrella organization that includes six other Christian ministries. 

In addition to serving as the superintendent of the school, Eric also serves CRISTA as a vice president and is a member of the CRISTA Ministry Council. He is chair of the school’s administrative team, is on the board of the Washington Federation of Independent Schools, and serves on the Administrative Professional Educator Advisory Board for Saint Martin’s University.

While serving King’s as a teacher and administrator, Eric also coached the King’s High School girls’ varsity basketball team for 17 years, with the team winning 12 league titles, seven district and three state championships, and enjoying 13 consecutive appearances at the state tournament under his leadership.  He lives in the Puget Sound area with his wife, Sheryl, and three daughters.

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