International Day of Families

  

‘In many ways, our partnership with All We Can is like a family. All We Can invests in communities, organisations, and people through partnership with them and I have learnt that All We Can is always on the same page every time I feel stuck, just like in a family’.

The International Day of Families was founded by the United Nations in 1994 and is celebrated on 15 May worldwide to help enhance consciousness around the importance of families. This day provides an opportunity to raise awareness and increase knowledge about the social, economic, and demographic processes that affect families all over the world. For All We Can and our local partner in India, it is a chance to reflect on the importance of cultivating close working relationships that embody those of a family, and to see lasting change within the communities that we work in.

Professor Nivedita Abraham, a member of All We Can’s church partner in India, spoke to me about her feelings on families within her home country and what family means to her. ‘Structurally, the Indian family includes three to four living generations, including grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews, all living together in the same household. The term “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” is a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts, which means, “the world is one family.” It is so important that the world is a family for the sake of humanity. The Christian faith is also all about relationships, based on love. When God created humanity, He created partnership, companionship, and friendship with them.’

Partnership is at the heart of the way All We Can works and for the last few decades, All We Can has been pioneering a unique approach towards sustainable development: our partnership approach. Working alongside local organisations and individuals in a way that values building relationships above all else, our partnership approach is vital in supporting local communities through times of crisis and in overcoming the long-term challenges of poverty.

I asked Nivedita whether she could see any parallels between family structures and the relationship that her organisation has with All We Can.  She responded: ‘We have grown with All We Can in partnership in a way that only God could do. It has been a mutually nurturing relationship, driven professionally and prophetically for the Kingdom values. It has taught me to be courageous and bold. My experience with other funding partners has been different, they focus on deliverables alone, but our relationship with All We Can is not the same, All We Can really are like a family to us. There is continual fellowship with the partnership managers, and I have come to that point of understanding that partnering with All We Can has given me the courage to grow, spiritually and professionally as well.’ She added that she feels her organisation is always ‘involved and is always evolving’.

You can find out more about how All We Can works together with partners and communities around the world here.

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