A proven strategy for family preservation in vulnerable communities is a lay social worker working alongside local churches and schools. Lay social workers (sometimes also called para social workers) are those who have not been formally certified as a social worker but have the experience or know-how to perform many of the same services to…
John and Jacinta live and work in Arusha, Tanzania. Several years ago they began hosting a Christmas dinner for widows in their community to celebrate the birth of Christ. It began with about 40 widows in the first year. However, they realised that although the widows enjoyed the event, this format didn’t include their families.…
Kurt is a great friend of Loom and a committed Woven Investor. He and his wife, Donna, traveled with us to East Africa last year and have faithfully partnered with Loom and the Local Experts ever since. This week we sat down with Kurt and asked him some questions about his experience as a Woven…
“I became interested in Loom because of their relationship with the Local Expert and their focus on interdependent relationships on the field. The more I volunteered with them and heard the stories of the incredible people they partnered with, the more I wanted to be a part of their vision. I’ve learned so much about…
“I chose [to intern with] Loom because I knew from a member working there what they are doing and I really liked their vision. At the time, I was working towards my Master’s of Business Administration in Germany. I have learned how my Studies and NPO’s can belong together. My absolute highlight was my marketing…
“The Woven trip for me was full with very deep feelings, thankfulness and the knowledge that God takes care of everybody and that he remembers every single one of his children. I learned that if we are going to help others we have to listen and talk to them, be there with them and start…
In 2013, we joined with a core team of practitioners in Dhaka, Bangladesh to finish the last two weeks of the Celebrating Children Workshop. A year earlier, we had met Jeet and Seppi. This couple exemplifies what it means to see potential in hidden places. They had started a school in a garbage dump in…
In October 2012 the Celebrating Children Workshop team from Loom International arrived in Johannesburg anticipating seeing a group of participants with whom we had become old friends. We had met these 35 Methodist Church volunteers in April of 2012 during Part One of the CCW. Many of them had other jobs and careers but used…
In March 2014 and 2015, Loom ran Celebrating Children Workshops in Constanta, Romania. In a very cold and grey place, we met wonderful, warm people, many of whom had grown up in orphanages themselves, devoted to the wellbeing of children. It was an honor to meet and work with individuals who were committed to changing their…
This is Robert Wafula Sakwa. He is a teacher at the New Vision Primary School in Arusha, Tanzania. Robert says he is the “business of multiplication,” passing on what he learns to other leaders in his community. We had the pleasure of meeting him when he attended our two week Celebrating Children Workshop (CCW). It…
