Tearfund

Tearfund is a Christian charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries – from Ethiopia to Malawi, Syria to South Sudan.

Through sustainable holistic development, which includes spiritual wellbeing, Tearfund helps to create better, enduring, futures. It also responds to crises, from humanitarian need to disaster responses.

Tearfund has received over £4m in grants from The Jerusalem Trust since forming. This support has mostly been for the establishment of self-help groups and the embedding of its Church and Community Transformation programme across East Africa.

This is a relatively simple but effective model, wherein the Church acts as a focal point for change and support in its area. This is rooted in the Church position as a stable, long-term community presence: one that is both acutely aware of local issues and fuelled by faith and prayer to bring lasting change.

The Jerusalem Trust’s support has also enabled some external impact studies which show remarkable findings – including that Tearfund’s model has similar outcomes to other non-government organisation projects, but at just 4% of the cost. The relative value is £7 for every £1 spent, with a social impact value up to £211.

With the Trust’s ongoing support, Tearfund is on track to embed this community model into hundreds of thousands of churches worldwide by 2030 – an emblem of the power of support in changing lives impacted by poverty and injustice.