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DEAR FRIENDS,

Most people measure a year by months, weeks or days….but at Kids Around the World, we measure the impact we have on young lives through the environments we create to help them experience hope.

We harvest playgrounds, refurbish them, ship them around the world and create environments for children to safely play; so we measure laughs, smiles and shouts of glee as they experience hope.

We gather volunteers in a church, school, garage or parking lot, share with them the needs of so many children both here and far, pack nutritious meals together, and deliver them to children in need; so we measure happy, nourished and growing kids along with encouraged moms and dads as they experience hope.

We train leaders, pastors and parents with KIDStory, a strategy of discipling children through Biblical storytelling, and help them create StoryClub environments where children build strong relationships with each other and Jesus; so we measure life transformation as kids come to know and grow in Christ.

Then we put it all together…feed, play, story and impact a GENERATION of HOPE!

You see at Kids Around the World we measure children, their laughter…their full tummies…their love for Jesus; and during this year of challenges, God has turned those challenges into blessings. Enjoy our reports, our stories, and our gratitude to you as we partner together impacting the Kids…Around the World!

Jim Rosene
President

2020 FINANCIALS

Kids Around the World is eager both to remain financially transparent as well as to strive for financial growth for the purpose of serving more children. We work to continue our efficiency in raising and spending money. We are proud to report that in 2020, the percentage of funds used directly for program services was 87%, while the percentage spent on administrative and fundraising expenses was 13%. We continually maximize our effectiveness as we deliver the gift of food, play, and story all over the world — thanks to donors and partners like you.

For more detailed information, go to www.katw.org/aboutus/#financials

Kids Around the World exists to impact the lives of kids and their surrounding communities with God’s transforming hope through food, play, and story.

2020 Highlights 

LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME!

Jeremiah is a new KIDStory leader in a small community in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After going through our basic workshop, Jeremiah set out and started his own StoryClub. Each week in his club, an average of 15 children come to hear Jeremiah tell Bible stories and participate in the activities engaging them in the story and ultimately with God. The StoryClub started when Jeremiah realized there was no one to lead these children so he took the initiative to do it himself. Jeremiah is only 12 years old and the participants are his friends. Let the children come to me for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these!

“KIDStory is for any age – everyone LOVES IT!” This comes from Elisabeth from South Africa. “We started our 5th StoryClub this week to reach the youth and we had 4 children come to Christ and 24 new children attend this new StoryClub- ALL GLORY TO GOD! We are creating environments where these children are encountering the love of Jesus!”

FOOD FOR THE SOUL!

God is on the move in our Ecuador Hope Zones. Our food program there is helping to make an immediate and an eternal impact in the lives of kids and families.

Juan and Rosa are parents of 4 children in one of our Hope Zone communities. Rosa has cancer, and Juan is out of work, but makes occasional deliveries to try to cover their needs. The whole family was anemic due to their poor diet. Last October, through our Generation Hope initiative, we began a feeding program in their small rural community. Each week at our StoryClubs, food is distributed to families in need based on the number of children in their home. OneMeal is then prepared and served inside each home. Every child in our program receives two OneMeal bags (12 servings) each week.

Following the weekly food distribution, Juan and Rosa would sit and listen to the teachings at the StoryClub. One day they came and said that they would like to learn more about God. Our Hope Zone leader invited them to church, where they received Jesus as Lord and Savior. Now they are attending church each Sunday and participating in a weekly prayer group, and their kids continue to be discipled in their weekly StoryClub. Juan and Rosa said that OneMeal is very tasty and has been an incredible blessing for their whole family.

Rosa sends their sincere thanks, along with a picture of their home-prepared OneMeal!

LOOKING AHEAD

IMPACTING KIDS RIGHT IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS

Over the last 12 months, we have experienced an increased interest and need for our life-sustaining meals right here in our own communities. Through several generous donors, we have supplied over 300,000 meals to local food banks for children and families in need during these challenging economic times.

Many of our partners & donors have a desire to make an impact in local and international communities. We are excited to announce that this spring we will be introducing a second meal recipe – designed to meet the tastes and needs of children and families served by food banks in the U.S.

Meal packing partners will now be able to pack meals for both international and domestic distribution, helping our ministry to impact kids all over the world and right in our own neighborhoods.

If you would like more info on packing meals, contact us at onemeal@katw.org

INTRODUCING GENERATION HOPE!

For the last 27 years we have been able to bless communities all across the globe with the gift of play, a nutritious meal to eat or help them establish a StoryClub where children can be discipled. We have met so many wonderful partners along the way. Into the future, we plan to continue serving alongside and resourcing multiple ministries. The last 27 years have also positioned us to now utilize our three programs as building blocks to go deeper in specific areas where we feel the Lord leading our ministry: areas where we have key leaders advancing the movement to truly raise up the next disciples for Christ; areas where we come directly alongside the local church utilizing our programs the Lord has blessed us with here at KATW.

We are calling this new initiative Generation Hope! Last fall we launched “GenHope” in Ecuador. We are serving in 7 different communities or “Hope Zones” and actively engaging with local churches and leaders in order to resource, equip, enable and disciple the next generation. In these 7 communities, we currently have just under 700 kids who are participating in a weekly discipleship group or StoryClub. All of the children are also eating our OneMeal every day in order to grow stronger and healthier. In February 2021 we built our first playground in a local community which will be used as a central ministry resource point for the local church to utilize for gathering, relationship building and as a resource to grow and expand the Kingdom. This summer we will officially be launching GenHope in Uganda and the Dominican Republic. By the end of 2021, we anticipate having thousands of kids actively engaged in this movement!

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED IN GENHOPE!

This is the exciting part! Whether you are involved with a church, business or school there will be an opportunity to make a commitment that will have a transformational and sustaining impact. Working side by side with our team, you will have the ability to make a lasting impact in one specific community or play a key role in the advancement of the overall movement. This could mean anything from packing meals for a Hope Zone (75-150 kids), supporting and resourcing multiple StoryClubs (discipleship programs) in a village, visiting and building a playground, or doing all three! Every local church is unique and each community we serve in will be different, but the one constant is that together we want to raise up the next disciples for Christ.

In 2021, we are hosting multiple Vision Trips to Ecuador and will be expanding trips to Uganda and the Dominican Republic. If you are interested in joining one of these Vision Trips or just want to know more about the initiative, please reach out to our team or email: genhope@katw.org