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  • Sponsor a Family in India

    Updated on March 20, 2015

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    Sponsorship is the heart of the Franciscan Family Apostolate Mission. Your sponsorship can change lives.

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    Family Sponsorship
  • Alleppy, Kerala

    Alleppy | Kerala | India
  • Andra Pradesh

    Andra Pradesh | India
  • Teaching Business Skills in Andra Pradesh

    Helping the poor in Andra Pradesh | India.
  • FFA Staff in Alleppey

    Staff | Alleppey | Kerala | India

Programs in Andhra Pradesh

The Franciscan Family Apostolate, in partnership with the Canossian Sisters,  serves the poor living in remote tribal villages in Andhra Pradesh surrounding the town of Vizagpattanam, and in the neighboring Orissa State. Andhra Pradesh Family Sponsorship Program This… Read More

Life of the Poor in India

Mother lying with newborn twins

Whether in Alleppey or in Andhra Pradesh, the poor that the Franciscan Family Apostolate (FFA) serves are in destitute conditions. Lack of adequate housing and sanitary facilities along with other issues put families at great risk for disease… Read More

Programs In Alleppey

We invite you to listen to Karoline Peter, one of our staff in Alleppey, speak about the work of the Franciscan Family Apostolate in Alleppey. Several programs have been the mainstay of the Franciscan Family Apostolate over the… Read More

Our Mission

The Franciscan Family Apostolate was founded as response of the Secular Franciscan Order (S.F.O.) to the plight of the poor in the Third World. Following its founder, Saint Francis of Assisi, the poor Christ is found in the faces and lives of the poor and oppressed of the world. The Franciscan Family Apostolate’s mission is to encourage a witness to the Gospel life preached by Jesus – the care and concern for the stranger in need regardless of race, color, religion or country of origin.

In 1987 the Franciscan Family Apostolate became an independent 501(c)3 charity upon receipt of its tax exempt status from the IRS with the following stated goals:

  1. To alleviate poverty, provide financial support and assistance to needy individuals and families in the Third World through outreach programs and related activities;
  2. To develop and implement similar outreach programs in the United States;
  3. Lastly, to develop and implement educational programs in Third World countries and in the United States to provide occupational training.

 

Here is an overview of the activities of the Alleppey, India office of the FFA in 2017.

 

  • Sponsorship Changes
  • A Step
  • Change the

The FFA in Action

Sponsorship Changes Lives

When you sponsor a family, you give them the opportunity to improve their lives.  The staff in our India offices will monitor your family and keep a record of their progress to share with you. You also receive quarterly letters from your family. Your help makes a difference!

As an example, the family of Joseph Gasper Kudiamssery began receiving assistance in 2002. At the time, the family was living in a semi-permanent hut with a damaged roof and the parents were unable to provide sufficiently for their three children and along with one daughter had many medical issues. Over the years, with the aid of their sponsor, the children completed their educations, the family undertook the building of a home with government subsidy, and  medical problems were treated. The family is now able to continue on its own without help from their sponsor.

family
Joseph’s family in 2016

To learn how you can sponsor a family and make a difference in their lives, click here.

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The FFA in Action

A Step Towards Financial Independence

As part of the FFA family sponsorship program in Andhra, we provide the family with resources to help them take a step towards financial independence. The asset might be some goats, or a cow.

goats

Or, perhaps the capital to begin a small roadside shop. These shops proliferate throughout India in rural areas. People have limited transportation and depend on these enterprises for supplies.

shop_Krishnaveni

One way in which you can help the FFA with its programs is to make a donation to our Andhra Self Development Fund. We thank you for your support! To learn more, please click on this link.

The FFA in Action

Change the World – One Person at a Time

Almost 25 years ago, I was invited to sponsor a young mother of three with a sickly husband, living in a shack near the Arabian sea in Alleppey, India. Shortly after I accepted the sponsorship, their meager abode blew apart in a monsoon, making them homeless. Over the next few years, I sent what I could to support the mother, Omana, and help her family build a home.

I still remember the day I received a letter from Omana explaining that her situation had improved, she had purchased a sewing machine, and was now sewing garments for village women. She felt she could now support herself and her family and thanked me for her help…..

Years later I had the fortune to visit India and meet this most remarkable woman and her children. We sat together on her front stoop and exchanged stories about our growing children through an interpreter. I continued to follow her progress over the years, at one point resuming sponsorship for a bit to help her children with vocational training. Today, all three children are healthy, working, and able to care for their parents.

I have seen this type of success story repeated many times over because someone cared enough to forego the cost of a latte or two a week so they could help a family heal and become self supporting. If you would like to learn more about how you can make a difference in a family’s well-being through sponsorship, click here.

MeetingOmana
Board member Judy Warner visiting with Omana and two of her children, Mahesh and Raj Lakshmi (the young toddler in the photo above) in 2011.

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