Powered by your faithful prayers and generous gifts, Concordia Welfare & Education Foundation equips young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to become servant leaders who will strengthen their own communities.
Working together with local partners in China and Cambodia, we focus on several key areas — improving Access to Quality Education for children from low-income families, providing mental health support for Migrant and Left-Behind Children, and expanding access to Clean Water & Health Training.
ACCESS TO Education
Through scholarships and enrichment programs, CWEF and our local partners are preparing young people for a life of leadership and service to their families and communities.
CWEF’s need-based scholarships make it possible for young people with difficult family circumstances to stay in school and have the opportunity to graduate from high school or university, preparing them for bright futures.
In addition, enrichment programs encourage students’ mental, emotional, and spiritual growth, preparing them for life after school and for their future vocations.
Watch these videos to hear from several previous China High School Scholarship students who have gone on to launch a domestic non-profit called Shining Star, which is serving left-behind children in rural Guangdong province.
MIGRANT & LEFT-BEHIND FAMILIES
CWEF supports and encourages local organizations and community advocates who are serving families impacted by migration, including children of migrant workers in urban areas and “left-behind” children in rural areas.
Many families in Asia are facing difficult challenges due to migration, whether it be students in underserved urban migrant schools or young children and their elderly grandparents who are left behind in rural villages after the children’s parents have moved away to find work in the city. We intentionally strengthen and equip the local organizations and community leaders who are serving these children and their families, who often suffer from poor mental health.
Watch this video to learn more about the GROW program by one of CWEF’s local partner organizations, Shining Star, which serves left-behind children in China’s Guangdong province. The majority of Shining Star’s GROW volunteers are previous recipients of CWEF’s high school scholarship program, and many of these volunteers also participated in other CWEF programs while in high school, such as the REACH student development program and career workshops.
CLEAN WATER & HEALTH TRAINING
In partnership with underserved communities in remote regions of Asia, CWEF provides improved access to clean drinking water and holistic community health training.
Access to a clean and reliable source of drinking water is a basic human need. When communities that have been lacking this resource receive improved access to clean drinking water, it removes barriers and results in huge positive impacts in the lives and health outcomes of local residents.
CWEF also works with community members to facilitate HEAL (“Health Education, Advocacy & Literacy”), a program that provides improved access to drinking water, hygiene, and/or sanitation resources in rural communities, while at the same time delivering in-depth training to local community advocates, who gain literacy and confidence in essential health practices, which they pass on to their neighbors and family members. This combination of improved facilities and healthy habits results in a stronger and healthier community.