Global Charity Network (GCN)
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
(Matthew 25:35-40)
The Global Charity Network (GCN) is a distinct charity entity under MMI's Charity & Social Welfare Division that brings together various charity organizations from around the world to enhance access to funding through the MMI's Ecclesia Bank.
Headed by a Board of Trustees, who are all members of the MMI Global Missions, the Global Charity Network's Charter, known as Building Humanity Initiative, stipulates that charity entities therein must focus on the following key pillars of human well-being:
- Food & Health
- Clothing & Shelter
- Education & Social Security
The Global Charity Network is also meant to equip nonprofits, public and private sector organizations to achieve their philanthropic goals by providing customized consulting services - including strategy implementation and ongoing organizational support.
Food & Health
Nearly 870 million people in the world are suffering from extreme hunger. And of those people, 98 percent are living in developing countries. Lacking the proper resources or climate for crop growth, the impoverished men, women and children enduring these conditions are caught in a cyclical state of malnourishment.
One out of six children in developing countries is underweight; and one out of four children will experience stunted growth due to malnutrition. Children under five do not yet have fully-developed immune systems, they are especially at risk for diseases.
In rural, impoverished areas, access to clinics and medicine is scarce. More than 1.3 billion people lack access to essential medicines. Each year, more than 1 million people die from malaria, more than 1 million people die from HIV/AIDS, and thousands die from dengue fever.
Clothing & Shelter
Housing is not only a necessity of life; it has a pervasive impact on all aspects of our existence. Housing—if it is adequate—provides privacy and security against intrusions, both physical and emotional. It is the principal locus of personal and family life.
Today, by the most conservative estimates, about 900 million people live in slums. But most experts agree that including different types of informal settlements, the number goes up to 1.6 billion – which represents 1/4 of the world’s urban population.
In regard to clothing, poor families own few everyday outfits and, if they are lucky, some smarter clothes to wear to church or on special occasions. Many outfits by the poor are bought second-hand and are passed down through the family. Clothes are often mended and patched for as long as possible.
Education & Social Security
In rural areas, children are two times less likely to attend school than their urban counterparts. Typically, the most impoverished children are the least likely to be able to attend.
There are about 61 million children—or one out of every 10—in the world without access to education. And roughly 49 percent of those children are predicted to never enter a school.
More than 95 percent of the children without access to education live in the developing world. For families living in poverty, the quest for education presents itself as a double-edge sword: Not only is school too expensive, but their families need more field-work help to provide income, or help gathering water for the family.