Stories of Change

How Your Giving Is Making an Impact  

Stories of your living gifts at work


The best way to help someone in need is to stand with them in their place of need. 

See below for stories of people and communities who are experiencing change because of your willingness to walk alongside them in their place of need. 

Woman in flowing white dress with arms raised, in a desert canyon, dress billowing.

Humanitarian Relief

A husband and wife stand in front of a home at a refugee camp

Leila's Story


Leila is a mother of six who fled Syria after an explosion killed her neighbours. Her husband disappeared 12 years ago, and she doesn't know what happened to him. Because he may still be alive, she hasn’t been issued a death certificate, which means she doesn't qualify as a widow and can't get support from many organisations.


Since arriving in Lebanon, she has faced many challenges. She and her children lived with her sister's family in a single tent for about six months. The jobs she found paid very little. Her children needed education, food, medicine, and clothes. Leila was most worried about their education, but she couldn't afford private school or the costs for transportation and materials of public school. 


Tearfund Ireland's local Christian partner has set up informal learning centres to provide an education for children.


“We have been so lucky because of this learning centre! We learnt about it when it was just beginning. Our children were among the first to enrol. At the centre, they offer a very good education. My children are always happy to go, and the school makes things easy for both the children and parents. We continue to encourage more parents to enrol their children in the school.” Leila


In addition to the school, Leila and her family receive food parcels from the church. The community centre, where the school is located, also has a small medical clinic. Leila completed a six-month first aid training course, learning to help during life-threatening situations and treat burns and basic illnesses. This training has enabled her to assist many people in her camp.


“We ask everyone to pray for God to improve our situation. We sincerely thank those who have supported us with food and help for our children. We pray for them and hope that more people can also be helped.”  Leila


Leila and her children are one of the many families who have received much-needed support. There are thousands more in their situation. Our partners are continuing to run the learning centres and medical clinics, and churches are providing food parcels and hygiene kits.


We are grateful to those who have generously supported our partners' work in Lebanon. If you'd like to help more people like Leila, you can donate here.

Woman in flowing white dress with arms raised, in a desert canyon, dress billowing.

Transforming Communities

Woman sitting in a chair in her cafe

Mihret's Story


We are delighted to present this devotional email series designed for individuals, groups, and churches. This series offers an in-depth exploration, including the joys, challenges, personal growth, and transformative journey of Mihret, who has been an active member of a Self Help Group for over nine years. Each week, you will delve deeper into her inspiring story, which illustrates her remarkable transition from a woman living in deep poverty to becoming a well-known and respected businesswoman within her community.


Ten years ago, in southern Ethiopia, a young woman named Mihret found herself living in profound poverty. In her early twenties, her future seemed bleak, overshadowed by a sense of hopelessness. Opportunities appeared scarce, and she felt isolated, with no one to lean on. Her days ahead seemed to be a cycle of frustration and hardship. But then hope emerged—a Self Help Group (SHG) offered her an opportunity. Joining a circle of 15-20 women facing similar challenges, she was encouraged to save a little each week. 


The breakthrough came when she attended a business development course led by our partner. She spotted a gap in the market for turning her stall into a local coffee shop: a place where local people could sit down in comfort, away from the roadside. So she took out a loan from her Self Help Group, rolled up her sleeves, and now, Mihret, has been an active member of a Self Help Group for over nine years and is a well-known and respected businesswoman within her community.


‘It was not always easy. It was mostly a bumpy road… But now people come to me to ask for advice on how to start a business. I even have bank managers wanting me to share my tips with their wives!’


Since November 2024, Mercy Coffee has moved from a modest corridor to a spacious dedicated shop, tripled in size, and employs 15 people. Her upgraded menu now features coffee, crisps, fresh juice, and lattes, serving a continually growing customer base. With doubled revenue and savings, Mihret continues to plan for the future and now guides other entrepreneurs as they take their first courageous steps towards starting their own business. 

Mihret represents thousands of women whose lives have been transformed through Tearfund Ireland’s Self Help Group programme. Women who once were marginalised, with no financial security and little hope for change, are now full of confidence and hope. Their self-esteem, their dignity and their self-respect have been restored.

Woman in flowing white dress with arms raised, in a desert canyon, dress billowing.

Justice and Influencing

Protesters hold pink signs outside a gated stone building on a rainy day
"Every child deserves to have that one person who is madly in love with them to call ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’."
Former resident of institutional care, Stephen Ucembe

At least 5.4 million children are growing up in childcare institutions around the world today. Research from several countries tells us that at least 80% (8 in every 10) of these children have at least one living parent. Studies show that poverty is the number one reason why children are placed in care around the world. As an organisation that seeks to see people lifted out of poverty in all its forms, keeping children with their families must be a priority.


Since 2016, Tearfund Ireland has been working with partners to enable more children to grow up in their families and communities rather than in institutions.


Through these efforts we have recognised that working with our overseas partners is only one part of the challenge. Overseas volunteering has also been found to be a strong driver of institutional care around the world.


Did you know that the number of orphanages in Cambodia rose by over 75% between 2005 and 2010? This was due to increasing demand for volunteer placements in orphanages from overseas donors and tourists.


Tearfund Ireland is committed to raising awareness with individuals, churches, educators, and even the government here in Ireland to change the way we volunteer.


Stephen Ucembe, a care reform expert and Regional Advocacy Manager with Hope and Homes for Children in Kenya, grew up in an orphanage and now works to eliminate the institutional care of children. "I was placed in an orphanage when I was about five years old after I lost my mother. I was separated from my siblings and my extended family. The fundamental lesson in my personal life, after spending 15 years of my childhood in an institution, is that no child should grow up without the love of a family and isolated from the community. There is a family out there for every child, related by blood or not."


In Ireland, we have taken steps to reform how we care for children, moving away from large-scale institutions towards supporting families to prevent separation and developing foster care and kinship care as alternatives. Stephen Ucembe called upon Ireland to support similar efforts in other countries, stating: "Children in Africa are not that different from those in Europe; rights are universal.


Tearfund Ireland will continue to raise awareness about this issue.