Humanitarian Services (10/27/17)

“It is not okay to do good works to be seen, but it is okay to be seen doing good works.”  (Elder Devin Cornish, Caribbean Area Presidency, April 2014)

Humanitarian Services approves projects to help the poor & needy, and reduce misery.  The focus is always on the people being helped and the partner organizations that support our efforts.  

Opening doors and/or establishing relationships with political leaders is never a factor in approving humanitarian projects. In fact, every effort is made to minimize the Church’s public profile in projects. 

Public Affairs, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on opening doors and establishing strategic relationships with influencers.  Their goal is the “let the light of the Church shine.”

Although opening doors and establishing strategic relationships not an objective of Humanitarian Service initiatives, it is natural bi-product of projects.  

The bottom-line is that both Welfare Services and Public contribute to “bringing the Church out of obscurity” and helping the Lord “hasten His work.”

The wheelchair project we just completed is an excellent example of indirect benefits of Humanitarian Services (see newspaper article and photos below).

Luv Papa 

Our APRAESPI Brazil World Health Organization Wheelchair Training Project team (L to R): Brian McCollugh (Occupational Therapist & former Brazilian missionary-Ogden UT); Marcia & John Dow (HQ Wheelchair Specialists for SE Africa & Brazil-San Diego, CA); Jennifer Terry (Physical Therapist & former Brazilian missionary-Highland, UT); Elder & Sister Anderson (Humanitarian Specialists & Brazil Wheelchair Project Coordinators-Sandy, UT)