According to the UNHCR (2008), there are 67 million refugees and IDPs worldwide
51.4% of employed people living in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $1/day
Approximately 80,000 Romanian children live in orphanages or in foster care
According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty
In Carmen Bajo, a poor suburb of Quito, Ecuador, the unemployment rate is more than 85%
One-sixth of the world's population lives in slums
"In the developing world there are 2.1 million pastors and church leaders. Of those, 1.9 million have never had any training at all. Not only have these leaders not gone to seminary or Bible school, they haven't even gone to high school or primary school. They have no training whatsoever - and yet they lead the church." - Rick Warren
"Thank God there are brothers in Canada who understand that it is not only bread we hunger after, but also the Word of God." - A Sudanese pastor
International Programs
International Teams Canada is a Christian mission organization that has a program and project approach to serving the poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable in our host countries: Canada, Ecuador, Romania, the Philippines, Rwanda, Uganda, Southern Sudan and Kenya. We focus on refugees, street children and orphans, along with marginalized women.
We operate by partnering with local churches who get involved by sending short term teams and by going deeper with a 3-5 year commitment to become engaged in a program.
The programs are led by host country program leaders who are involved in all decision making.
Our Canadian support teams consist of staff and high capacity volunteers, who play an important role, fundraising and working with the host country leadership teams to make it all happen.
Our short term teams play a significant role as well. They are often the hands, feet and face of International Teams. They roll up their sleeves, cross the time zones and pour their love and energy into the lives of the people we serve. Often they return home with a new vision and an infectious passion for serving God and serving the poor.
We accomplish our goals by setting specific plans, budgets and measurable objectives for spiritual and social renewal, and strive to achieve them together as a team. We are accountable to report on our progress every six months.
Our resource partners are individuals, churches, businesses, teams, foundations and other funding sources. International Teams events like the RIDE for Refugees are another source of funding for our refugee related programs.
Together, we are passionate about serving God and serving the poor.
