Touched by Love International is a humanitarian aid organization that began with one relationship. Through the voice of an African pastor traveling through the United States on furlough, the needs of a handful of orphaned children in an AIDS-swept village in Kenya met the charismatic passion of a woman on fire with the love of Jesus. Our mission is to transform the lives of underserved and vulnerable women and children through empowerment programs that restore dignity, promote economic independence, and lay a strong foundation for breaking the generational cycle of poverty. Our Vision is to see those we serve realize their eternal value to God and their community and sustainably support their families. Touched by Love International seeks to provide assistance to orphans, widows, and the forgotten poor across the globe, by coming alongside local agencies, ministries, and individuals within vulnerable communities in order to partner with them in establishing self-sustaining access to education, healthcare, and other necessary resources. TBLI achieves this goal through building trust as equal partnerships with trusted and committed members of particularly impoverished communities and then working together with them to provide for urgent needs and care for those members of the communities who are in crisis or coming out of crisis. At the same time, we aid in the pursuit of sustainability by providing foundational resources such as agricultural equipment, seeds, water filtration, vocational training, or education. What makes Touched by Love specifically unique is our goal to foster long-term relationships with our partners including when they’ve reached financial stability and sustainability. They are not cut-of, but become non-funding partners who we support in other ways as we offer trauma training, help make local connections, and transport supplies as needed. Our primary focus in all we do and offer is love, and this bears itself out in a variety of ways, depending on the needs of each partner and his or her community. TBLI relies on donations and plans to raise necessary funds in a variety of ways. The goal is for this work to be funded by a broad, passionate and committed monthly donor base with occasional larger projects being financed by fundraising drives and events. Touched by Love also has ongoing fundraising initiatives to help assist with funding needs year-round and we hope to apply for grants in the future. Our team consists of a diverse group of individuals with backgrounds, training, and strong expertise in education, missions, social services, mental health services, medical and elder care, among others. We have a strong sense of compassion and desire to be fiscally transparent as good stewards, whom God has called us to be. All of these strengths and skills are imperative to have as we serve a vulnerable population who have experienced extreme trauma. Finally, our team has the ability to relate and the opportunity to connect with a variety of people.