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A Unique Approach to Helping Children in a Growing Number of Remote Areas Around the World including South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Haiti!
Check our exciting April 2013 Update Below...
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What We Do
Our Approach is Unique and our Mission is Clear
Unique as we reach out to police officers, first responders and those in positions of authority in cross-cultural settings by providing training from Christian volunteer teams. By encouraging ethical and professional behavior we seek the help of those we train to assist us in providing safe environments for children who have suffered greatly often from civil war, famine, drought and even Genocide. We are clear in what we do in that as relationships are developed our teams seek opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ to all who will listen as we work in and through local churches. We also have a passion to walk alongside of Christian workers living overseas to encourage missionaries, local pastors and church leaders. This is accomplished through listening well to needs, providing prayer, spiritual direction and life coaching.
Our teams seek to bring relief and assistance to children and orphans. With the effects of Genocide in places like Darfur, Sudan there are many needs for orphanages, medical aid, clean water, and schools. In Northern Uganda remote areas make it difficult for children to receive an education or quality medical care. We work alongside of existing medical outreaches, schools and orphanages to enhance the effectiveness of this much needed work. We seek to raise funding to directly help these outreaches but we also roll up our sleeves and work to bring law enforcement and government officials into our efforts. By exchanging our expertise with local police officers and command staff we develop friendships and encourage direct involvement with the children in their villages and communities.
As in all countries the people we are serving live in communities that suffer from child abuse, alcoholism, and domestic violence. One of the ways we provide long term care is to train police officers in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Haiti and other countries in methods of prevention and education. Through developing skills in Community Oriented Policing we take police officers on field exercises directly into schools to build trust with children and parents. As we "train the trainers" these officers are able to provide the much needed security for children and assist their families. Many of these children have never known what it is like to feel "safe." Many no longer have the comforting arms of a mother or father to fall into.
April 2013 Update
Dave McDowell has been serving with Safe Harbor International since 2006, and recently Safe Harbor International has asked both Dave and his wife Nancy to come on staff with Safe Harbor full time! Dave and Nancy will be raising full time prayer and financial support to continue the ongoing work and to expand the vision of this ministry outreach to include several additional countries. As short term outreaches are completed and new teams develop Nancy and Dave will remain in the locations reached for extended periods of time before returning home to organize returning outreach teams. This will allow them to develop ongoing relationships from the work just completed. It will also allow Dave to meet with Government officials to increase the scope of ministry possibilities for returning teams and allow Nancy to minister and encourage missionaries, pastors and church leaders in the areas we serve. Nancy will be serving by coming alongside of missionaries, pastors, and church leaders as a Certified International Life Coach and Spiritual Director to listen, encourage, develop and pray for leaders in the Body of Christ. Nancy has been involved in this caring ministry for more than ten years and is excited to be part of expanding this much needed ministry under Safe Harbor International.
If you would like to share in Dave and Nancy's excitement of what the Lord is doing by becoming part of their full time financial support team simply select the "Donations" link in the left column or contact us for further information!
Ministry Outreach
September 15 to October 5th, 2013
Please pray as our team continues to come together for our next Safe Harbor Police / Medical Outreach to Kenya, Sudan & Uganda. Who travels with us? Pastors, Police Chaplains, Police Officers, believers trained in providing spiritual direction, comfort and encouragement to others, Doctors, Nurses and those with a heart to minister to children to name a few. If you are reading this and feel the Lord is calling you to the needy parts of the world we minister - contact us to become part of our upcoming or future outreaches. Future outreaches are now being planned for Haiti along with assessment trips for areas of Asia.
On our September 2013 Africa trip we will be training officers and command staff in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan on topics such as Ethics, Community Oriented Policing, Defensive Tactics, Crime Scene Investigation and the effective use of Police Chaplains serving officers, their families and their community. This team will also consist of two doctors from Southern California who will be ministering to the medical needs of many from a poor area on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, Northern Uganda and Southern Uganda. Our team will also travel to Kijabe Medical Center above Nairobi on the Great Rift to give the doctors a tour of what God is doing through this missionary run hospital.
Pray for the many ways we will be reaching out to children both in Kenya, Sudan & Uganda. Many of these precious children have never known what it is like to grow up in a safe environment!
Pastor Augustine Owot with the help of Bishop Hilary Shepherd have been assisting us in Yei, South Sudan. Pastor Augustine has been a vital connection for us with contacting the police to arrange for our training. Bishop Hilary has given us the use of his church, and invited our officers to share with the students in his school after their training. He has also helped us get the word out on the ministry by interviewing us on their ministry radio broadcast.
Pastor Sam Kibuka is a dear friend who has helped coordinate our training efforts with the Ugandan Police for several years. Sam has made room in his Christian school / orphanage in Kampala to train the officers. Pastor Emuku Juventine has been a tremendous help in connecting us with the police in Yumbe District in Northern Uganda. Everywhere we train there are always an abundance of children eager to meet us which provides many opportunities for our team members to share their faith in Jesus Christ!
"Safe Harbor International exists to glorify God; to share the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ with people living in spiritual darkness, despair and poverty."
Thank you for taking the time to look over our website but make sure to CLICK HERE to watch a professionally produced 5 minute video of our work in Sudan where our ministry with Safe Harbor began.
Click on "Our Blog" link to the left for articles from our experiences in the countries we serve as well as news links from around the world covering daily news where we have worked!
If you have any questions please contact us using our CONTACT FORM or our direct emails listed below. Thank you for caring to make a difference in the world one person at a time!
God bless you!
Dave & Nancy
Dave & Nancy McDowell
Director of International Police Training & Outreach
Safe Harbor International
www.SafeHarbor.us
Direct Cell: 541-390-2891
Email: sgtdave47@gmail.com / nmcdowellrn@gmail.com
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