Our Core Identity

The James 1:27 Trust takes its name and mandate from the biblical instruction found in the New Testament book of James chapter 1 verse 27 which states:

”True and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for the orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us” (New Living Translation)

The Vision of the James 1:27 Trust is to scale holistic care to orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. The Mission of the Trust is to promote the concept of “virtual adoption’, enabling accredited community and faith-based organizations to multiply existing levels of care to orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.

The core objectives of the Trust and can be summarised as follows:

  • To identify, through accredited community-based and faith-based partners, orphans and other vulnerable children.
  • To match these children with family-based care units with virtual/cyber sponsor clusters/teams in order to promote what is termed “Virtual Adoption”.
  • To use MSOVC (Management System for Orphan and Vulnerable Children) as a business information and management system to manage within a life cycle approach, the holistic development and ministry of the children.
  • To promote MSOVC as an enabler to scale existing levels of care to match the extent of the orphan and vulnerable children crisis.
  • To comply with good practice and community development principles.
  • To encourage a menu driven approach to sponsored goods and services.
  • To ensure designated and secure delivery of sponsored goods and services.
  • To sustain sponsorship through periodic progress reports.

Values

  • Holism – We promote holistic child development within a community development and child rights framework.
  • Solidarity – We believe in the value of big society where progressive and democratic values are owned and in which responsibility for the problems in society are shared. We acknowledge that the concept of an orphan is un African and support the truth that it takes a village to grow a child. In the digital age and information society this means that the village refers to both the local and global village with the virtual village being the bridge for the great exchange.
  • Integrity – We value honesty in our life and speech. It involves a rejection of exaggeration as a means of impressing or manipulating.
  • Simplicity – This means inward focus upon God and outward sharing with others. It involves rejecting the duplicity of many loyalties and the uncompassionate accumulation of wealth.
  • Innovation – We value innovation to bridge the gap between the needs of society and the limitation of resource availability.