Marah International
is a volunteer, grassroots, non-profit, interdenominational
Christian
organization working to protect the environment
and public health in the United States, Eastern
Europe (primarily Romania), and Africa. As a
Christian organization, Marah seeks to follow
the example
of Jesus Christ in bringing hope and healing
to the world and encourages Christians to serve
as
caretakers of God’s creation through education,
action, prayer, and collaboration. Named after
a spring called Marah in the biblical story of
Exodus, in which God helps Moses purify polluted
water (Ex. 15: 23–25), Marah International
aims to help restore ecologically distressed
regions
of the world through a holistic and biblically-based
approach to creation care and ecological stewardship.
Marah seeks to address ecological, economic,
social, spiritual, and health concerns in heavily
degraded
areas by empowering youth to be effective leaders
in their communities, enabling communities to
tackle health and ecological problems in a sustainable
fashion, encouraging churches to practice and
promote
creation care, and establishing partnerships
with other environmental and health organizations.
To
help communities tackle environmental and public
health problems, Marah and its partner organizations
offer education and training programs; health
and environment assessments; provide equipment
and materials for monitoring as well as providing
assessment and education
initiatives
and other networking opportunities.
Marah’s youth empowerment initiatives
include the formation of youth Ecology Clubs,
which undertake
environmental monitoring and restoration projects
(e.g., the 3R Initiative [Rescue Romania’s
Rivers] involves Romanian youth in caring for
rivers and
watersheds). Marah also provides free or low-cost
training for adults in fields relating to health
and the environment. Its Training for Environmental
and Health Professionals program aims to raise
awareness about environmental health issues in
both medical and Christian missionary communities.
In addition to its educational work, Marah provides
technical assistance with assessments for communities
seeking to identify and address health and environmental
problems in ecologically-degraded areas. Marah
also supports the ecological and public health
work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by
helping them obtain necessary equipment, materials,
training,
expertise, and funding. In the United States, Marah
runs creation care programs for churches, mission
organizations,
and non-profits and, in collaboration with its
partner organizations, organizes short-term health
and environment service trips for individuals,
youth groups, and churches. |
