Agape Fish Fund partners with local churches and volunteers to provide meals, supplies, and Christian support for the homeless in San Jose, California. This Thanksgiving, the unhoused community in San Jose, California, didn’t have to forage for food. Instead, they were invited to a feast hosted at Forager. Connecting the CommunityThe Friendsgiving event, officially called "Giving Thanks in the Valley of the Hearts Delight," was an idea concocted by Forager’s Heinz Jones and John Kim. Heinz graciously opened up the Forager lounge to different homeless populations within San Jose.
The purpose of the event was to share a meal with individuals who are currently living unhoused, with the intent of giving them back a sense of dignity and connection to the community. “Our hope was to not only send a bit of love to our homeless friends, but also to bring awareness to their struggles, and to connect them with the appropriate resources,” shared one of the event coordinators. An event like this certainly brought the community together. It was a joint effort with Pastor Scott and Larry Johnson from CHAM, Justin Immamura with Trash Punx, Forager’s staff, and South Bay Church. South Bay Church, which is an Agape Fish Fund partner in homeless ministry, provided leaders to help coordinate, supplies to be donated, and volunteers to serve.
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Agape Fish Fund offers training programs as part of our mission to nurture a passion and cultivate prayer for poverty alleviation and missions among the Christian community in the United States. Three Training ProgramsIn order to nurture a passion and cultivate prayer for poverty alleviation and missions among the Christian community in the United States, we are offering these programs:
Agape Fish Fund supports low-income Vietnamese diabetic patients in California by providing diabetes-appropriate meals and Christian accountability. Support for Diabetic VietnameseUnmanaged diabetes in the Vietnamese community is a potentially life-threatening issue that needs to be addressed. A 2015 study found that about 1 in 17 Vietnamese adults (1 in 15 men and 1 in 20 women) has diabetes. The World Health Organization said that the prevalence of diabetes in Vietnam has almost doubled in the past 10 years, and across the population there is a lack of awareness about diabetes.
When diabetic patients are unaware of how to manage their diabetes, the disease can threaten their lives. There is a dire need for the low-income, diabetic Vietnamese population in California to have practical support in managing their diabetes. Agape Fish Fund partners with O'Keefe, a ministry that provides tutoring and mentorship to low-income elementary and middle school students in East Palo Alto, California. Elementary School tutoring continuesNancy Nguyen, Founder & President of Agape Fish Fund, shares the true story of her uncle. This personal experience led to her family developing a heart for homeless ministry. Agape Fish Fund partners with local churches and volunteers to provide meals, supplies, and Christian support for the homeless in San Jose, California. VIETNAM REFUGEESIn 1990, my family members were refugees after the Vietnam War and were part of the U.S. Orderly Departure Program (ODP). Gratefully, my father’s older brother, who was already living in the U.S., helped us with all the paperwork and signed to take responsibility for our immigration and transition to the United States. He was a handsome, well-to-do engineer. If it weren’t for my uncle, my family wouldn’t have been able to come to America.
This uncle was in the process of doing the extensive paperwork for our family and had to travel to Vietnam. Sadly, before the paperwork was finalized, his wife who was in the States took his multiple businesses and house assets and then divorced him. As if that wasn’t enough, my uncle later had the same experience happen in succession with two more wives. It was easy for him to find beautiful women to marry due to his good looks. But then they ended up taking everything of his and divorcing him. This tragic pattern deeply affected my uncle mentally and he went missing for many years. Agape Fish Fund partners with O'Keefe, a ministry that provides tutoring and mentorship to low-income students in East Palo Alto, California. Making Volcanoes on Science DayStudents didn’t have school on Monday, October 9th for Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day, so we gave them a fun science day instead. Dr. Mike taught the students a science lesson in the backyard, and they had a blast working on volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar!
Agape Fish Fund partners with O'Keefe, which provides tutoring and mentorship to low-income students in East Palo Alto. This year we'd like to enrich 12 of the students with field trips to see a nativity drama and to provide school supplies for them. Park DayOn Saturday, September 2, 2017, we took the kids to Willow Park for the morning. Everyone had a great time on the playground and hanging out.
POVERTY WALKATHONWALK LOCALLY, IMPACT GLOBALLY FOR CHRIST 9am-12pm, Saturday, October 28, 2017 Penitencia Creek Park, San Jose, CA Please join us for the Agape Fish Poverty Walkathon! Your participation will raise awareness and funds for poverty alleviation ministries in East Asia. The donations and registration fees will go toward helping impoverished children and families who struggle to meet their basic needs. Please join us to walk the local 5k and make a global impact for Christ.
Agape Fish Fund partners with O'Keefe, which provides tutoring and mentorship to low-income students in East Palo Alto. This year we'd like to enrich 12 of the students with field trips to see a nativity drama and to provide school supplies for them. Science and ice creamThe students enjoyed an evening of some great science and delicious ice cream! What a great way to learn while enjoying a yummy summer treat. Art ClassOn Monday, August 14, 2017, Bonnie led an art class for the elementary school students. We have some talented artists in our midst.
Agape Fish intern Emma Cockerell wrote this article reflection and recap on What the Homelessness Crisis in Asian-American Communities Reveals About Ourselves, published on June 5, 2017. The terms Asian-American and homeless don’t regularly go together, as San Francisco State University professor Russell Jeung points out.
But despite common belief, many Asian-American immigrants escaping war and poverty at home face homelessness in America. For Jeung’s neighbor Jimmy, being without permanent shelter is a sacrifice to make higher education possible. Jimmy attends SFSU and lives out of his car, cleaning himself with hydrogen peroxide and at times resorting to sneaking a rice cooker into his university’s library. Jeung has two other neighbors, Sonny and Mary, who have faced housing challenges. For them, displacement and lack of a home are also sacrifices that serve a larger purpose; a momentary discomfort that allows greater convenience for their family. Jeung urges those more well-off to love and identify with their homeless neighbors, rather than blaming the societal forces that allow for homelessness. He believes that “we, too, are foreigners and exiles to this world,” and that the impetus is on the individual to seek God’s righteousness with mankind, regardless of status or monetary wealth. |
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