Our Mission

Mission Statement
To partner with select impoverished world villages to help them help themselves.
Vision Statement
To improve the lives of others by sharing compassion, gifts and personal presence.
Values
In partnering with villages, we respect their values, history and abilities. We honor their dignity. We serve as a direct conduit for gifts to positively change villages one life at a time.
Faith
We are an inclusive interfaith community, sharing God’s love as Moses commands and sharing in the spirit of Jesus. We aspire to seek justice, love, kindness and walk humbly with our God.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Village Partners International: The power of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Village Partners International, we are dedicated to creating a world where everyone is valued, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential. Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is integral to achieving our mission of helping people help themselves.

Diversity

We celebrate and embrace the diversity of our community, recognizing that our differences – whether in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, abilities, or perspectives – enrich our organization and contribute to our collective strength. We actively seek to include individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life in every aspect of our work.

Equity

We strive for equity in all our initiatives, acknowledging that historical and systemic inequalities exist. We are committed to identifying and dismantling barriers that may prevent any individual or group from fully participating in our work. We prioritize fairness, justice, and inclusivity in decision-making, resource allocation, and program development.

Inclusion

Inclusion is at the heart of what we do. We foster a culture where every person feels welcomed, valued, and heard. We actively seek to create an environment that promotes collaboration, open communication, and mutual respect. Our goal is to ensure that all members of our community have equal opportunities to contribute, grow, and lead.

Accountability

We recognize that fostering DEI requires continuous effort, self-reflection, and a commitment to learning. We hold ourselves accountable for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our policies, practices, and commitments. We welcome feedback and are dedicated to ongoing improvement as we work towards a more just and inclusive society.

By embracing diversity, striving for equity, fostering inclusion, and holding ourselves accountable, we believe that we can create positive and lasting change in the communities we serve.

Changing Lives – One Person at a Time

Village Partners International grew out of the mission work of people of faith from different churches beginning in rural Haiti in 1995.

In 1998, during a medical mission trip, a young Haitian boy had fallen into a vat of boiling water and could only receive help in the United States. A team arranged for a UN helicopter to bring him to Tampa, Florida for treatment; his story was published in an international surgical journal.

Five years later, Martha Kawala, a young girl from the village of Papoli, Uganda was diagnosed with a life threatening cardiac condition. As this could not be treated in Africa, she walked 8 miles to an internet café to send Dr. Sylvia Campbell an email asking for help. Dr. Campbell helped arrange for the Rotary Club to provide transportation and the St. Joseph’s Hospital’s cardiac surgical team to provide surgery. Martha’s life was saved and changed.

Martha returned to her village and scholarship money was raised for her education through the efforts of Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church. It was soon discovered that water was a more critical need if the village was to thrive, so a well was built. The AIDS epidemic has devastated a generation, leaving behind homes headed by orphans and widowed grandmothers. Housing for orphans and widows became an ongoing need that began to be addressed. The opportunity to serve grew to include the efforts of friends from a number of faith traditions. The merit of partnering with an interfaith organization became clear, leading to the creation of Village Partners International, which demonstrates how communities can be changed one person at a time.

Locally in Tampa, Florida, VPI incorporated Kindness Matters, a grassroots effort to reach the homeless in Tampa, where each Saturday morning, volunteers connect with those often invisible, to deliver food, coffee, water, clothing, books, shoes, toiletries and grocery gift cards, helping to bridge this time of housing insecurity.

Village Partners International, a 501(c)(3), was created as a way to open the work that the church has begun to the broader community. The four major areas of focus are:

Health
Malnutrition
Clean Water
Housing insecurity

Our goal is to partner with villages and individuals for projects that create independence and are self-sustaining.