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There are many young people in our community that see nothing positive in their future. Serial abuse, neglect or disappointment, often reinforce an attitude which says that today is bad and tomorrow will only be worse. Many of the young people we have worked with exist with this mindset as the backdrop for their lives.

After what feels like a lifetime of working in the drug and alcohol sector with people struggling with addictions, I am left with one abiding thought… there are times when we as a community need to carry hope for those who can’t hold onto it for themselves.

At Concern Australia, we work to be carriers of hope for the young people in our programs. We can’t always solve their life issues but by holding onto hope we can begin to see lives change. We do this by presenting them with new opportunities, new ideas, and a new way of seeing the world.

Sometimes a lack of hope is code for avoidance of responsibility. At Concern Australia we try to help move young people from avoidance to engagement. We seek to help them face the issues in their lives and deal with them proactively.

We aim to create communities saturated with symbols of hope. These symbols are our people who care for individuals, people who will stay with them for the long haul, and people who say through their words and deeds, ‘You are of intrinsic worth – to us, but more importantly to the God who made you.’

As we approach the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas we see the ultimate carrier of hope. Jesus came as the incarnate God (God with skin on), to show us that He believes in us, cares for us, and stays with us for the long haul. Through word and deed Jesus declared his love for us, demonstrating its depth by dying on a cross.

It is Jesus’ example that drives what we do and motivates and sustains us as we carry hope for others.

For us at Concern Australia, incarnation (God with skin on), is about living out the example of Jesus in our lives. Caring for and loving others is how we put skin on our relationship with our creator.

2010 has been a significant year of consolidation and growth at Concern Australia. Would you join with us and become a partner and co-worker in carrying hope to a world which has largely lost the capacity to hold onto hope for themselves.

Many of our supporters tell us how they admire the work we do, but the truth is that you too can be Jesus with ‘skin on’ in your world. Carrying hope for others is about realising that sometimes people need to see it before they can believe it. Our role as a community is to make sure they can see that hope in us.

Moses Abbatangelo
Executive Director