Growing families that flourish in God’s kingdom

Session : As couples work to enrich their relationship as God designed, the entire family will flourish. This session will describe the opportunity churches and communities have to strengthen couple relationships within families, promote a sustainable earth, and help families promote family nutrition and economic growth. Current concerns of gender-based violence, HIV, under nutrition, poor family planning uptake, and a limited understanding of the value of women and girls have direct influence on food security and family nutrition for generations. Effective approaches with potential for scale will be described.

Presenter : Deborah Dortzbach is a nurse specialist in international public health and child health with extensive experience in community-based health assessment, program design, implementation, training, advocacy, and media & material
development. She presently holds the position of Senior Advisor on the Program Resource Team in World Relief in Baltimore, MD where she pioneered the couple and family strengthening program known as Families for Life. She also is an adjunct professor in the Department of Economics and Community Development at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. She has more than thirty years of experience in rural and community development in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean and resided 24 years in Kenya and one year in Eritrea.