Christian aid agency Samaritan’s Purse has decided not to accept $US300m in funds from the Trump Administration, according to a report on the Devex website. The funding is part of a larger, nearly $US2bn program through the State Department, in a partial replacement for USAID, which was defunded by Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)”.
The new fund aims to support global health and humanitarian services, but through faith-based and community organisations.
Devex reports that Samaritan’s Purse has responded that they have “always relied on God, not government, for funding,” according to their president, Franklin Graham.
“In an emailed statement to Devex, he said that after ‘prayer and discussion, ‘ the American-based evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organisation decided to withdraw from receiving the funds…
“Samaritan’s Purse was listed as one of three main American-based, internationally operating Christian humanitarian organizations that were slated to receive funding, in addition to World Vision and Compassion International.”
“’Samaritan’s Purse was invited by the U.S. Department of State to participate in a recently announced macro grant funding agreement of $300 million over two years. We were honored to be a part of this proposal. While we deeply appreciate the confidence that the State Department has placed in Samaritan’s Purse, after prayer and discussion, we have withdrawn from being a recipient of these funds,’ Graham wrote in the email.”
Samaritan’s Purse has declined to give any more details at this stage.
In other news of interest for Australians, Samaritan’s Purse is now flying an ex-Qantas Boeing 767 freighter (pictured). The former VH-EFR is Samaritan’s Purse’s largest plane out of their fleet of 28 aircraft. “On its inaugural flight, the 767 carried more than 290,000 packets of supplementary food for suffering women and children in Gaza, along with blankets, solar lights, and other critical relief items. Since then, the aircraft has completed multiple missions to the Middle East and the Caribbean.”
Image: Samaritan’s Purse 767. Image Credit: Samaritan’s Purse