Today, ‘social action’ has come to mean different things to different people, For RAFFA, our overall vision is to ‘Serve communities around the world,’ this statement of social action goes hand in hand with COGOP’s global mission of evangelism and out-reach and can be seen as the coming together of both faith and works. The unwillingness to see injustice and lack within a society and do nothing, and this should be the natural attitude of the church, as it shows a practical love and commitment to the places in which we live.
Faith based social action happens when people of faith work together, often with others outside their faith community, in order to achieve real and positive change within their local community, or in wider society. It springs from the application of spiritual principles, for the betterment of society and the improvement of people’s lives.
The launch of RAFFA by COGOP on 26th November 2006, was the response of an outward-looking church on the cutting edge, both to its affiliates and to the wider community. RAFFA is for social action. It is an independent charity, with a Diaspora-led structure that has not confined itself to only supporting those within the Diaspora. The United Kingdom, China, Grenada, Ghana, Jamaica, Lebanon and St Lucia are some of the countries that have benefitted from that support.
RAFFA then, is concerned with empowering the national and international community. Seeking to address a communities’ economic wellbeing, health awareness, and its educational needs in an effort to improve lives. This is done through the information sharing of community assets like: health services or organisations that donate equipment, expertise, facilities and services, it also happens through advocacy and advice, which could be given to businesses (whether they are profit or non-profit start-ups or longstanding businesses within the community) understanding that enterprise is good for financial empowerment and community autonomy.