As 2024 draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on a year that was both challenging and rewarding. This was a milestone year for Chazak Rescue, as we successfully operated Chazak Academy and Chazak Rescue simultaneously for the first time. The progress we’ve made this year in training, networking, and responding to urgent needs around the world has been monumental as Chazak progresses in our vision to Finish the Mission.

For a more detailed look at everything we’ve accomplished together, take a moment to read our 2024 Field Report.

Training Cadets, Preparing Guardians

This year, Chazak Academy continued to push Cadets beyond their limits, equipping them with the skills and resilience they’ll need in the field. Some of the highlights from the year include:

• The Way of the Cross: Class 2 Cadets completed their final challenge, a grueling 58-hour endurance test involving long hikes, sleep deprivation, and real-world rescue scenarios. This marked their transition into Guardians, fully prepared to serve in some of the most difficult environments on the planet.
  Click to see TWOTC video recap.

• 1.5 Alpha Training: Class 3 Cadets underwent 1.5 Alpha Training at our Deadwood facility in Idaho, living out of their backpacks and adapting to rugged conditions designed to simulate deployment scenarios. This intensive experience challenged them physically and mentally, while teaching essential survival, teamwork, and leadership skills that will prepare them for high-risk environments.

• Uganda Deployment: Class 4 Cadets undertook their first training deployment to Uganda, digging a cistern for a children’s home and participating in local community work like road-building projects. They also practiced swift-water rescue skills on the Nile River and immersed themselves in cross-cultural experiences that will serve them well in future deployments.

Global Rescue Efforts

Meanwhile, Chazak Rescue teams were also on the move this year, building vital connections for responding to crises around the globe.

• East Africa Expansion: Our teams have been deploying to East Africa with the overarching mission of developing networks and creating overall EA infrastructure where so far, it does not exist. This groundwork is part of a larger strategy to establish a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in East Africa. The FOB will enhance our ability to respond with life-saving aid quickly to crises in a region where over 91 million people need assistance, including 78 million facing acute food insecurity and 26 million displaced by conflict (see the Field Report for a more detailed look at the East Africa deployments and our operations there.) Through these connection-building deployments, networks have been gained with local leaders and organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, the Nikao Foundation, and the Ayzon Foundation, and plans are under way for operational deployments to the region in early 2025.

• Ukraine Response: Toward the beginning of the year, Chazak Guardians were able to continue supporting the humanitarian aid efforts in Ukraine, making a positive impact on those heavily affected by the ongoing war.
• Hurricane Helene Response: In North Carolina, volunteers through Chazak Rescue stepped in to support rescue and recovery operations after Hurricane Helene caused devastating flooding and landslides. Working alongside local responders, our teams navigated impassable roads to assist flood victims and provide medical support, including the evacuation of elderly patients who had been stranded without aid for days.

The Road Ahead

This year has stretched us in many ways we didn’t expect, from managing higher deployment costs and less donation income than expected, to navigating access challenges in areas unreachable by most. Yet, these obstacles have only strengthened our resolve to Finish the Mission.

As we look to 2025, we’re focusing on key goals:

• Training even more Cadets to step into the role of Guardians and expand our reach into new regions.
• Have 1–2 full teams deployed to crises around the world at any given point.
• Establishing the Forward Operating Base in East Africa to ensure faster and more efficient responses.
• Doubling donation income by broadening our donor base.

Your Role in the Mission

The work we’ve accomplished this year would not have been possible without your partnership. Whether through prayer, financial support, or simply sharing our mission with others, you have been an essential part of every deployment, every connection, and every life impacted.

As we continue into 2025, we invite you to stand with us once again. Together, we will Finish the Mission by training, equipping, and sending Guardians to rescue those without hope in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

For a closer look at this year’s highlights and what’s ahead, explore our full 2024 Field Report.

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