Just ask any mom or dad of kids in our child sponsorship program what is the best hope of their child overcoming poverty, and the answer you're likely to get is, "Education."
Education really is a powerful tool for children living in poverty. Sponsoring a child is not just about giving material aid such as food and clothing; it's about opening the door to a better future. Through education, our sponsors help open the door to success for their sponsored children.
Tomorrow, September 17th is Special Hug Day. Sure, it may not mean much to you unless you’re familiar with Children International’s child sponsorship program. But let me assure you that this holiday is very meaningful to our sponsored children. In fact, it’s downright, well...special.
We didn’t come up with this holiday to sell cards or cheesy decorations or to make people feel compelled to commemorate the day with frivolous gifts. Perhaps the name Special Hug sounds silly, but the items the children and their families receive are nothing but practical.
Even making the bed is fun when you’ve got new clean sheets. “The bedspread is beautiful, and I like the color,” says Angie from Barranquilla, Colombia.
View our Special Hug slideshow to see gifts from past years and read what children living in poverty say about this special day.
Photo by Patricia Calderón, Communications Coordinator in Barranquilla, Colombia.
When Kelly and I started Children International’s Google Group, we knew it would be a great place for sponsors to get together and share ideas. But slowly it has evolved into something more – a group of friends who support one another ... and each other’s sponsored children as well.
The sponsors on the group share the stories of their sponsored children and the needs they face. Reading the stories and seeing an opportunity to help even more, sponsors set up fundraising projects, and the results have been pretty amazing. Some of the smaller projects funded include fundraisers for beds, food, school items, tuition, nutritional supplements and clothing. Sponsors have also raised money for Income Generating Projects which allow families to start up businesses to help them break free from poverty. As sponsor and fundraiser organizer, Heather puts it, “We are working as a group to change the lives of many families.”
These smaller projects understandably get funded much faster than the larger ones, but they are all so worthwhile. Currently Heather and company are working to build homes for two families living in poverty. You may even recognize them from past articles from Children International. First is the Mulangu Family in Zambia, a family of orphans who live in a borrowed home with the constant threat of eviction. The other is Jenie, a sweet little girl in the Philippines who lives under a bridge with her family alongside drug dealers and gangs. With the help of the fundraisers, both families can have the joy of a modest, but safe home.
If you would like to help with any of the group’s ongoing projects or see photos of the difference these fundraisers have made, please visit http://makeachangemac.webs.com/. Pages like these are just one more reason that I know Children International's sponsors are the greatest.
Gustavo Fernandez made a pit stop at Children International's headquarters to discuss his Hog for Kids program which benefits children living in poverty in the Dominican Republic.
Thanks for your generosity and for taking time out of your day to hang out with Children International's staff, Gustavo! What a cool way to make a difference in the lives of children.
We’re in for a special treat today at Children International’s world headquarters. Professional photographer and Children International sponsor, Gustavo Fernandez, is making a stop in Kansas City on his cross-country motorcycle ride to help needy children through Children International. He calls the program H.O.G.® For Kids.
Gustavo is making stops in cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York taking pictures of children and asking their families to sponsor a child in the Dominican Republic like he does. His goal is to find sponsors for 50 children living in poverty, and we support him whole hog! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Visit Gustavo’s cool H.O.G. for Kids homepage to see more of his photographs, see where he’s been and learn more about his mission.
Gustavo with his sponsored child Erica and her mother, Santa, in the Dominican Republic.
While they may not sound like exciting gifts to you and me, for families living in poverty sheets, dishes, storage containers and towels are a pretty big deal. Just imagine trying to keep your water free from contamination when you have a dirt floor and a leaky roof. Or having to eat your food right off of the old wooden table because you broke the last plate you had. Even being able to snuggle your face into a soft new bath towel is a pleasure that few of our sponsored children get to experience. That’s why Special Hug Day really matters to poor children and their families.
Feeling huggy yet? Visit our Special Hug page to make a contribution.
P.S. - Want to know what sponsored children will receive this year for Special Hug Day? For the inside scoop on gifts head to our Google Groups page and look for the “Special Hug Day Presents” discussion topic.
Photo by Communications Coordinator Anthony Lorcha.
Well you can! Children International has teamed up with House Party to help promote child sponsorship. Apply to throw a party at your home to spread the word about our program, and those selected will receive a great activity pack to get the party started.
Have a sponsorship party - Tupperware®-style - at your home and share childhood memories, photographs (yes, that’s me), games, candies and fun. As you take a trip down memory lane, contemplate the realities of children living in poverty and how sponsorship can help make their childhoods a little bit brighter.
Last week brought us the tragic passings of two individuals, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, who were household names in America and many other parts of the world.
When well-known people die, it serves to underscore the fragility of life and remind us all that death is no respecter of age, gender, education or social status. And no less tragic are the deaths of an estimated 1.8 million children per year due to contaminated water sources and the unhygienic conditions that often accompany living in poverty -- a tragedy intensified by the fact that these deaths are preventable.
Watch this video to learn more about how we at Children International are working to change those statistics...and how you can help.
Despite living in poverty, kids are still kids and playtime is an important part of any day. Yet when many families in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa earn around $20 a month, children must be resourceful. These enterprising little kids show us their improvised toys and that their spirits can’t be broken so easily by their sometimes harsh surroundings.
Clay toys like this tractor are common.
Children play soccer with balls made out of plastic bags.
Pretending to cook like her mother, this little girl mixes mud in a discarded jar.
To sponsor a needy child in Africa, please visit our homepage.
Strolling through the halls of Children International, the first thing one notices are pictures of children adorning every wall and decorating individual cubicles. It’s hard to be negative with dozens of beaming, beautiful kids smiling down at you. But not all the pictures show happy children.
As a writer, I’m faced each day with images of a different kind: hundreds, sometimes thousands, of poor, unsponsored children. Looking at so many sad kids can eventually inure one to the emotions such images generate. But occasionally, a picture brings all those feelings back again. You put the picture aside and try to get back to work, but find your eyes repeatedly slipping back for another look. You stare into the child’s sad eyes and try to imagine what their life might be like.
Each child has their own story, a unique set of harsh circumstances that has stolen the ubiquitous smile of childhood from their face. The photographs tell that story, and with a little practice, you learn to read the image like an open book.
The picture of Paola Mendez that arrived on my desk yesterday had that effect. Her image stayed in my mind all day, until I had to see the picture again. I examined it more carefully this time, letting my eyes go deeper to see what information I could glean about her life from the photograph.
The picture appears to have been taken in an alley. In the background, you can see canvas that serves as walls for Paola’s home. With scant protection from the elements, her nights must be cold and sometimes wet. A large metal post is visible, supporting a structure barely visible overhead, suggesting that the family lives under a bridge or in the shadow of an industrial structure. There are cooking utensils visible – hinting that the family has no kitchen. Kitchens are generally the second most important room in the house, so we can speculate that the members of this family do their living and sleeping in one room.
As if to highlight the unsanitary conditions, a puddle of what looks like urine snakes up to the foreground, just over Paola’s shoulder.
Next, we look at Paola. She wears a hair band, indicating that someone cares for her. However, the band has slipped and her hair is tangled and frizzy, suggesting she might not be getting the attention she needs. The dirt on her face and hands isn’t the kind a child picks up playing, but the kind that comes from being unwashed for days. This means the family probably has no bathroom or running water. Paola wears a thin, faded shirt, and her eyes are moist, as if she was recently crying.
Most disturbing is Paola’s expression. If joy was ever reflected in her face – it’s long gone. She seems unable to muster even the hint of a smile. The happiness that most of us associate with youth seems to have been stolen from this child.
From these observations, we can make some assumptions about Paola’s situation. The lack of sanitary facilities or a solid home indicates poverty at its most extreme. Her family struggles to survive, and she could be facing malnutrition and frequent illness. But disease and starvation aren’t the only dangers facing Paola.
On the streets of her city, she’s like a minnow among sharks. Mexico is home to some of the world’s largest and most violent drug cartels. The violence associated with such gangs often spills over into urban neighborhoods, where innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire. Nearly half the population of Mexico lives in poverty, and poor families are often the hardest hit by crime and violence. When you add drugs and social diseases into the mix, a grim picture develops. Without help, Paola could be doomed to live her life in this alley, devoid of hope.
Luckily, that’s not how this story has to end...
Check back on Thursday to see the drastic changes that would occur in Paola’s life when she becomes sponsored.
To become part of Paola’s story by giving her the gift of sponsorship, call: 1-800-888-3089.
Parasites represent one of the greatest and most common threats to the health of children living in poverty. Learn more about Children International's campaign to help poor children and their families by minimizing this health hazard.
Well, our awesome family of sponsors quickly stepped up to help nearly all of the waiting children we featured in a recent slideshow. The key words here – after “awesome” – are “nearly all.”
Fifteen of the 18 children – all of whom have been waiting for a sponsor – have a new friend to help them traverse the rocky course of an impoverished childhood.
But about those other three children living in poverty…
To be honest, it’s possible that 5-year-old Bantoni, from Ecuador, might have looked too happy in the slideshow. His beaming smile may have disguised the harsh reality of his daily life.
One look at his drafty and dilapidated home makes me worry about the longevity of that omnipresent smile. (And did I mention that – last we heard – he had cavities in his front teeth and his family cannot afford to send him to a dentist?) Having a sponsor, and the material benefits that come with that relationship, would mean a lot to Bantoni.
Six-year old Neyder, the eldest of four children, has been waiting for a sponsor for nearly a year now. When we spoke with his mother in Barranquilla, Colombia, she said she and her husband had trouble scraping together enough money for food. Yet, when asked why she’d most like to see her son become sponsored, she mentioned educational benefits. The implication is that they may not be able to keep him in school without the help…
Last and certainly not least is 5-year-old Francisco, in Valparaíso, Chile. It tugged at my heart to hear him talk about seeing his older brother receive gifts as a result of sponsorship…gifts that his family can’t afford to buy. And we aren’t talking about anything extravagant, like expensive jeans or video games. Just having new shoes to go to school, he said, would be really nice.
Can you help one of these children get a sponsor? If so, please visit Children International's Waiting Child slideshow to learn more about them. Or you can call us toll-free at 1-800-888-3089 and speak with one of our friendly sponsor representatives…they won’t be the only ones happy to hear from you!
Inspired by recent editions of our Journeys magazine and their daily tasks with sponsored children, volunteer mothers in Guatemala took it upon themselves to write their own stories about the trials of living in poverty and how Children International is helping them get by. These simple, handwritten letters, short stories and even one multi-act play show us the honest and giving nature of the families we serve and the volunteer mothers who make everything possible. Here are just a few excerpts from these lovingly-written pieces:
Once upon a time there was a poor family with a mother who was struggling along with her three children. Then someone told her that there was an institution that helped many needy families. One day when she least expected it, the help that she needed came when one of her children got sponsored... – Iris de León
Thank you so much to all of the people that work for this program. May God bless you and help you find people with big hearts to continue helping the families that need it the most. – Elsa de Paz Tepaz
[María Elvira] feels so happy and thankful for the letters that her sponsor sends her...and that motivates her to keep moving forward in school...She wants to achieve all of the goals she sets for herself in life...She thanks her sponsor and Children International for having made her dream come true. – Hercilia Pérez, María’s mother
Once upon a time there was little girl who cried a lot because her sister was sent pretty cards because she had a sponsor in the United States... [One] day she received word that she had a new sponsor, and the sponsor had sent her a package. The little girl jumped and laughed with excitement and happiness, because no one had ever sent her what her sponsor did. – Keilin Aquino
Mothers unable to pen their own stories were aided by volunteers like Carmen Duarte and Claudia Beltetón, pictured here with volunteer coordinator Wendy Ávila (center). These and other mothers helped to ensure that their stories were told.
Helping children write letters to their sponsors, delivering messages, managing sometimes hectic gift distributions, cooking food for malnourished children in our feeding programs... the deeds of these hardworking volunteer mothers (and some fathers) are endless. Without a doubt these special parents are what keep our child sponsorship program moving forward.
To learn more about our volunteer mothers in Guatemala, check out our “A Tribute to Motherhood ” slideshow.
Photo and reporting assistance by Javier Cárcamo, Communications Coordinator in Guatemala.
As I was looking through photos for today’s blog, these kiddos caught my attention – some children just love to have their pictures taken! Here are some of my favorite strike-a-pose, ham-it-up, please-oh-please-take-my-picture moments.
Chary and Nayeli in Barranquilla, Colombia work it for the camera.
Despite living in poverty in Legazpi, Philippines, these kids are all smiles.
Enjoying a little bit of shade in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa.
Massiel in Valparaíso, Chile, situates herself strategically in front of the Children International van.
Photos by Patricia Calderón, Anthony Lorcha, Clementina Chapusha and Leopoldo Montesinos from our child sponsorship agencies around the word. To see more awesome pictures of sponsored children and children waiting to be sponsored, please visit our website at www.children.org.
A Youth Health Corps member in Colombia uses games to teach younger children healthy lessons.
There’s a lot of buzz about Children International’s Youth Program lately. You might wonder why we are touting these incredible teens that are turning their lives of poverty into personal stories of hope. If you met one youth, you would know why -- because they lead truly inspirational lives.
Let’s take Lara Villanueva from Tabaco, Philippines. She lives with her parents and 3 siblings and sleeps on a mattress on the floor. Her father supports the family on $55 a month he earns as a fisherman in their coastal village. However, Lara didn’t let a rocky start in life keep her down. With the help of the Youth Program, Lara became the president of her youth council. She was her high school valedictorian. With support from a HOPE Scholarship, she is now in her first year of nursing school.
Then last year, I traveled to the United Nations with Lara where she was presented the Youth Achievement Award for leading her youth council in improving her community. Even though the trip was full of firsts – her first time on an airplane, first time she had to run through an airport to catch her flight, and first time to the United States – Lara returned home more determined to change her community by sitting on the Board of Directors of Children International in the Philippines.
To learn more about supporting our youth program, click here.
Dolores Kitchin is the director of Public Relations for Children International. To learn more about our child sponsorship program or to learn how to sponsor a child, visit www.children.org.
Take a trip back into the Children International video archives to learn how a generous charitable donation from a single child's sponsor made a difference in the lives of six families and their children living in poverty in India -- and helped them start netting a profit.
You've most likely heard from us in recent weeks, as we contacted all of our sponsors to enlist their help with this year's Easter gifts for sponsored children.
Although not all countries where we work celebrate Easter the same as it is celebrated in America, this day has taken on special significance for them through Children International. That's due to the generosity of our sponsors, who provide them every year with gifts that, though simple, really make a difference in their lives.
In many countries our Easter gift consists of school uniforms, supplies or shoes. These are items that are essential, as often children are not allowed to attend school without them. This can pose real problems for parents who are so desperately poor that buying school supplies can mean not being able to buy food for the family. One mom in the Dominican Republic wept as her daughter received her Easter gift, saying, "Now my daughter can go to school with decent clothes."
So...from us to you...thanks. Easter is just another example of your generosity, and we -- and hundreds of thousands of sponsored children -- sincerely appreciate it.
Children International's sponsorship program provides essential items for children living in poverty. Please visit our website, www.children.org, for more information on how you can help needy children.
Once again another issue of eNews is making its way to your email inbox – and it’s a good one.
-If you’re a regular reader, you’ll recognize David Nebel as our resident blog artist. He recently lent his cartooning skills to eNews for a video about how our child sponsorship agency helps children living in poverty.
-The “Life as They Know It” slideshow offers our readers a glimpse into the lives of sponsored children around the world.
-Sponsored youth Eric Ecleo will teach you the true meaning of “Never Give Up.”
-And you can even see how kids around the world celebrate Easter and an Indian festival called Holi.
Read on!
(If you’d like to receive the latest editions of eNews, please sign up here.)
The award-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire” has focused the global spotlight on the plight of children living in poverty in India. Even though I have not personally visited our agency in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), I always interview my colleagues after they return from there. They are professionals accustomed to seeing children living in horrible conditions, but each one is completely silenced by the overcrowding and sense of hopelessness children there are facing.
With that thought in mind, my boss – and our President and CEO – Jim Cook was on hand in Kolkata for the ribbon-cutting event for a new community center. The Disha (meaning “direction”) community center will be a safe haven for children who badly need a sense of hope in their lives. Thanks to two of our donors – the Roberts Coyote Foundation and Bob Doshi and Friends – our children have a bright Disha or “direction” in life.
President and CEO Jim Cook addresses representatives from the U.S. Consulate, donors and the community at the inauguration of the Disha community center.
Children crowd Ben Dial, Children International contributor, center, and Jim Cook, right, in front of the new community center.
Just over the big red bridge, Children International’s campus sits at the top of a small hill on nearly 60 acres just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. When I first came to interview I was really impressed. Although I’ve lived in the area most of my life, I had never ventured past CI’s office. It’s a beautiful country setting. I just never know what kind of wildlife I might see when I pull into the drive in the morning - deer, coyotes, woodchucks, skunks, turtles, ducks, and oh boy, don’t forget the geese!
The land the Children International sits on originally belonged to a former mayor of Kansas City, Bryce Smith. He had quite a farm here with stables, barns, stable master’s quarters, a metal storage building and of course, a small farmhouse. Our organization bought the land in 1964 and built the T-shaped section you see in the pictures. A few years later the building was expanded with the addition of the east wing.
Children International has certainly grown throughout its over 70 years of existence. And that’s good news, because it means we’re helping even more children living in poverty! We currently have 217 employees working in 12 departments – Information Technology, Accounting, Creative, Executive, Facilities Maintenance, Human Resources, Mail Center, Marketing, Production, Program Services, Sponsor Administration, and Sponsor Services.
And while we are certainly well-known in the communities that we work in, some Kansas Citians are unaware of the nature of the great work we do. In fact, one of the most common questions we get from people who visit our office is “Where are all the children?” We respectfully tell them that the children we work for don’t live here, but they are always in our thoughts.
While they may not sound like exciting gifts to you and me, for families living in poverty sheets, dishes, storage containers and towels are a pretty big deal. Just imagine trying to keep your water free from contamination when you have a dirt floor and a leaky roof. Or having to eat your food right off of the old wooden table because you broke the last plate you had. Even being able to snuggle your face into a soft new bath towel is a pleasure that few of our sponsored children get to experience. That’s why Special Hug Day really matters to poor children and their families.
Next, we look at Paola. She wears a hair band, indicating that someone cares for her. However, the band has slipped and her hair is tangled and frizzy, suggesting she might not be getting the attention she needs. The dirt on her face and hands isn’t the kind a child picks up playing, but the kind that comes from being unwashed for days. This means the family probably has no bathroom or running water. Paola wears a thin, faded shirt, and her eyes are moist, as if she was recently crying.
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