Doing Something About Child Poverty

I’m glad you took a moment of your time to read about Children International, the work we do, and – most importantly – the children we help.

My name is Kelly Nix. As Content Manager and co-moderator (with Sarah Trapp) of Children International's blog, my work takes me around the world…right into some of the poorest communities imaginable, similar to those I knew growing up as the child of missionaries in South and Central America.

Humanitarian work might seem like a strange field for someone whose educational background is in Theology, Business, Psychology and Computer Science…but I’ve actually found applications for each of those disciplines in my work with Children International. Most importantly, though, I’ve found that working for an organization like Children International is simply an opportunity to help real children living in poverty…children with names, faces and families much like yours and mine.

Through our child sponsorship program, which is administered by trained, capable professionals at each sponsorship agency we operate around the world, children and young people receive vital help. Our nutrition programs help feed hungry children; our educational assistance helps feed hungry minds; and our health and dental programs help make sure that our sponsored children have the medical care they need in order to stay healthy.

We hope our posts will help you understand more about child charities. You'll hear testimonials from other sponsors and meet different members of the Children International team; most importantly, though, you'll get a glimpse into the lives of the children and their families.

Please visit our blog often. Read…think it over…and then let your voice be heard as you share your comments. After all, it takes all of us thinking, dreaming and working together to accomplish a goal as big as lifting children out of poverty.

Fifty-five years ago, the United Nations proclaimed November 20 as Universal Children’s Day.

Of course, at Children International, every day is Children’s Day. But today we’d like to ask you to take a little extra moment to remember the world’s children.


CI had already been helping children for 18 years by the time the UN’s proclamation was issued. And today we’re going stronger than ever – and by “we,” I mean we – that is, the combined power of all our donors, field staff and volunteers.

With your help, we’re making the lives of over 335,000 children in 11 countries better. So keep up the good work…and happy Children’s Day!

Photo by Cecilia Carrión, from our agency in Quito, Ecuador.

Patricia Huerta graduated from the Catholic University of Guayaquil, Ecuador with a degree in interior design. However, her early career took a very different course, leading her to work for the Canadian consulate in Guayaquil as well as serving in Human Resources and as an assistant manager at two different banks.

She and her husband welcomed a daughter…and then another. Recognizing the importance of spending time with her children, Patricia took a break from her career to become a full-time mom. But after her daughters were older, she returned to the professional world – this time to work for Children International. Although she started as the director’s assistant, in 2007 Patricia took on the challenging role of Communications Coordinator for our Guayaquil agency.

“I love visiting children and youth at their homes and to be in their neighborhoods with their special particularities and similarities,” shares Patricia. “I like to talk to them and listen to their thoughts, wishes and ideas. I feel proud when our sponsored children and youth express themselves better than many kids with better economic resources and education; maybe they're more mature because of the difficulties they face in daily life, and they do recognize and acknowledge the support CI is giving them.”

Going to the field for stories involves advance planning, particularly to secure the use of the agency vehicle and its driver – who also serves as Patricia’s bodyguard in the sometimes dangerous neighborhoods she visits. “Before an interview I go to the community center to collect the staff who will guide us to the house to be visited, sometimes the Supervisor, other times one of the assistant and in many occasions, the volunteers go with me to the houses,” she reflects. “Talking to the volunteers is the best; they're nice and they know helpful information that could lead to a good story. We visit the houses, take photos, talk to the family and go to the next house or return to the community center. If the driver doesn't have other vehicle requests, I stay in the community doing interviews, talking to children and taking more photos. I love my job!”

Sometimes the job is incredibly rewarding, as was the case when a former sponsored youth, Diego, stopped by to let the office staff know of a prize he is being awarded by the Nobis Foundation for his service when he was in the sponsorship program. And some days it’s incredibly sad…like when she got the news about a sponsored youth who lost his battle with tuberculosis. “I visited him twice, as I heard he had tuberculosis; I wanted not only to write a good story, but to know if he was taking good care of his health with the help of the Agency doctors. Unfortunately he couldn't make it and I feel so sad because he was a valuable young man whose only illusion was to return to school and to rejoin the youth group at the community center – activities he had to leave when he became ill.

“I think that bringing the stories direct from the field, and sending a photo of the reality our children and youth live in, is one of the best resources CI has to let the world know the importance of its labor to help needy children,” adds Patricia. “I feel so good when I see one of my photos published in Journeys or in other CI publication; it's like a dream come true for me.”

"I want to say thank you for taking care of me, and for being my sponsor. If you come here to visit me I want you to teach me how to play basketball."

When an outside news organization decided to visit Children International's child sponsorship agency in India to see firsthand how an international children's charity functions, they encountered a model of efficiency. See for yourself the results of their visit.

Children and families in the Philippines are still struggling to recover a measure of normalcy in the wake of typhoons Ketsana and Parma.

Staff from Children International’s Manila and Quezon City child sponsorship agencies continue to carry out disaster relief efforts – an overwhelming challenge due to the enormity of the losses, which, sadly, include the lives of a sponsored child and most of her family.

Two top-priority efforts are food relief and medical assistance. Thousands of dollars of food items have been distributed to affected families, and thanks to the generosity of a local drug manufacturing company, children and families have also benefited from the donation of thousands of dollars in medicine.

Our agencies are also helping with in other ways. Families who lost everything they owned are receiving help with materials to repair their houses; additionally, many children and families are receiving items like blankets, clothing, footwear and – of critical importance – school uniforms and supplies, so no more time is lost from school than is absolutely necessary.

We are looking at ways to make life safer for families in the future. Our agency staff is working with local government officials to identify more secure sites for settlements that, prior to the typhoons, were located in flood-prone areas such as riverbanks and sewage canals. The agencies have also registered with the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs and the National Disaster Coordinating Council to ensure all relief efforts meet international and national standards.

Our sponsored youth are no less involved. Local Children International youth council members are working to launch preventative education efforts to address issues like improper garbage disposal, which has been identified as one of the factors that contributed to the widespread flooding during the typhoons.

Please check back Monday for a special message from Children International President Jim Cook.

Photos by Children International's staff in the Philippines.

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.

Thanks to all of you who continue to hold the people of the Philippines in your thoughts and prayers.

No doubt you’ve followed the situation in the news. To say matters are grim would be an understatement. Our child sponsorship agency staff in the Manila area continues to work tirelessly to track down sponsored children and their families at different shelters to verify their wellbeing and ensure their basic needs are met.

As we receive news from the field, we’ll be updating it on our website, www.children.org. Please continue to click the “Emergency Alert” button on our homepage as your first source for the latest information from our staff at ground zero.

A note to all our friends:

I’m sure you’re aware at this point of the tragic events surrounding the typhoon-induced flooding in the Philippines. Our staff in the Manila area are scrambling to assess the situation.

What we do know is that the damages are staggering. Thousands of families have been displaced; the last information we received indicated the death toll from the flooding was at least 140 people…and we can only imagine more sad news will come in once rescuers are able to reach remote areas.

We appreciate all of you who are thinking of and praying for all the children and families, sponsored or not, in the Philippines. It’s very difficult to communicate with the field under these circumstances, and our staff there has its hands full dealing with the emergency. Nevertheless, they are doing a very good job of contacting us as often as possible with updates.

Whenever we do receive substantial updates, we’ll be posting the information to our main website, www.children.org. Please visit the homepage frequently and click on the “Emergency Alert” button to learn the latest news.

Thanks again. It’s because of people like you that we’re able to be there to respond to tragedies like this one.

Marelvis Campo, Communications Coordinator for our child sponsorship agency in Cartagena, Colombia, has been part of the CI team for the past eight years.

Marelvis holds a degree in Journalism and Social Communication. Prior to joining Children International, she worked in radio and television in local and regional markets within Colombia. She began working for CI as an intern, but very soon, says Marelvis, “I realized this was where I needed to be; I needed to apply everything I had learned to the organization to show people the work Children International does to help the poorest and neediest children of the city.”

Children International’s Communications Coordinators (CCs) are the field correspondents who report on the stories and news items that later appear in our print and Web publications. According to Marelvis, a typical day for a CC might include visiting community centers, where they are joined by community volunteers prior to launching out into the community to visit children’s homes for photos and interviews. They walk through the neighborhoods seeking information, taking pictures, chatting with people and interviewing children and their families to gain a better understanding of how the program is impacting their lives. Then, at the end of the day, they travel back to the office and begin to compile the information they obtained to be transmitted to our writers in Kansas City.

When asked about her favorite memories of her job, Marelvis immediately speaks of working with a young girl with osteogenesis imperfecta, or Brittle Bone Disease. “In spite of her disabilities, she was able to finish grade school, and she’s close to graduating from high school,” she recalls. “When I learned of her story, I interviewed her and she told me she dreamed of having a computer so she could do her homework. I shared her wish with a friend who works for a local newspaper. Stirred by this girl’s efforts and by her mother’s great love for her, my friend wrote a special Mother’s Day feature about the girl’s mother. As a result, a kind reader donated a computer for the girl so her wish could come true.

“One very special moment for me,” reflects Marelvis, “was when I realized that even small efforts mean a great deal to the people for whom we work.”

When I think of hunger, a face comes to mind.

Pinched cheeks. A painfully thin body. No way to correlate her size with her age. A disposition that could swing from heartbreaking eagerness to disconsolate sobbing in a split second.

Hunger has a name. It's Tania, and I saw her the other day in Ecuador.

On the rare occasions her alcoholic father shows up at home, the family cowers in fear. Mom is sick; she considers her own life to be beyond help, and she desperately hopes for something better for her children. Some days they don't eat at all.

You've probably already received a letter from our president, Jim Cook, explaining to you about our Lifeline Food Appeal.

For the sake of many children like Tania, please read it.

Note: If for some reason you didn't receive Jim's letter and you'd like to help feed a child like Tania, please visit our website. Thanks.

Because the bulk of our child sponsorship program operates internationally, many people don't realize that we also help needy children in the United States. Meet the Children International sponsorship agency in Little Rock, Arkansas, and see how we're working to lend a helping hand close to home.

I'm the one member of the team that visited Ecuador last week who hasn't yet blogged about it, so I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the trip.
 
Today I'm blessed to lead a comfortable, middle-class life in the United States of America. But when I visit sponsored families, it doesn't take long to fit in; after all, these are the children I played with as a child growing up in South America. Their moms and dads were the people down the street. This proximity helped me understand that people living in dire poverty are not just faceless statistics; they have names, faces, fears, hopes and dreams for the future.
 
Walking into their homes is always a reality check. It's hard to reconcile the bare cinderblock or thin-slatted walls, the paneless windows, the rusted tin sheets with the sun shining through in a thousand places, the threadbare furniture and the stacks of clothing and personal effects around the walls -- piled there because there is no closet or wardrobe, no dresser, no place to store anything -- with the gracious smiles on the faces of your hosts. And at some point during the visit, most likely one of the young daughters of the family will quietly slip into the room, proudly bringing you a glass of Coke.
 
You quickly do the mental math and realize what that single glass of Coke represents to the family. With a daily income that might not exceed a couple of dollars -- if it comes in at all -- a glass of Coke is liquid gold. As you quietly murmur a word of thanks, you see the faces of your hosts light up with real joy at the ability to honor their guest. Any thought of turning down their offer vanishes and, humbled, you make sure they see how much you really enjoy their kindness.
 
I wish every sponsor could make a visit to their sponsored child. It will forever change the way you think about life. You'll be able to put names and faces on courage and graciousness.
 
And, of course, you'll get a glass of Coke.

Children International’s communications coordinators are the field correspondents who serve as the eyes and ears of the organization at each agency. Because they are the reporters who feed us the material you later read in Journeys, eNews, our website and our other publications, we thought you might enjoy getting to know them a little better. This month we chose to introduce you to Patricia Calderón, the communications coordinator from Barranquilla, Colombia.

Patricia holds a degree in Journalism and, prior to joining Children International, served as an award-winning television reporter and program host in Barranquilla. She also served as the Director of Communications for the Barranquilla Carnival Foundation.

We found a couple of her answers to be particularly engaging:

What is your favorite memory of your job as communications coordinator?
One day as I was interviewing a 9-year-old boy, I asked him what made him feel happy and he just laughed very mischievously but didn’t answer. I repeated the question and he laughed even more, but he still didn’t answer. I asked him again and he came close and whispered, “Being close to María Alejandra!” I laughed and asked him who she was, but he put his fingers to his lips and went “Shhhh!” and let me know through gestures that it was a girl sitting at a table next to us at the community center library. We both giggled and I told him I’d keep his secret.

What is the most touching experience you’ve had in your job?
I was covering the announcement to a family that lived in horrible conditions that they were going to receive a house. The sponsor requested that they find out the news through a letter he had written, so we sent word for the whole family to gather. The Sponsor Relations Manager went to the family’s house and read them the letter. As the family of 10 heard the news they became more and more excited, until finally they all burst into tears. They were hugging each other and crying and couldn’t believe such happy news. The family’s excitement was so great that even those of us who went to break the news ended up crying to see how overjoyed they were.

Patricia concludes, “I’m happy to be doing this job because it allows me to put into practice a lot of the areas I studied. Besides, I feel like I’m contributing a little to the neediest families by making their stories known, which gives them an opportunity for change in their lives.”

We know our readers get to hear us talk a lot about sponsored children around the world. But this time we'd like to hear about them from you. Where does your sponsored child (or children) live? Tell us about the country...the customs...anything and everything about your child and his or her family. We'd love to hear it from the sponsors' point of view!
 
We do ask that you not give your child's last name or any specific location information out of concern for the privacy of the children (we wouldn't be able to post your comment, and that would be a bummer!). But that's about it -- everything else goes!

The International Youth Day celebration at the United Nations in New York is just around the corner (August 5-7, to be exact), and excitement is running high among our youth delegates from around the world! Click on the picture above or simply click here to meet a few of them.

On behalf of the sponsored children and staff of Children International, we wish all our sponsors in the United States a very happy and safe Fourth of July. For our sponsors in Canada, happy Canada Day! And for all the rest of you who live elsewhere, well...be happy too!

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.

As you can imagine, it can be difficult for children who have never seen a dentist -- which is the case with many of the children who enter our sponsorship program -- to work up the courage to open wide. See how one of Children International's dentists is working hard to put their fears to rest.