Helping needy children one sponsor at a time

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to read our blog. We think you’ll like what you see. My name is Sarah Trapp, and I work as a bilingual proofreader and Spanish translator here at Children International. Along with Kelly Nix, I also serve as blog moderator.

After earning bachelors degrees from the University of Kansas, I worked as a teacher in Mexico and Dallas and served as a translator for a public school here in the Kansas City area. I came to Children International with a passion for working with children and being able to help children in poverty around the world is just about as good as it gets.

This blog brings you stories from countries near and far about the needy children that Children International serves. In addition to learning more about our sponsorship program, we let you in on some behind-the-scenes information and give you a chance to meet some of the staff. From uplifting and sometimes heartbreaking tales of children living in poverty to great photos of sponsored children and youth whose lives are changing for the better, this blog brings the sponsorship experience to life. So check back often and thanks again for reading.

As Children International continues our relief efforts in the Philippines, we are keeping our eyes and ears open for new reports on the forecasted super-typhoon Parma. This new typhoon is expected to make landfall on Saturday hitting areas farther north than Typhoon Ketsana which severely affected our sponsored populations in Manila and Quezon City.

We will continue to provide updates as we hear from our staff in the Philippines. For the latest please visit www.children.org.
 

"My sponsor makes me happy because my mom cannot buy shoes for me, and my sponsor gives me shoes for school. It is nice to write to my sponsor because it's like having a friend, and I like to have friends.

I would like to tell my sponsor I enjoy playing at the park in the slides. If I could, I would like to take my sponsor to play together in the slides, and I would give her a big smile. That is how I would show her how happy I am for the help I get."

Sarahi (right) with her sister Wendy.
 

Photo and reporting assistance by Cecilia Carrión, Communications Coordinator for Children International in Quito, Ecuador.

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.

I admit it. I’m guilty. It’s been a while since I’ve written to my sponsored child, Alexis in Mexico. He’s a cute little guy, and he’s finally started writing his own letters, so what’s stopping me? Well, life goes a little crazy sometimes. I keep thinking I’ll write him, and then something else comes up.

Know the feeling? Well, there’s an easy way to write your sponsored child without sifting through card after card at the pharmacy, no stamps to buy, no need to worry about less than perfect penmanship (tell me about it) ... no excuses.

You can write a quick note to your child through Children International’s My Account. Not sure what to say? We’ve got a webpage with some suggestions. Log into your account and click on Write Your Child on the left. Letting your sponsored child know how special he or she is to you is just that simple.

I’ll be taking my own advice now. One letter to the coolest little boy in Mexico coming right up...
 

If you've been checking out Children International's homepage or our blog, then you know that the International Youth Day at the United Nations is coming up in New York City. We're sending eleven of our best sponsored youth to share their messages and inspiring stories about overcoming the challenges of poverty with other youth from around the globe.

Here, David Nebel, our resident cartoonist and translator shows us what the youth might be thinking as they step off their planes into the Big Apple.

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.

Erycah in Lusaka, Zambia Africa discusses how sponsorship helps to ease poverty.

Q: What is your favorite part of sponsorship?
A: My favorite part is gift distribution. My favorite gift was a blanket. I was happy because I didn't have one.

Q: What do you want your sponsor to know about you?
A: I want my sponsor to know that I am very happy. We used to suffer a lot before I was sponsored, but now things are better for my family and me.

Photo and reporting assistance by Clementina Chapusha, Communications Coordinator in Lusaka, Zambia.