Through Our Eyes: Overcoming Child Poverty

Pull Up a Chair and Join the Conversation!

Maybe you've always harbored a desire to go behind the scenes with an international children's charity...find ways to help needy children...in other words, you care about what's happening with those who are less fortunate and want to make a difference.

Children International is a child sponsorship program operating in 11 countries around the world. We are helping over 300,000 children find ways to rise above their circumstances and rise above poverty.

This blog is a place where you can hear from and interact with people who have made improving the lives of poor children their vocation. You'll hear from people at CI's headquarters in Kansas City, and you'll hear from staff in the field who have daily contact with sponsored children and their families.

So read. Ask questions. Share your opinions. Give us your ideas. Join the team!

Happy Veterans' Day!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by CI Staff

Today is Veterans' Day, and it got me thinking about one of my favorite veterans, Children International employee emeritus Ted Smith.

After a decorated career as an Army officer, Ted came to work for Children International in 1981. The organization was new to the child sponsorship arena, and Ted was instrumental in the start-up of many of our original sponsorship field agencies. In fact, they still refer to him as “godfather” in some of our service areas. (I guess he made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.)

I traveled often with Ted – from 1993, when I began working at CI, through 1999, when he retired. Together, we visited India, the Philippines, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Some of my fondest traveling memories are of dinners with Ted Smith, raconteur extraordinaire. After a long day in the field, he’d regale us with stories of his world travels, punctuated with his signature exclamation, “Gawd!”

But when you traveled with Ted, you never forgot that you were with a military man. Every detail of every trip was conducted with absolute precision, duly scheduled and executed to the letter. And wherever we went or whatever we did, I never forgot the one action that was unacceptable in the Ted Smith Handbook. Don’t. Be. Late. And so I never was – not because I feared his wrath, but because I wanted to earn his respect.

When a trip ended, we’d head to the airport, exhausted and ready to go home. After checking in and making it through myriad security checkpoints, someone would invariably look around and say, “Where’s Ted?”

The answer: marching away from us and toward the VIP lounge to which he’d earned passage with his hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles. Mission accomplished, he would soldier off for some peace and quiet. Heavens knows he deserved it after putting up with us time and time again!

A trek past Mount Mayon in the Philippines, 1999. Ted, as usual, is better prepared thatn any of us with his umbrella to protect against the sun.

A trek past Mount Mayon in the Philippines, 1999. Ted, as usual, is better prepared than any of us with his umbrella to protect against the sun.

Ted’s service to his country mattered to him, and I used to send him a note or email every Veterans' Day to let him know that it mattered to me, too. I haven’t done that in awhile, which I deeply regret. Maybe this will help make up for it.

So thanks, Ted. And thank you to all our contributors who are veterans or currently serving their countries. You honor us with your dedication to helping us fight a different kind of battle…the war on poverty and its effect on the world’s children.

Gretchen Dellett is a writer and long-time employee of Children International.

The Help That's Hard to Talk About

Monday, November 9, 2009 by CI Staff

Sponsoring a child through Children International is so much more than a monthly contribution, a photo and a couple of letters. It’s an entire network of sponsors and dedicated field staff who really care about each and every child we serve. Javier Cárcamo, Communications Coordinator in Guatemala helps us illustrate this point:

Sponsorship provides support for diverse circumstances and needs, and sometimes, it’s the only support that families receive when they face emergencies and tragedy. When the Children International team must cover an emergency, our involvement goes far beyond just doing our jobs. In moments of uncertainty, when families are confronted with a loss, framed by despair, poverty and the anguish of not being able to do anything, Children International is there to give support and a comforting hug.

This is the case of Ludwin, a sponsored boy of just 8 years, who comes from an impoverished family. Sadly, Ludwin passed away recently due to a prolonged illness. Since the detection of his illness, Children International - Guatemala made a series of efforts to help him improve his health - exams, tests, treatments, transportation to specialized treatment centers, medicines, food. But after several months, we got the devastating news; the specialists had given Ludwin only a few weeks to live.

This information pulled at the hearts of our committed staff at the community center. A moved Field Official, Nelson Cali, realized that Ludwin would not live to see his next birthday. With great sorrow, but the intention to give Ludwin a moment of happiness amidst the inevitable, staff members took up a collection of gifts so Ludwin could celebrate his last birthday properly.

The community joined the celebration full of happy moments, yet our hearts were heavy. There were dozens of gifts, toys, stuffed animals and items of clothing. A cake with candles. A clown who donated his regular performance fee to the family. Two piñatas, only one of which Ludwin was able to break open, and candy, lots of it, which little by little got a smile out of Ludwin. Only he knew the pain that forced him to remain seated during much of the party.

They were hours of joy for Ludwin. Perhaps this was the best memory that accompanied him until his last breath when he finally could rest from his suffering, surrounded by all of his gifts in his little bed.

The help that sponsorship provides in these heartbreaking cases allows families like Ludwin’s to get support for the funeral costs, which for a poor family is an expense that is almost impossible to cover. Many sponsors and donors don’t know that their support is the only thing that the sponsored families can count on when they are confronted with these situations, and only in this way is it possible for them to provide their loved ones a dignified last goodbye.

Right now there are dozens of cases of children who are receiving specialized medical attention around the world, and in other cases for various reasons, a loss is mourned. It’s comforting to know that when facing this pain, all the sponsored families can count on Children International to offer the help that sometimes is hard to talk about.

Viña del Mar - The Enchanted City

Friday, October 30, 2009 by CI Staff

“Viña encanta” or Enchanted Viña, so went an old advertising slogan to promote the city of Viña del Mar and attract visitors to the so-called Tourism Capital of Chile. And it’s true; Viña del Mar really does enchant its visitors. Its residents, its beautiful beaches, green areas and museums make the city a preferred destination for many international and Chilean tourists. However, what the old slogan didn’t consider was that Viña del Mar doesn’t just enchant people due to its beauty, but also because the city itself is enchanted. You only have to talk to one resident of Viña to learn some really “enchanting” stories.

One story goes that in 1906 Don Fernando Riojo, a member of the old aristocracy of Viña del Mar, decided to buy a 40,000 square meter plot of land (just steps away from Children International’s central office in Chile). He then commissioned the construction of a luxurious home which was completed in 1910.

The legends says that shortly thereafter Fernando Riojo married off one of his daughters to a Spanish nobleman, but she was immediately returned because it was said that the beautiful young woman had had a previous romantic relationship with the family’s coachman – a coachman who was never heard from again after the incident.

Don Fernando Rioja, disgraced by the situation, died in 1922 in the palace that now carries his name. Countless witnesses say that they have seen his ghost wandering through the rooms dressed just as he would have in those times. His presence has also made itself known in the Musical Conservatory located on the same grounds. “The Riojo Palace’s piano plays without anyone touching it,” commented an unidentified witness.

Today the Riojo Palace is a museum, where you can step back into time and walk the halls of the home and see the delights of 1900’s Chile. On your next visit to Viña del Mar, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Riojo Palace. Surely a friend from beyond will be waiting to welcome you in, or maybe Fernando Riojo himself will show you around and teach you the museum’s secrets...

Happy Halloween!

Story and photos by Leopoldo Montecinos, Communications Coordinator for Children International in Chile.

My Neighborhood, My Life and Children International

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by CI Staff

Children International Communications Coordinator, Javier Cárcamo, brings us yet another fantastic story from his Youth Reporters in Guatemala.

Hello, my name is Gabriela Pérez, and I’m a Youth Reporter.

Yes, I’m sponsored. I’ve had that blessing since I was little. I don’t really remember when that was, but for as long as I can remember, my mom has told me that it’s a blessing. Now I’m 18 years old, supposedly an adult. Sometimes I think about how I was forced to grow up fast, because my dad abandoned us. Maybe that’s why being sponsored was such a big help to my mom - and to me, of course.

Thanks to sponsorship, I’ve always had a feeling of security - that no matter how bad things got at home, I was always going to be okay. The truth is that sometimes we didn’t have anything to eat. I’m not exaggerating. There really was nothing. We didn’t have a refrigerator. We couldn’t store food other than vegetables and a few jars of salsa.

My older brothers worked hard along with my mom so that we had money, but even so, they shut off our power a lot, and we spent up to three months just using candlelight. The hardest part was when I had to do my homework and the sun went down. It was really difficult not to just give up, because aside from the fact that my eyes burned, I was scared. Don’t laugh, but at night my neighborhood is creepy. Electric lights are scarce, and fear is abundant.

But every day I feel fortunate to be alive. The best part about becoming a teenager is that I could enjoy sponsorship in a whole new way. Thanks to the Youth Program, this year I was chosen to be a Youth Reporter. That made me so happy.

“Professor Javier” taught me lots of things. He gave me the opportunity, the medium to reach all of you. I hope you read what I write and that you realize that without Children International, I might be washing the dishes in some rich family’s house. But no. Here I am, sitting at my little kitchen table, writing in the hopes that my sponsor can read it and feel proud of me. And that lots of sponsors read it and realize that I have a voice now, that I dream of a better future.

The benefits that Children International gives us stay with us throughout our sponsored years and for many years to follow. I have these dreams, these hopes that everyone who works at Children International have sowed in my heart. They believe in me, and so does my sponsor who has made an investment in me. And I won’t let any of you down. I promise you that.

Thank you, and until the next time...
Gabriela

A Life Half Emptied, Slowly Being Filled (Part 2)

Friday, September 25, 2009 by CI Staff

After Soledad’s parents traded her to a man twice her age for a bottle of moonshine, she never imagined she’d find a way to escape her misery. Then, years later, in a desperate attempt to help her kids, she discovered Children International…

Taking matters in her own hands, Soledad enrolled three of her children in Children International’s sponsorship program: 6-year-old Maritza,* 4-year-old José,* and 9-year-old Ana.* Through sponsorship, her children receive school supplies and uniforms, material support and health care.

Ana* is perhaps the luckiest. Children International covered the costs to repair a heart defect she’d had since birth. (Staff members at our Quito agency even donated blood to her when they learned there was a shortage at the local hospital.) Help like that, Soledad admits, gives her reason to believe in a better future.

“I haven’t been able to do much in my own life,” she says, “but I’m working hard so my kids can at least achieve reasonable careers – maybe not something extraordinary, but something where they can have a good life.”

She’s helping her two oldest daughters, María,* 14, and Nadia,* 12, study to be seamstresses at a school near the airport, and she hopes she’ll soon be able to make a down payment on a sewing machine so they can perfect their trade and get good jobs.

Now when Soledad looks out into the distance, she no longer sees her life disappearing before her eyes. With the support of sponsorship, she sees opportunities for her children, and that’s enough to fill her heart with hope.

*Names have been changed to protect the indentities of those mentioned.

Damon Guinn is a senior staff writer with Children International.

A Life Half Emptied, Slowly Being Filled (Part 1)

Thursday, September 24, 2009 by CI Staff

Every day glimmering jets fly past 31-year-old Soledad’s* home on a steep hillside in Quito, Ecuador. Soledad watches wistfully as the planes take flight and sail into the distance, all the while wishing that she, too, could fly away and forever flee her grim circumstances.

From her lofty vantage point, you’d think Soledad was on top of the world – but the truth is, she’s near the lowest point in her life. And she finds it hard to rise above her station.

At the tender age of 13, Soledad’s parents traded her for a bottle of moonshine. The man who acquired her – a man twice her age who calls himself her husband – has threatened to kill her if she ever leaves. He not only robbed her of her value as a human being, he immediately impregnated her, and continued to do so until the prospects of leaving were too costly to consider.

But Soledad does dream about leaving and taking her six children with her. If only she had the means. Very few landlords will rent to a single mother with more than two children, she says. So she does what any good mother would do. “I make myself struggle for the sake of the kids,” she confides.

While her husband is off getting drunk, Soledad works long hours as a maid to pay for her family’s food, utilities and $70 monthly rent. She manages to scrape together about $110 each month, but that barely covers the needs of eight people.

Still, she fights on, going so far as to challenge her husband about his lack of support. “I said if you’re the father, then help them go to school. And he said, ‘Well, they’ll go if they want, or if they won’t, they won’t.’ I’m not going to stand for that! They’re going to have school one way or another.”

*Names have been changed to protect the indentities of those mentioned.

Damon Guinn is a senior staff writer with Children International. Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of Damon's post.

Small Victories against Poverty in Mexico

Monday, September 14, 2009 by CI Staff

On September 16th, Mexico will celebrate its Independence Day...a day remembered in Mexico as "El Grito" (The Battle Cry) because the indigenous people rose up to secure autonomous rule.

But sponsored youth in Mexico have another kind of independence to celebrate as well: an exciting victory in their struggle to overcome poverty.

Recently, a group of teens in Mexico sponsored through Children International received the first HOPE scholarship ever. The endowment ceremony was a happy event where 30 young people including Ana Fajardo, who was one of the youth delegates attending the United Nations Youth Assembly, received a scholarship to help them pay for tuition, school supplies, and books. The scholarship recipients may use the funds to pay for vocational training or university fees.

I was fortunate enough to get to know Ana in New York last month. She is a funny yet driven young lady who upon meeting me presented me with a business card and resume on matching floral stationery.

With the help of the HOPE scholarship, I am sure Ana will become the self-reliant adult she is driven to be.

Blog by Dolores Quinn Kitchin. Photo by Alejandro Bonilla from our child sponsorship agency in Jalisco, Mexico.

Goodbye Trees: A Youth Report

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by CI Staff

One morning when I left the house, I saw lots of people in the streets with machetes, nets and hatchets. Employees of the municipality were cutting down the very trees which gave my community its name: La Alameda (The poplar grove).

Hundreds of trees where knocked down because, according to the authorities, they were diseased, they were a risk to the homes in the sector since they were hundreds of years old, and they were infected with termites and weevils.

But even so, it hurt me to watch them fall. It was almost like watching a massacre because the trees couldn’t defend themselves. First they cut them with electric saws, then they pushed them or pulled them with trucks or oxen. Once the trees had fallen to the ground, people with machetes cut off the branches like a lynching. Leaves everywhere, branches, woodchips, birds’ nests with eggs – it was all so sad to see. There is a saying that goes “From a fallen tree, make firewood.” And I felt sad, as if they had ripped something away from me too.

My ecological consciousness began not long ago, when Children International’s Youth Program began a campaign to plant fruit trees. Last year several children planted lemon, apple and orange trees around their homes. I know that it’s not a lot, but it’s a little breath of fresh air for nature that we’re planning on doing again this year.

I’d like to share the message that we need to take care of nature and take care of the trees that are left thanks to the many neighbors who opposed it and protested. I am part of a Youth Group that is ecologically conscientious thanks to the environmental education we have received. And because of that education, we are committed to fighting so that this destruction doesn’t happen again in our lush green Guatemala.

Photos and story by Edwin Mazate, sponsored youth and youth reporter for Children International in Chimaltenango, Rural Guatemala. To see more sponsored Guatemalan youth in ecological action, watch our video "Every Day is Earth Day".

A Reflection on Ecuador

Friday, September 4, 2009 by CI Staff

At the waistline of the World, half a league over seas and oceans, the mottled outline of Earth's tectonic bosom cradles the city below. I behold, through wispy haze, the vestiges of a conquistador’s Elysium…

The mountainous area that surrounds Quito is shockingly gorgeous. Its Andean air is a pleasure to breathe, while succulent clouds tease the eye from greater heights. And yet at city-level, the reality of human life smothers the carnival of emotions swirling inside of me.

Before long, thoughts start to grind their way through my head, reducing my ego to pulp. Here I stand in a neighborhood located in a single section of one city of a developing country among many around the world. How many more people are out there – how many more instances of abused and abandoned children, of battered and desolate mothers, of families imprisoned within labyrinthine grids of cold concrete, cane, and dirt so dismal they would make Daedalus smile?

While I bask in sunlight, there are so many more who soak in clammy darkness. And rather than blind myself with the light of a good life, I continue squinting toward the mouth of that pit and tighten my grip on the small piece of rope in my pocket. There are very long pieces in the hands of a few, but I should not wait for them. I should tie mine to the small bits of many others who share theirs, and together, we may have enough to lasso the Moon.

These baroque allusions are nothing but a smoke screen for my lack of answers. The hope I have in humanity's ability for compassion and charity, regardless of our source for inspiration or however we might find them, is one of the few antidotes to my paralyzing frustration regarding poverty.

David Nebel is a translator and photographer for Children International. In this post, he reflects on a recent visit to the children and families of our child sponsorship program in Ecuador.

Sponsorship: A Youth Report

Monday, August 24, 2009 by CI Staff

You all asked for it, and we at Children International listened. Sponsored youth and Youth Reporter Leydi Marroquín describes for us what sponsorship means to poor families in rural Guatemala.

Sponsorship is very important in my community because it is the only hope for the poorest families that live here. When mothers fill out the sponsorship forms, they feel happy because it’s one step forward in the search for a better life.

Sponsorship isn’t about covering every need that people have; at least that’s how I see it. But it does cover the most important things to have a better life. Sponsored children receive medical attention, free medicines, dental treatment and a lot of help so they can go to school. When mothers are told that their children have been sponsored, I have seen the happiness on their faces. That is an experience I wouldn’t exchange for anything.

I like to see the kids when they come to the service area to pick up their gifts. They anxiously await that day. They mark it on their calendars like a special day. I can’t explain how much love the children feel when they receive their gifts. They make good use of them too, because they enjoy getting gifts from their sponsors.

Sponsors are like angels. I have my own angel, and they have given us all help despite the fact that we are far away. Sponsors make kids smile; they make them feel loved without having seen them. They make us youth feel like someone has our backs and motivate us even though we have never heard their voices. They help us stay away from drugs and alcohol, because they make us feel important. They allow us to attend workshops and sports activities that let us enjoy life amidst adversity.

I thank each and every one of those angels and everyone who works here in Patulul. And I thank the staff everywhere in Guatemala, like Javier Cárcamo who not only taught me how to use the camera to take photos and shoot video, but who taught me to organize my ideas and know that what I have to say is important and that my opinion really does matter.

Reporting for you,
Leydi Marroquín

The Faces of Ecuador

Friday, August 21, 2009 by CI Staff

As the Children International team wraps up its heartwarming and heartbreaking visit to Ecuador, photographer David Nebel shares his top picks from the week's photos. Soon we hope to share with you the stories behind some of the faces.

From Lows to Highs in Ecuador

Thursday, August 20, 2009 by CI Staff

Forgive me if this post is a little long, but it’s after midnight, and I’m still reeling from a broken heart...

After two hectic days of interviewing sponsored children and families in Guayaquil, and encountering the extreme poverty faced by families there, my colleagues and I packed up our gear and headed to Quito. Now here I sit, at 2:00 in the morning – thousands of feet higher and several degrees cooler – trying to condense the intense emotions I’m feeling into a few meager paragraphs.

Our first day in Quito was supposed to be light. But that wasn’t to be. Before I could even acclimate to the altitude, the first interview of the day took my breath away.

Driving high up into a hillside neighborhood named La Colmena, or “The Beehive,” because of the clusters of poor families who live together in single buildings stacked like honeycombs, I was startled by the contrast to the homes we’d just visited in the low-lying river region of Guayaquil. Whereas impoverished families in Guayaquil typically live in split-cane shacks perched over dusty roads, those in Quito mainly occupy concrete tenements that cling to steep slopes that swarm with traffic. And it was there that we met 10-year-old Jessica.

Fellow writer Deron Denton and I wanted to interview Jessica because she had recently received one of the wheelchairs a group called Free Wheelchair Mission donated to sponsored children with disabilities, and we were curious to know how it was helping her get along. Our answer waited at the top of a dizzying set of narrow stone stairs that led to a claustrophobic, attic-like apartment Jessica shares with her petite grandmother, Doña Carmen.

Despite the steep surroundings, Jessica’s grandmother, 63 and barely five feet tall, used to carry her granddaughter up and down the hills to school and physical therapy every day. Pushing the wheelchair wasn’t much easier, she said, but it gave Jessica freedom to move around at school without someone to support her. When we asked who helped Jessica up the stairs to the house, the room grew quiet.

Jessica’s mother had passed away and her father, Juan Luis, had mysteriously disappeared a few months earlier, explained Doña Carmen. The police searched for him but to no avail. All she and her granddaughter could do was wait and worry about his safety.

That’s when Jessica got up and stumbled into her bedroom to show us the picture her father had drawn for her. A big smile flashed across her face as she told us what a good artist he is, but her smile turned to grief as the thought of his absence brought tears to her eyes. When I asked her what her father last said to her, all the heartache she’d been bottling up inside came rushing out in a wave of tears. Two staff members, Maria and Cecilia, rushed to her side and took her in their arms while Deron and I furiously wiped away the tears from our own eyes.

The pain of Jessica’s loss filled the room as we desperately tried to console her. And yet thanks to Maria’s and Cecilia’s kindheartedness and expert reassurance, Jessica’s smile soon returned, and she was able to find comfort in the pink sunglasses we gave her as a gift.

And now, as I sit here typing this post, bleary-eyed and heartbroken, straining to imagine a happy ending, there’s no doubt in my mind that Jessica’s loss would be unbearable if she didn’t have sponsorship to connect her with people who love and care for her. Because even at those times when life can’t seem to sink any lower, the spirit of a young girl like Jessica can still soar to new heights if you and I are there to lift her up.

By Damon Guinn. Photo by Children International Communications Coordinator in Quito, Ecuador, Cecilia Carrión.

On the Ground in Ecuador: Revisiting Reality

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 by CI Staff

As a former Communications Coordinator for Children International in the Dominican Republic and coming from a poor family myself, I thought I knew everything there was to know about extreme poverty; and, therefore, that it wouldn’t affect me all that much to see once again the way sponsored families live. Until now, that is...when I had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador with some staff members from Children International. It was a trip that made me face once again the reality of living in extreme poverty.

I was very moved by some of the stories of the families that we visited during our first trip to the field in Guayaquil.

I saw very nice people trying to make ends meet out of very little. We met families with sponsored children that have serious health conditions; families that survive day by day with only the bare minimum; volunteer mothers who care about their communities and believe in the sponsorship program; sponsored youth who have a chance to step up and build a better future for themselves and their families; and sponsored children have faith in their sponsors’ contributions.

We also confronted the reality that there is a lot more to be done for these families. I realized that yes, there are differences among countries, cultures, food and ethnicities; but there is also a common reality that they all face: they desperately need help. But despite the sadness of these situations, I noticed that the families we visited were always so grateful for the little they have, always with a smile on their faces, always welcoming and trying to accommodate us and make us feel comfortable in their tiny houses. It was a valuable lesson that made me think about how much we have, and how sad sometimes people's lives can be...

I was also very impressed at how the staff interacted with the sponsored families, always trying to get the best interview, the best picture, and the best story. And I was happy to know that with the support of Children International’s programs and their sponsors’ contributions, these families have at least some of their needs covered.

I am so glad for this great opportunity and for experiencing for myself – this time as a visitor – how amazing, helpful (and sometimes life-saving) is the support that Children International provides to the sponsored families. This is, without a doubt, a sponsorship program in which I personally believe.

Vilma Nebel, a former Communications Coordinator for Children International in the Dominican Republic, is traveling with the CI team in Ecuador. Check back tomorrow for an update from Senior Staff Writer Damon Guinn.

Thoughts from Ecuador: Confluence

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 by CI Staff

This is my first trip to Ecuador, and – as always – we met some amazingly resilient people on our first day in the field here in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We’ll be writing stories about the families we met in the weeks and months to come. But I just thought I’d share a small insight I gained today.

I learned that the city of Guayaquil is named after the Guayas River. Two large rivers – the Daule and the Babahoyo – merge here, making the Guayas.

As we left Guayaquil proper on our way to visit sponsored children and their families, we crossed the Daule River. Patricia (our communications coordinator extraordinaire) pointed to the wealthier homes on the bank from which we had come. Even from a distance, we could see that the homes were large, well-constructed and neatly spaced apart, much like what I am used to back home in Kansas City. On the other side – the one we were approaching – we could see the rickety shapes the poor call home, tightly bunched together in a seemingly haphazard way.

After a day of visiting with the families on the “other” side, I thought of the confluence of humanity that merges in every city around the world, like the two rivers that make up the Guayas. I was pensive as we headed back to the hotel...asking questions that – for me – have no satisfactory answers.

You know: the “why” questions.

But, as is the case each time we make a trip to the field, the families we spoke with had a gift for me. They may not be living in that big, sturdy, expensive house with the expensive TVs and furnishings, but their homes are often filled with generous spirits, a love for one another, beliefs and bonds that help them stay strong, and a gratitude for what they do have.

And every one of them mentions that the help they receive from sponsorship is one of the things they are grateful for.

It made me wonder how easily I can come up with a list of all the things I should appreciate....

Deron Denton, staff writer for Children International, is currently on the ground in Ecuador with a team from CI's Creative Services Department. Look for an update each day this week through Friday.

The Return of Supergringo (Part 2)

Monday, August 17, 2009 by CI Staff

Only 13 at the time, Walter Mendoza had been hit by a garbage truck on the streets of Guayaquil and had awakened from a coma unable to walk or talk. Confined to a wheelchair that was all but useless on the steep, craggy dirt streets of his barrio, Walter found himself in a strange new world – incapable of functioning without another caring soul to direct his every move. I felt like I could relate, if only a little.

Lucky for Walter, and a hapless gringo like me, Raul Yunga was there to lead the way. As the veteran staff driver for the Guayaquil agency, Raul showed up every week after Walter’s accident to take him to physical and speech therapy and provide moral support. The two became fast friends, and as a result of Raul’s guidance, Walter now stands on his own two feet.

I can’t wait to ask Walter about the recovery he’s made when I meet him in person again today. And I hope Raul will be there to escort us to his young friend’s home and relive the memories. It’ll be a great way to kick off a return visit to Ecuador.

And this time, as I sit in the hotel lounge and read what Walter himself has to say about the help he’s received through sponsorship, I’ll take comfort in the fact that even when we feel vulnerable and alone, with the right support and determination, we can all stand tall. Right, Frank...

“For what is a man, what has he got?/ If not himself, then he has naught./ To say the things he truly feels;/…The record shows I took the blows/ And did it my way!”

***

Read the original article about Walter’s accident and the help he received from Raul and the sponsorship program.

Damon Guinn is a senior staff writer with Children International. Check back every day this week for updates from the team that is currently on the ground in Ecuador.

The Return of Supergringo (Part 1)

Sunday, August 16, 2009 by CI Staff

As my colleagues and I embark on a trip to Ecuador to interview sponsored children and their families, we’ll be sharing stories about the amazing people we meet along the way. In the meantime, here’s a two-part look at my first trip on behalf of Children International. It was an experience that left me with a fresh outlook on life and, in a manner of speaking, a whole new identity...

It was December 2003, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and I was sitting in the hotel lounge after a long day’s work.

As I skimmed over my interview notes and tried to make sense of the staggering poverty I’d just seen, a familiar song by Frank Sinatra echoed through the lounge...“Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew/ When I bit off more than I could chew./ But through it all, when there was doubt,/ I ate it up and spit it out./ I faced it all and I stood tall;/ And did it my way.” The jazz duo in the corner was staring directly at me, grinning.

I couldn’t help but smirk and give a nod of recognition to the musicians. I decided to take it as a sort of universal anthem. How else to explain the strength and resilience I’d witnessed in the people who had little more than pride to get them through poverty’s relentless hardships?

Two children in Guayaquil enjoy listening to themselves after an interview with Damon in 2003.

Besides, I’d drawn a lot of attention already. Earlier in the trip, I’d stepped out of the van and into the wide-eyed stares of several children playing soccer along the dusty streets of a community called Lucha de Los Pobres, or “Struggle of the Poor.” Bumping my head on the way out, two young boys pointed and whispered to one another, “Supergringo, Supergringo.”

My goal had been to hang back and observe, like a fly on the wall, but at 6’4” I looked more like a fish out of water – a very long, pasty-white fish. Then, just when I was starting to feel completely out of place and wet behind the ears, I met Walter Mendoza...

Damon Guinn is a senior staff writer with Children International. Check back tomorrow to learn more about the inspiration Damon gained from Walter's story.

Learning Life Lessons...From French Fries (Part 2)

Saturday, August 15, 2009 by CI Staff

This is the second of a two-part series by Children International employee Vong Hamilton, who accompanied the International Youth Day delegates from around the world as they visited New York City.

DAY 2
All week at IYD, my already humbled worldview was continuously broken down and rebuilt. A few things I learned from being around the youth were that:

1. overcoming the choking barriers of language gives you an exhilarating freedom to laugh and make new friends;
2. you are never too young to lead and teach;
3. you are never too old to learn from a younger generation;
4. your future is what you make of today.

On the last night, as the youth held hands and imparted their best wishes on each other, the tears flowed freely. A moment I will never forget, and couldn't even imagine most adults doing for each other, was watching Chengo's tears stream down his face and the hand that extended to wipe them away. Ranjit had reached out to dry the wetness on his new friend’s cheek. The two boys who started out in that pizzeria as strangers were leaving as life-long friends.

And I...I have a new appreciation for the job I do. Now I picture those 11 faces and know that every bit of effort I put into my job, albeit small, is making a big difference to someone else across the world.

Special note: A team of employees from Children International is on its way to Ecuador today. Starting Sunday and lasting all week, look for daily posts from the field. It's going to be fun!

Learning Life Lessons...From French Fries (Part I)

Friday, August 14, 2009 by CI Staff

This is the first of a two-part series by Children International employee Vong Hamilton, who accompanied the International Youth Day delegates from around the world as they visited New York City.

DAY 1
I fell headlong into humility in -- of all places -- a pizzeria in downtown New York City. And that was just the beginning.

I watched two of our youth delegates, Ranjit and Chengo, each order two slices of pizza, a cheeseburger and fries. I thought to myself, "Seriously...can they eat that much food?" To my surprise, they did!

As I listened to Chengo talk, something triggered a faraway memory, though I knew it could only have been drawn from my imagination as I'd never been to Zambia before except to lose myself in photos. I envisioned Africa’s poverty and desolation; and in that desolate place in my thoughts, I imagined what Chengo's life must be like.

I pictured him 24 hours prior, living in his squatter community with his mom, who is very ill. I pictured him in front of their shack, his little sister peeping from behind, and the rest of the world going on without them as they stared down the lonesome road, anxiety mirrored on their faces as they waited to see what they'd have for their next meal.

And there was Chengo...in New York...in a pizzeria...eating fries. Fries that I never think twice about throwing away if they get cold. Chengo and Ranjit couldn't believe they could choose anything off the menu. And I started to really reflect on how different their lives are from mine. How I get the liberty of having choices... deciding what to eat, what to wear and where to go; whereas, perhaps they just take what they’re given and are grateful.

Suddenly I felt appalled at all the materialism in my world…and yet appreciative at the same time of the simple things I overlook on a daily basis. I wished so much to do something special for the kids…as if a material gift could diminish their poverty. But I knew that, for them, being a part of something as special as sponsorship and getting to experience the trip of a lifetime was more than anything they could ever wish for.