The families of our children have simple professions: laundresses, carpenters, mechanics, laborers, street vendors and maids.  Their salaries range from 150 pesos a day (US$3.25) to about 500 pesos a day (US$11.00) when work is available. The families were living in shacks on the banks of a river that flooded due to the typhoon. Their homes were destroyed. One family climbed the roof of their house, then that of their neighbor’s to avoid the rising waters and remained there for 10-12 hours until the waters receded.

In our efforts to support these families, we secured a plot of land on higher ground and hired a contractor last June to build new houses for these families to live in. Fourteen of the houses have  been completed and the last two are under construction. Two of the families have already taken possession of their new home, and the rest are moving to their new houses after the children finish their school year.

International Program Director Luis Bourdet attended the dedication of the new homes and said of the families, “They have been so grateful to Children, Incorporated, and our donors, as they never thought or envisioned the possibility of owning a house.  This is a dream come true for all of them, and they are so happy that they can provide security and stability to their children and their families.”

Children, Incorporated works in eastern Kentucky, including the counties that were hardest hit. We have not yet been able to get through to our volunteer site coordinators, as many trees, phone and power lines are down. The schools are closed. This means we also do not yet have news about specific children. We will inform sponsors as we receive updates. As clean up and relief efforts progress, assistance is urgently needed to provide replacement clothing, blankets, food, water and other supplies. Children, Incorporated is sending aid and accepting donations to our Hope In Action Fund for disaster relief in eastern Kentucky. Your tax deductible donation in any amount will make a difference, will be put to good use, and will be received gratefully by the children and their families. To help, you may call toll free 800-538-5381, or you may go online and make a secure donation through our web site www.ChildrenIncorporated.org.  Thank you for caring – and sharing!

Caritas Opens New Development Solidarity and Community Center.

On Friday, February 17, the Caritas Diocesen of Lages opened the Development and Community Center located in the neighborhood of Novo Milenio. The insitution has been in the community for nine years and obtained assistance from the Consul Appliance Company (Whirlpool Brazil) and Children, Incorporated. Caritas  has give the land, Children, Incorporated invested more than $40,000 for the implementation of the project and Consul donated equipment such as a stove, freezer and refrigerator.

The Center has 20 women who will be working on food production, including bread, cakes and crackers. One group will be working with wool for the production of blankets and other women will with arts in general. They are being supported by a social assistant, hired by the Diocesen.

Important representatives attended the inauguration. The President of the Diocesen, Dom Oneres Marchiori, the president of Children, Incorporated, Marianne Vermeer and Cleide Gasparin from Consul. Other representatives and the community in general also attended.

“For us it is extremely important to be here today and participate in this project because we believe in this partnership and how strong it is. We always have to support these projects and it is important to be here at Novo Milenio supporting low-income women,” said Consul’s Cleide Gasparin.

Nearly a year ago, Sasha Dichter (Acumen Fund’s Chief Innovation Officer) got together with Katya Andresen (COO of Network for Good), Scott Case (CEO of Maleria No More), and Elen McGirt of Fast Company to re-invent Valentine’s Day. Inspired by Sasha’s month-long “Generosity Experiment” they decided to launch “Generosity Day”.  

The goal was to make Valentine’s Day about more than flowers, chocolates, and romantic dinners, to reconnect it generosity for all. They conceived of the idea on Friday, February 11th, and by Monday, February 14th, just 72 hours later, it had become a worldwide phenomenon with more than 50 articles and blog posts, thousands of tweets, and articles on TIME, HuffPo, and FastCompany.

At Children, Incorporated, we want to do our part and spread the word about “Generosity Day” in hopes of re-booting the idea of Valentine’s Day!

“Career is important because the economy is so bad we couldn’t survive off of low pay, so I’m going to college and making something VERY GOOD out of myself so I don’t have to rely on my parents because they aren’t always going to be around.”

We have approximately 30 students enrolled in the program that attend regularly.  The children love to come to the program.  This was a shock to me, as I thought they would not stay after school.  One students stated this is the best part of her day.“These ae mostly low achieving students.  Their grades are starting to improve.  They really take part in the after school program with much enthusiasm.  Without funding from Children, Incorporated the program would not be possible.  The staff and transportation have been the largest asset to the program.  Good quality staff have made a successful program. 

Teacher feedback has been very positive.  Many tell us they can see a big difference in academics of children attending the program as compared to others who do not attend.  Their classroom participation has also improved. 

The career development has been a positive part of the after school.  This is a big push in Kentucky and I can see why.  These children had no idea of plans for the future, but we have worked on road maps to get us there

Parents love the program.  They state it helps their children in areas they could not at home especially homework.  Reading levels have improved. The career development has been a very positive part of the after school program.  This is a big push in Kentucky and I can see why.  These children had no idea of plans for the future, but we have worked on road maps to get them there.”