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Stories written by Shelley Callahan

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The Importance of Home Visits

At Santa Isabel Ana Seton in Guatemala, our volunteer coordinators make it a priority to visit our sponsored children’s homes

In all of my visits to our affiliated projects around the world over the last few years, I have yet to meet a volunteer coordinator who does not visit the homes of our sponsored children. Our coordinators feel that home visits are important for many different reasons. Visiting the homes of children in our program helps to forge a strong partnership between parents and coordinators, because parents often feel more relaxed and comfortable at home, […]

Returning to Guatemala

Four years after his first trip there, our President and CEO, Ron Carter, revisits the Juan Apostol School

Guatemala is a country that is known for its beautiful lakes, volcanoes, Mayan ruins, and brightly-painted buses; unfortunately, however, its residents struggle with widespread poverty, illiteracy, crime, and high rates of unemployment and underemployment. Even though the country boasts the largest economy in Central America, Guatemala faces many social problems, and it is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. The income distribution is highly unequal, with more than half of its population living […]

Emergency Relief After a Volcanic Eruption

Thanks to our donors, survivors of the Volcano of Fire eruption in Guatemala are receiving support

In early June, the eruption of the Volcano of Fire near Antigua, Guatemala caught residents living nearby by surprise. By the time the eruption was over, more than one million people had been affected; approximately 3,000 people had been displaced from their homes, and about 250 people were missing. The eruption caused direct damage to five villages in the area surrounding the volcano, including the town of Antigua, where our affiliated project Sagrada Familia is […]

Staying Safe on the Field

The CARITAS-Novo Milênio Center’s soccer club keeps vulnerable children in Brazil away from danger

Many poor families living in the city of Lages in south Brazil have migrated there from the countryside in search of employment to better their lives. Due to limited job opportunities among the ever-growing population there, however, families instead find themselves continuing to live in poverty, and having to move into impoverished urban developments such as Novo Milênio, which lacks electricity, drinking water, and even sewage service. Within this slum community, public schools are ill-equipped […]

Supporting Children in Brazil Who Face Trauma

Casas Lares – ACRIDAS fosters children who come from abusive households

Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world – both geographically and in terms of population. It is truly massive, sharing borders with every other country in South America except for Ecuador and Chile. The Amazon rainforest, recognized for having the greatest biological diversity on the planet, sprawls over the country’s northern half, with rugged mountains to the south. Despite its wealth of natural resources and beauty, however, Brazil suffers from staggering poverty, rising inflation, […]

Growing Up with Children Incorporated

A former sponsored child is now our volunteer coordinator at the CADI center in Brazil

In the town of Fazenda Rio Grande on the outskirts of Curitiba in southern Brazil, our affiliated project Centro de Assistência e Desenvolvimento Integral (CADI) supports families who struggle to afford even the most basic of needs – and especially education-related expenses – for their children. What began in 1994 as a soccer school to motivate and assist children from low-income families has now become CADI  – a national nonprofit organization that provides assistance and […]