Tag Archives: child poverty

Shelley Callahan | October 13, 2016En Español

Tucked away amongst the small, tree-lined cobblestone streets and Colonial-era houses of Coyoacan Delegation, lies the Casa Hogar Santa Ines Girls’ Home. It’s pretty here, with the home (and now museum) of celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo nearby.

We made it through the busy, but organized Mexico City morning traffic to the Home’s huge wooden door, which opens for us as we arrive. It’s tough to drive through the streets in this neighborhood. The roads are so narrow it’s difficult for even one car to get through, and pedestrians have to fit on just a sliver of a sidewalk.

We marvel at the school’s immaculately kept courtyard. Santa Ines looks like a small place at first, but I soon realize that it extends beyond my current view. Behind the buildings I can see, which contain dormitories and offices for the sisters, are large dorms that house up to forty girls at a time.

Many of them have had some trauma, witnessing violence, drug use, and abuse, and some of them find it difficult to cope.

Sister Flor greets us. She used to work in a church in a predominantly Hispanic community in Fort Worth, Texas before her order assigned her to work here.

For the past three months, she’s been directing the home, which consists of 32 girls and five sisters, and we sit and discuss the sponsorship program with her. It’s hard not to keep looking around for the children, but they’re in school at the moment. We look forward to when the younger girls will return (older students are in private schools and could be in school as late as 6 pm).

A safe haven for little girls

Children Incorporated, Sister Flor tells us, helps with school supplies, clothes, shoes, and school uniforms. With the government really only providing enough support for eight girls at the moment, Santa Ines relies heavily on financial support from churches, individual donors, and in-kind donations from the community.

The children are sometimes left with the sisters by families who are too burdened to support them, sometimes they’re plucked from abusive homes, and sometimes they’ve been abandoned. Casa Hogar Santa Ines has been working with Children’s Incorporated since 1974, the year of the school’s founding.

A nearby private school offers scholarships to every Santa Ines child who is old enough to attend. It’s not easy for the children, who are as young as three and as old as 13. Many of them have had some trauma, witnessing violence, drug use, and abuse, and some of them find it difficult to cope. A psychologist visits once a week, but Sister Flor often gets calls from the school that the students have acted out after being picked on because of their background.

In an effort to give some of these young women a place of stability in their lives, Sister Flor and the other sisters have made it a priority to keep their living spaces and facilities clean and comfortable. We love seeing the dorms, which are tidy and painted a pale purple with pictures of Disney princesses and other cartoon characters festooning the walls. The toys are ones that encourage group play — Barbies and dollhouses — while the high ceilings and large windows allow in a cheerful amount of natural light. Santa Ines is certainly one of the nicest and best-kept homes I’ve seen in my travels with Children Incorporated.

Happy faces in Mexico City

It was difficult to tear ourselves away from such energetic harmony, but I felt good knowing these special children are so well-cared-for in the heart of such a big and sometimes impersonal city.

Finally, the children arrive. They’re energetic, outgoing, and eager to meet Luis and me. We have lunch with them, a mixture of beef and vegetables with a side of beans. The girls seem loved and cherished by the sisters and the volunteers who are walking around, helping them with their meal. We watch the children play in the courtyard between the dining room and the doors. They swing, they slide, they draw pictures with chalk, they even hula hoop.

It was difficult to tear ourselves away from such energetic harmony, but I felt good knowing these special children are so well-cared-for in the heart of such a big city.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in Mexico in one of three ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Mexico that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | October 6, 2016En Español

En route to Mexico, I noticed that I felt differently than I had on our way to visit other Children Incorporated projects. The excitement I normally felt was there — it’s always exciting to meet the children and the people who take care of them — but there was something else, too.

But I’ve seen what good work can do to change the lives of individuals, which then changes the lives of their families, which then changes the lives of generations to come.

Unlike the other places we’d visited thus far, I’ve been to Mexico before. I spent several months in a city called Cuernavaca more than a decade ago, taking language classes and experiencing the rich culture of what I felt was one of the most beautiful countries I had ever seen. But I knew this time would be so different. Our trips don’t take us to see the children with advantages. We visit schools, homes, and neighborhoods that most people I know would never see in their lives —impoverished areas that are difficult to witness. From my experiences in Bolivia, Africa, and Kentucky, I knew that it’s these kinds of experiences that are so important to have. It helps me understand the impact that sponsorship makes for disadvantaged children.

Luis explained to me before we left that our affiliate projects in Mexico are mostly group homes, unlike the schools or community centers I’ve become used to visiting. These homes serve children who would otherwise have to scrape a living alone on the street, or children whose parents can’t take care of them any longer. Typically, they’re run by nuns who see to it that the children are fed, go to school, and live in a safe and nurturing environment.

Now Arriving in Mexico City

At 8.84 million people, Mexico City is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world, not to mention the oldest city in the Americas. It’s grown so quickly as a booming financial center, with so many poor villagers from the surrounding countryside flocking to the city, that the government hasn’t been able to keep up with the surge in population. By the 1990s, pollution was so rampant that Mexico City was one of the world’s most polluted cities — a title that’s since been removed due to dramatic efforts to reduce that pollution. It’s a hotbed for culture, with art, museums, theater, cuisine, expansive public parks, and a vibrant shopping scene.

But as with every major city with a huge concentration of human beings to clothe, feed, shelter, and employ, Mexico City has poverty problems. And with poverty problems come children who need help. I’ve seen it before in so many other places, but each situation is different.

It helps me understand the impact that sponsorship makes for disadvantaged children.

Moving forward

Once we’re outside of Mexico City, we’ll be taking the bus to visit three other major cities: San Miguel Allende, a cosmopolitan but historically significant city east of here; Guadalajara, a really beautiful city that’s the birthplace of mariachi and other distinctive Mexican cultural aspects; and Monterrey, a city in the northeast part of the country. I’ve visited the former and latter before, but not as a Children Incorporated representative, and I expect the experiences to be very eye-opening. Mexico’s population is close to 115 million, with 18.2% estimated as not having enough food to eat every day. If you expand your definition of poverty to include assets, the number shoots up to 47%.

But I’ve seen what good work can do to change the lives of individuals, which then changes the lives of their families, which then changes the lives of generations to come. Our Mexican adventure is going to have that same mixture of somber reality and uplifting hopefulness as the rest of the trips I take with Luis.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN MEXICO?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 29, 2016En Español

When Luis Bourdet and I traveled to Africa earlier this summer, we found ourselves, as always, deeply impressed by the programs and centers we visited and the hard-working people who run them.

The beginning of gardening work at Kids Hope.

A five-acre compound that schools, houses, and nurtures the disadvantaged children of rural Ethiopia is supported by the child sponsorship organization, Canadian Humanitarian. In the area outside of Shashamane, life is both easier and tougher for Ethiopian children.

While they don’t suffer from the closely-packed life of the slums, with its crime, disease, and scarcity caused by overcrowding, they also live a life of isolation. It’s harder to get from one place to the other in the country, especially when roads aren’t maintained and distances between home and school are vast. The land is ripe for cultivating crops, but the people are so poor that even the basic farming supplies (even seeds!) aren’t available to them.

Skills for a lifetime

Bisrat Sime, Kids Hope’s Director, had high hopes for some of this land. The five acres on which the compound sits wasn’t being used effectively, he said, and it was perfect for a hands-on gardening program. Such an experience wouldn’t just help feed the community, it would give children the agricultural skills that would last their whole lives—perhaps even pass down to future generations.

Luis and I were struck by that idea, that the only thing separating this community from several lifetimes of positive change was simple supplies. The willingness to educate was there. The willingness to be educated was there. The environment was right. A nation was ready to feed itself.

The willingness to educate was there. The willingness to be educated was there.

Upon our return, Luis set about putting a bug in donors’ ears, and in a short time, he was able to send funds to Bisrat.

Weeks passed, and then in August, Luis received the update he’d been hoping for: the combined efforts of a tractor and oxen plow (bought with the money they’d received) had cleared the land, and training had begun.

A month later, and the project was in full swing. Bisrat sent photos of children learning how to plant a fruitful vegetable garden, with emphasis put on reaping the most benefit from the land without exhausting both natural and donated resources. Like the land, the children will bear their own fruit—a healthier life fed by nutritious food and a brighter future made possible by skills-based education.

A donation to Children Incorporated goes a lot further than just a packet of seeds or even a plow. It grows into something that can be harvested over and over, making real change in the lives of not just today’s children, but tomorrow’s as well.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN ETHIOPIA?

You can sponsor a child in Ethiopia in one of three ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Ethiopia that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 13, 2016En Español

In El Salvador, children have two choices: try as hard as they can to stay in school or submit to the constant pressure to join neighborhood gangs. Organized crime is rife in El Salvador, and recruitment starts at an early age, when kids are at their most vulnerable. Often, their parents are working and the children are home alone—that’s when gang culture starts to come knocking, angling for loyalty and increasing their numbers.

Luis is pictured with our volunteer coordinator and some of our sponsored children.

When parents are involved in their children’s day-to-day lives, they’ll have some control over their child’s activities. But that can’t always be the case, and that’s why programs like the Marillac secondary school are often the only force helping children resist an easier, but much more dangerous, way to make a living.

Opening doors to a better life

The Sisters who run Marillac focus on expanding their reach and increasing their offerings for the poor families that surround them. They recognize that children not only need education, a safe space to learn, and psychological support, but also activities that foster motivation, independence, and a sense of community. To further these goals, the sisters have put their heads together and dreamed up new facilities that sponsors have helped them become reality. A new gymnasium, a computer lab, and even a robotics program. Children Incorporated has been proud to help with the security for the lab, and even prouder to watch as the children find joy in something that will help them stay focused on a better life for both them and their families.

They recognize that children need education, a safe space to learn, and psychological support, but also the activities that foster motivation, independence, and a sense of community.

One Children Incorporated-sponsored student, in particular, has embodied this spirit of using her gifts to help her community. Sofia’s adventure began as “just a student of ours who likes to sing,” as Luis describes it. After losing her father a year prior, Sofia was having trouble coping.

“She was so sad,” remembers Luis. “You could see how sad this poor little girl was. And she would sing this famous Spanish sad song, and it was powerful. Her voice was incredible.”

Members of the community began to promote Sofia in the area, and she was invited to participate on a local television program. The producers noticed her skill at singing, dancing, and leading other children, and asked her if she would like her own show, now a popular children’s musical hour.

The local radio station followed suit, and Sofia now also hosts a talk show for children. “She’s so motivated to do well,” says Luis. “She comes back and coordinates these dances at the school, and shows everyone how to do the dances—she’s always involved in this, that, and the other.”

Because of donations to Children Incorporated, Sofia has been able to afford Marillac’s school fees, and it’s opened up opportunities for her in ways she may never have experienced. Now, she’s on track to become an El Salvador success story, and she’s inspiring other children to express themselves while carrying on cultural traditions. To Luis, that’s a testament to the belief of Children Incorporated’s donors, who know that helping out one child can affect the lives of many.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN EL SALVADOR?

You can sponsor a child in El Salvador in one of three ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in El Salvador that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 13, 2016En Español

In 1964, Jeanne Clarke Wood traveled to Guatemala and met 95 impoverished children, all struggling bravely through the harshest of circumstances. She founded Children Incorporated so that she could make an impact on those who need help the most — poor, often abandoned or orphaned children in countries without government services to provide even the basic necessities of life.

The organization now supports eight separate programs in Guatemala, which Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visits often. The rampant poverty in his native country is difficult to witness. While Guatemala attempts to clean up corruption within the government, many organizations have to go without funding, which means the citizens have to go without the services that the organizations provide.

Luis watches as a student practices her cosmetology skills on another student.

This year, a massive drought will deprive 1.5 million of basic staples, further slowing the government’s efforts to turn their economy around.

Songs in the key of hope

Luis finds his hope in the schools and programs he visits, where volunteers and donations from global organizations like Children Incorporated have, over the years, transformed the lives of hundreds of children. One school in particular, Juan Apostol School in Guatemala City, brings hope, strength, and inspiration to children in a very specific way. Though its students come from the heart of the Guatemala City slums, they make up one of the country’s best and brightest school bands.

Our Volunteer Coordinator, Tita, had to convince Luis that supporting the band was in line with Children Incorporated’s mission. As she spoke, it became clearer to him that the band was a unique academic motivator for Juan Apostol’s children. To participate in the band, you have to be an A student. And this isn’t some side project — the 85-student band and its two smaller bands of 45 and 30 are the school’s pride and joy. It’s by design — the coordinators understood that the band had to be something truly special to get these kids’ attention.

One school in particular, Juan Apostol School in Guatemala City, brings hope, strength, and inspiration to children in a very specific way.

Not only do the band members learn creative expression through music, but they also learn how to function as part of a very close-knit team, both musically and practically. The students and their parents have to raise funds for every trumpet, every drum, and every trip they take. The result is a group of families that are truly invested. “Every student wants to be in the band,” says Luis. “It’s just incredible.”

“They’re taught responsibility, coordination, administration, and they have to be good academically,” he continues. “So I thought we needed to support that.”

This year, Children Incorporated delivered enough brand-new instruments to replace a large percentage of Juan Apostol’s. Luis was able to attend a student performance as they blew their new trumpets and beat their new drums. He remembers feeling the children’s excitement as it grew and grew. “This is not a school that has a lot of money, and seeing those 85 kids playing felt like 20,000, all so proud of what they’re doing and showing that.”

Hands-on training now for a better tomorrow

Along with helping with the school’s band, which travels all over the region, Children Incorporated assisted in implementing a skills training program at Juan Apostol. Participating children train for more than a year in computers, graphic design, or even cosmetology, and when they’re finished, they receive a certificate from the government. So not only are Juan Apostol graduates earning a step up because of academic training, but they’re also going out into the world with skills they can use to do meaningful work. The program’s effectiveness has grown with its popularity, and now almost every child gets to participate.

It’s innovative programs like these that help children distance themselves from the challenges they face at home. Guatemalan children are often pressured into the drug trade or have to find legitimate work to help their families. Making sure that both students and parents understand the value of learning the skills taught in band or the skills training program, and keeping the process engaging for all shows these children, and their families, a glimpse of a better life.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN GUATEMALA?

You can sponsor a child in Guatemala in one of three ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Guatemala that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 6, 2016En Español

Most parents are familiar with the ubiquitous school-supply shopping list: two boxes of crayons, nine jumbo pink erasers, 47 glue sticks, one box of tissues, three boxes of markers.

But when your children run out of pencils halfway through the year, you just buy more. When the backpack inevitably falls apart by January, you buy a new one.

One of our sponsored children creates a thank-you card for his sponsor.

In Eastern Kentucky, few have that luxury. As we hand out school supplies for Children Incorporated’s back-to-school program, we’re faced with a distressing reality — these are the only school supplies most of these children will get this year.

If the backpack breaks, there won’t be another one. If they outgrow the shoes, they’ll wear too-tight shoes until (hopefully) they get another pair next September. If they run out of tampons, deodorant, toothpaste.

All of those hygiene items are necessary too for middle-schoolers and teenagers. For the youngest school children, it’s pants, leggings, and underwear for when they come to school lacking those items or in need of new ones.

Hand-me-downs

The extra clothes aren’t always new, of course. Almost nothing here is new except for what comes from Children Incorporated. School resource coordinators and guidance counselors collect hand-me-downs from the community — but in most of the schools here, Children Incorporated is the only major benefactor.

Over the last 15 years, we’ve put between $125,000 and $150,000 into each school in Kentucky that we affiliate with, and tough reality is that it’s never enough. For every child we give a bag of brand new school supplies, there’s another in the same classroom who gets nothing.

Back-to-school season is somewhat like Christmas here. It’s the time of year when donors shower kids with new shoes, clothes, notebooks, backpacks, pens, pencils, and markers. But for children not enrolled in our program, there won’t be much left and the school resource coordinators will be scrounging in their supply closets for a hand-me-down pair of shoes to trade for the too-small ones they’re wearing.

Middle school is the age when they start to realize the truth about why they don’t get new clothes or school supplies when other kids do.

The luckiest children have ongoing sponsors who keep them supplied. James, a fifth-grader at one of our affiliate schools, gets clothes, school supplies and stuffed animals from his sponsor, Vicki. He told us that Vicki sends him letters asking for what he wants and then sends him gifts. He’s a happy kid who wants to be a farmer and who loves his animals — especially his pig, which he mimics for us.

Fortunately, James and the other sponsored children have received funds from Children Incorporated through the years, and they need it badly. Of the 350 or so children enrolled here now, many more would qualify to receive help from Children Incorporated.

Bad times at home

One of the kids who is getting help is Brian, who lives with his five siblings. His stepfather is in jail and his mother is in rehab, so their grandmother takes care of them. Brian knows where his parents are but doesn’t seem to get yet that the reason he’s in worn-out clothes and never has quite enough to eat is because his parents didn’t come through for him.

Over at Morgan County Middle School, resource coordinator Donna told us that the elementary children generally don’t understand that yet.

“Middle school is the age when they start to realize the truth about why they don’t get new clothes or school supplies when other kids do — because the reality is their family doesn’t have the money, maybe because their mom and dad bought alcohol or something else,” she said.

Two of the kids that Donna helps are Billy and Dennis. The two boys had been living in a small trailer with six adults, but then their parents divorced, and their father was killed in a car crash. Now, they live in a trailer with their mom. The family is living on food stamps, which keeps them fed but doesn’t cover the bills or clothes, hygiene items or school supplies.

What they and most of these kids need, Donna said, isn’t just physical help but emotional support. They need to be told that they’re doing well and trying hard and that they can succeed — it’s not something they often hear at home.

For many of these kids, school is the safest place to be and the place where they are ensured a full meal and attentive adults who are devoted to their wellbeing.

“I am always ready for school to start back after the summer because I worry about these children when they are not in school,” Donna said. “A lot of them don’t have a safe place to be.”

For the holidays and weekends, Children Incorporated students get food packs to take home with them — cans of SpaghettiOs, chicken noodle soup and other easy-to-make foods to ensure they’re getting fed something.

A BRIGHTER FUTURE

And yet even here, there is a way out.

At Morgan County High School, as many as 70 percent of the 600 students may go on to some type of higher education.

“I am always ready for school to start back after the summer because I worry about these children when they are not in school,” Donna said. “A lot of them don’t have a safe place to be.”

Caroline is one of them. A junior at Morgan County High, she’s already getting nursing certifications and is planning to finish her nursing education at Pikesville University after she graduates. Caroline’s coordinator said her home situation is bad but that Caroline’s determination and the Children Incorporated clothes and supplies she’s been receiving over the years have enabled her to always look good and walk with confidence.

Another one is Barrett, who’s had the same Children Incorporated sponsor since he was in kindergarten. He’s a senior now, and he’s hoping to go to college to study computers or engineering and to one day move to Lexington and buy a house and a truck. It could very well happen — his older sister is already in college at nearby Morehead State.

He’ll finish school in June and be off to college, leaving a spot open for another Children Incorporated child. For every child we send off successfully, there’s another one waiting for help.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of two ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

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