Tag Archives: child

Shelley Callahan | July 1, 2017En Español

In May, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, visited Martin County in Kentucky, where she met with many of our sponsored children at our affiliated schools, as well as at some of their homes. The breadth and depth of the poverty in Martin County is staggering. Over the many years that Renée has been visiting Eastern Kentucky, she has seen the homes of the impoverished on the sides of main roads; but it still amazed her that home visits would take her off state roads, and onto tiny county roads, where along gravel lanes and dirt ruts, there is even more dire poverty. Some homes are so far into the mountain hollows that Renée can’t even begin to imagine how the homes were placed there.

Grandparents Stepping Up

Upon visiting with Billy* at his school, Renée found his situation to be very representative of many Martin County children, because his grandparents are raising him and his little sister, Kristen*. Both grandparents are disabled and subsist on small disability allotments from the government.

Renée with a sponsored child and her parents

Renée noticed that Billy is cheerful and has a positive attitude. He was comfortable telling her that he loves having a sponsor, and that it has helped him very much. He was excited to talk about the opportunity to enjoy a week at Trooper Island Summer Camp in Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park; the camp gives underprivileged Kentucky children, ages ten to twelve, some time away from their stresses so they can simply be kids. State troopers lead them in all kinds of recreational activities, and they have conversations about healthy living, safety, and making wise choices.

So Many Children in Need

Renée also met with Blake* and Ruby* at their school; these two siblings had been living with their parents in a partially burned house that had no running water. The Family Resource Center, our partnering organization in Kentucky, worked with other county partners to find the family another place to live. The kids’ housing is now better and safer, but their circumstances are still extremely bad.

As Renée spoke with the parents, they told her how much the sponsorship program has meant to them, because the kids’ sponsors have helped so much over the years.

Another sponsored child, Scott*, was just enrolled in our program in January. He lives with his grandparents, siblings, and other relatives. There are ten people in the home, which is a very dilapidated dwelling. Renée also met Stuart*, who lives in a camper trailer by a local pizza restaurant. There are ten people living in his home as well, including his first cousin, Nathan*, who is also in our program. Their home life is not only an impoverished one, but it is also incredibly unstable and rather neglectful.

Loving Parents Struggle to Provide Support

Her first visit took Renée to the home of the Johnson family, who lives in one of the most deprived trailer communities in the county. Both the mother and father are kind and loving, but have little education or physical capacity. Their children are Susan*, age fourteen and in high school; Brooke*, age eighteen and also in high school; and Holly*, age nineteen and a former sponsored child. The father is a general laborer and can find only temporary jobs. The mother has respiratory problems and is in poor health, which often causes her to be bedridden.

Homes in Eastern Kentucky, which are sometimes too small for large families

When Renée entered the home, she saw that the front door opened directly into the living room, and a small sofa was in front of her. There was a small bed against a wall, and that’s where one of the girls sleeps. To the right of the living room was the kitchen. To the left of the living room was a doorway that opened into the parents’ room, which was taken up by a king-sized mattress and box spring foundation, and is where the mother spends most of her time. The family had decorated the home with old beach towels, which hung from the walls and the ceilings.

As Renée spoke with the parents, they told her how much the sponsorship program has meant to them, because the kids’ sponsors have helped so much over the years. The Johnsons are among the poorest of the families with kids in our program; but even though it seems virtually impossible for the parents to improve their situation, Renée could tell that they have hope for their children, and that the support they receive from sponsorship is important in encouraging the girls to do well in school and succeed.

The Wilson family also welcomed Renée into their home. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of Becky*, nine; Lola*, seven; and Maria*, five. All three girls are sponsored. The middle child, Lola, is extremely small for her age and has some health challenges. The parents have tried diligently over the years to support their children, and our volunteer coordinators have worked closely with them in their efforts.

These are just a few examples of how much of a difference your sponsorship and contributions make; little by little, we can help break the cycle of poverty by offering more and more children education, hope, and opportunity.

They were living in a ramshackle apartment, but are now in a public housing complex – which is a big step up for them. The parents are extremely proud of their small apartment, and the mother has decorated it with modest items purchased at yard sales, thrift shops, and dollar stores. This home is much better for the girls than their former situation.

Through her home visits, both parents and guardians told Renée over and over that the most important things for their children to have are absolute basics, like food, clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items. After paying rent and utilities, caretakers often find they have virtually nothing left over to help support their rapidly growing children, which is why our sponsorship program is so valuable to these families.

These are just a few examples of how much of a difference your sponsorship and contributions make; little by little, we can help break the cycle of poverty by offering more and more children education, hope, and opportunity.

*Names changed for children’s protection.

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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, or email the sponsorship department at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | June 27, 2017En Español

In May of this year, Renée Kube, our Director of U.S. Programs, and Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist, traveled to Kentucky together to visit two counties that Children Incorporated serves. Once they arrived in Kentucky, they split up – Renée in the direction of Martin County, and Shelley to Magoffin County. Both counties are close to each other in proximity, east of Lexington, and are two of the poorest counties in our nation.

For many children, their only hot meals of the day are at school.

In Martin County, the median yearly household income is $27,484; it is ranked as having the greatest rental cost burden in the state, and the poverty rate is 35.2 percent. In Magoffin County, the median yearly household income is $29,421; it has the fifth-greatest rental cost burden in the state, and the poverty rate there is 28.6 percent.

A community of trailers in Martin County, Kentucky – many of our sponsored children live in homes like these.

Some of the most severe poverty in both counties is out of the sight of state and county roads, and away from the county seats. This poverty is tucked in hollows between mountains, or up their ridges. According to research from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Center, of the 119 counties in Kentucky, the 25 with the highest rates of child poverty include both Magoffin and Martin Counties. Not surprisingly, both counties also rank poorly on other measures of child well-being.

WHEN Disaster Strikes

Renée remembers very clearly when, more than five years ago, on March 2 and 3, 2012, a tornado outbreak occurred over a large part of the southeastern U.S. There were a total of seventy confirmed tornadoes that resulted in 41 fatalities, 22 of which occurred in Kentucky. The counties affected included Children Incorporated-affiliated projects in Bath, Johnson, Lawrence, Menifee, Morgan, and Wolfe Counties, as well as in Martin and Magoffin counties in Kentucky.

After the disaster, our volunteer coordinators went to the schools as soon as they had the chance, and began contacting families to see what they needed — some of their houses had been damaged or destroyed, and many had lost a lot of their belongings, and didn’t have the means to even begin to clean up the mess from the tornadoes.

As information arrived from the coordinators to Renée about the needs of the families, Children Incorporated put out an appeal to donors and sponsors to help, and contributions began pouring in. From March to May 2012, Children Incorporated raised a total of $10,818. Our President and CEO, Ron Carter, delivered some of these disaster relief checks in person to various counties, which provided the families with emergency supplies such as replacement clothing, food, and cleaning supplies, like bleach.

Both Terrie and Debbie say that the biggest barrier for families is a lack of reliable transportation.

It was so important to be able to help individual families during this time of crisis; but unfortunately, much more extensive damage had been done to a few schools. In Magoffin County, three schools were damaged: Salyersville Elementary, Herald Whitaker Middle, and Magoffin County High. The elementary and high schools were repairable, but the middle school was not; so those students were moved into the high school building, where they shared tight quarters – and that was the situation for almost five years.

Welcome to Martin County

Exterior view of Martin County Middle School

Back in 1964, Martin County was the Appalachian county that gave a face to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ‘”War on Poverty.” Many residents vividly remember when the president visited the Fletcher home to speak with them about their struggles. Over fifty years later, improvements to the communities in Appalachia have occurred; most have been made, however, in the outer bands of the area, and not in regions such as Martin County.

The central core of the Appalachian region still lags behind the rest of the nation in most measures. Schools have greatly improved, but mining jobs have steeply declined, leaving many residents with few options for work. The remaining jobs are mostly service-related, such as at small stores and convenience marts. The hours are often part-time only, and the pay is minimum wage with few or no benefits.

As a result, many people still live on government aid of one kind or another. But poverty has remained high for the poorest residents. The loss of mining jobs has meant high unemployment; many families have moved away. Those who have remained continue to struggle. For many children, their only hot meals of the day are at school. Drug abuse compounds poverty in a cycle of hopelessness, and it is children who are the most vulnerable. Social service professionals are grateful for the programs that exist, but agree with the families that programs won’t render long-term improvements without decent employment opportunities.

Sheldon Clark High School’s Shining Stars

At Sheldon Clark High School, one of five schools in Martin County that Renée visited on her trip, Children Incorporated is well-served by two amazing women: Terrie Simpkins is the Youth Services Center Coordinator, and Debbie Fluty is the Assistant Coordinator. Both have been employed by the school system for a long time, and they have years of experience working with Children Incorporated at multiple schools in Kentucky.

Despite the consistently trying circumstances in which this young man lives, support from Thomas’ Children Incorporated sponsor presents him with opportunities he most certainly wouldn’t have otherwise.

Terrie and Debbie are responsible for a wide variety of programming for their high school students, including referrals to health-related and social services, career exploration and development, summer and part-time job development, and alcohol and drug awareness and addiction prevention. But their budget is a shoestring one; both Terrie and Debbie are constantly overworked and overwhelmed with the needs of the students and their families, as they are both fiercely devoted to supporting them.

Renée and Terrie pose for a photo together.

Terrie conducts regular needs assessments; the top requests are help for clothing, shoes, hygiene items, and dental care. Terrie and Debbie have repeatedly stated that our sponsorship program is a godsend — that the kids would have almost nothing without their sponsors’ help.

Both Terrie and Debbie say that the biggest barrier for families is a lack of reliable transportation. Families have trouble finding and keeping jobs when their old cars break down, or when they cannot afford to buy one in the first place. There are students who are desperate for work to help their families — but after-school jobs are few and far between.

Debbie and Terrie shared that there are few local businesses or churches that are in a position to help, and those that can are inundated with requests. Most of the responses from the community for support go to the three elementary schools. A lot of the time, most people like to help younger kids, so teenagers are often forgotten and overlooked.

Meeting a Special Senior

Renée met with one student while at Sheldon – a rising twelfth-grade boy named Thomas* who is homeless and sleeping in a barn; there are no vacancies at the only federal housing project in the county. Thomas has no money to pay rent or utilities at the trailer parks. Terrie called him into the office, and Renée was able to meet him and hear his story.

He has such a positive attitude, and he is determined to stay in school and get his diploma, even though he has no home to go to. Normally, a guardian would sign the forms to enroll a child in our program; but since Thomas is eighteen, he was able to enroll himself in our program, so he will be able to get the support he needs to get him through the end of the school year and graduation.

Despite the consistently trying circumstances in which this young man lives, support from Thomas’ Children Incorporated sponsor presents him with opportunities he most certainly wouldn’t have otherwise.

*Name changed for child’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Ron Carter | June 20, 2017En Español

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I looked from the practically empty refrigerator before me to the precious little girl standing by my side.

I was on a project visit in Eastern Kentucky with one of our volunteer coordinators, and she had arranged for me to see first-hand the conditions in which many of the youngsters in her school are forced to live. On this particular day, we accompanied a beautiful little shaggy-haired seven-year-old girl, not yet enrolled in our program, home following the day’s classes.

“I don’t know what I’m going to feed the children tonight,” she said, explaining that her monthly check had not yet arrived, making it impossible for her to shop for groceries.

We were greeted warmly at the door of a rather ramshackle house by the child’s mother, a woman who appeared much older than she actually was. We were made to feel quite welcome, despite the worn and mismatched furniture that cluttered the small living room.

What to Feed the Children

As we spoke with the woman, she wore her heart on her sleeve. She cried as she told us how difficult times were, and especially how hard it is for her, as an unemployed single parent of three living on food stamps and a small monthly federal assistance check, to make sure her children have enough food to eat.

She stated over and over that her children would probably go hungry were it not for the free breakfasts and lunches they receive at school each weekday. “I thank God for those school meals,” she said. “The money just does not go far enough, and by the end of the month, sometimes the food has run out.” The woman then took us into her small kitchen and opened the refrigerator to show us how little food was there: a half-empty container of milk, a stick of margarine, a few leftover beans in a pot, and a couple of slices of cheese. “I don’t know what I’m going to feed the children tonight,” she said, explaining that her monthly check had not yet arrived, making it impossible for her to shop for groceries.

Backpacks Full of Food

Our feeding programs are essential for children living in poverty.

Then the woman said something that really made me think – something I had never considered prior to that visit. She said, “It is really hard in the summer, because the kids have to eat all their meals at home; there are no school meals then, but I still don’t get any more money.”

She went on to say how bare the cupboards get during the months of June through August, and that she knows there are times when her children get very hungry. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke, and my heart broke as I took in the significance of her words. It hit me, then and there, that there are children all over our country who, just like this family, must go hungry on a regular basis — especially in the summer when school feeding programs are unavailable to them.

Since that time, Children Incorporated has worked with a number of schools and childcare centers to support weekend and summer backpack feeding programs. The availability of these programs often determines whether or not a child will eat, sometimes for days at a time. These backpacks filled with non-perishable food items provide nourishment, as well as a highly important reminder to the children receiving them, that someone, somewhere remembers and cares about them.

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HOW CAN I DONATE TO Children Incorporated’s feeding program?

You can donate to our feeding program in one of two ways. Call the office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our specialists on staff or visit our website at www.childrenincorporated.org/donate.

Shelley Callahan | June 12, 2017En Español

Located southwest of the capital of Nicaragua is Boaco, a town that was built on such a steep hill that it is described by locals as having two floors – a first floor with homes and businesses, and then another tier of houses and shops high above the first, considered the second floor.

It was fitting to hear that the city is referred to as having two floors because part of our visit to the Casa Betania Welfare Center was to visit the completed two floors of the clinic that are a part of the Sisters’ home and our affiliate project, which supports 86 sponsored children in our program.

Saving Children and Saving Money

The clinic at Casa Betania

When we arrived at Casa Betania, we were warmly greeted by the children and our volunteer coordinator, Sister Cristina. Casa Betania itself has been in Boaco for more than thirty years, and Children Incorporated has been affiliated with it for almost as long as it has been in existence. The children had taken the time to come to the Home on a Saturday, a day they wouldn’t normally be there, to meet with us.

Of the more than eighty children in our program, 63 of them attend a local primary school, seven are in university, and the rest are in high school. The Sisters at Casa Betania — five in all — provide support for the children in shifts by days of the week. Since there is only one Sister that works with the students as an afterschool tutor, and the others help with cooking meals for the children, the students take turns coming to the home once a week after school, Monday through Thursday, to receive help with their homework and have a meal.

Like so many of our projects, not only do the Sisters support the children in the community — their parents also go to the home to discuss business and finances, and the Sisters encourage them to work together to earn an income. Some women get together to make tamales to sell on the street, and then they share in the profits; others clean houses or work as cooks in wealthier families’ homes. The fathers tend to work in carpentry or help the women sell food – but jobs are limited in Boaco. The Sisters also help the families save money; they offer to act as a bank, so the families are able to put funds aside throughout the year.

The Power of Padrinos

On top of receiving food and tutoring, children also receive clothes and shoes, thanks to their padrinos, the name they call their sponsors — which literally translates to “godparents” in English. All of the support is really important for the children, but the Sisters feel that the homework and tutoring help is the most crucial part of the program. Classrooms in local public schools are overcrowded, so teachers can’t give children the attention they need. The Sisters at Casa Betania would like to hire an additional tutor, but paying a salary is a concern, since they don’t get funding for educational support from the government or other organizations that offer aid.

On top of receiving food and tutoring, children also receive clothes and shoes, thanks to their padrinos, the name they call their sponsors – which literally translates to “godparents” in English.

A Doctor Among the Sisters

After visiting with the children, Sister Cristina showed us the clinic. Three years ago, thanks to our gracious donors, Children Incorporated provided $7,000 in funding to help complete the clinic after a local woman who was providing the financial support for the large addition was suddenly unable to help anymore. Now that the clinic is complete, what used to be a very small dispensary with just one room is a large clinic with multiple examining rooms and a full pharmacy.

One of the Sisters completed medical training, and is now a doctor, seeing upwards of forty patients a day, four days a week at the clinic. A Canadian health organization provides medications free of charge, and anyone in the community with an illness or wound is welcome to visit for treatments and care. Another staff member at Casa Betania is working on getting her nursing degree so that the clinic will be able to see even more patients.

The Sisters have their hands full between supporting the children four days a week and running a clinic during the week as well; but as Sister Cristina told us, there are so many kids in need in the community, and they would gladly bring more children and families into the home. With more padrinos, the Sisters could support more children, and the community would continue to benefit with both education and health and well-being.

***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NICARAGUA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | June 7, 2017En Español

Almost as soon as we arrived in Managua after our flight from San Jose, I could tell that Nicaragua was vastly different from Costa Rica. As we drove out of the capital city, the jungle landscape we had seen just one day before had been replaced by flat, open land where cows and horses roamed for miles. Along the road to Leon, the second-largest city in Nicaragua after Managua, we saw cowboys, both young and old, leading herds of animals, and I felt like we were in an old Western movie.

Andreia, International Project Specialist, with Sister Olga, our volunteer coordinator

That feeling didn’t change when we arrived two hours later at the La Recoleccion Home, a school for girls that has been around since 1880. La Recoleccion itself looked like a movie set – the large hallways and courtyards of the school were picturesque, towering stories above us. Lush trees and blossoming flowers grew all around, and archways leading into grand halls were enormous. I hadn’t known what to expect on my first trip to Nicaragua, but its beauty overwhelmed me, which was striking, considering we were in one of the poorest countries in the Americas.

The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

Geographically, Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It is a multi-ethnic country of six million people, and the main language spoken there is Spanish. Tourism in Nicaragua has grown exponentially in recent years, but the population of the country still remains very poor. 48 percent of its people live below the poverty line, living on less than two dollars a day.

The country is primarily an agricultural one, and its minimum wage is among the lowest in all of the Americas. For that reason, many Nicaraguans leave to try to find better work in neighboring countries like Costa Rica, even though that means leaving their families, including their children, behind.

But those who are accepted have a safe place to be during the day; and for some, La Recoleccion offers an escape from a world of poverty during the night as well.

A Safe Place for Girls

At La Recoleccion, more than 1,300 girls attend the school every day. Sister Olga is our volunteer coordinator at the school, which also serves as a girls’ home. She has been working at La Recoleccion since 2014, when she moved from Honduras, where she had been working as our coordinator at another affiliate project since 1998. In all, Sister Olga has been associated with Children Incorporated for almost twenty years; and like Sister Bertalina at Santa Luisa in Costa Rica, she has worked at multiple projects in multiple countries!

Of the 68 girls enrolled in our program and attending the school, 25 live in the home full-time because their families have moved away to look for work. Many of the girls who don’t live at the Home live with single mothers who work long hours away from home in fields, or as housekeepers for other families. Violence is a concern because the girls are at home alone in the afternoons while their mothers work late – and unfortunately, abuse sometimes comes from people the mothers are associated with, like stepfathers or boyfriends.

A Beacon of Hope

It’s hard for Sister Olga to decide who gets to go to the school – more parents approach the school about enrolling their daughters than there is room for students in the classrooms, even though it is a very large school. But those who are accepted have a safe place to be during the day; and for some, La Recoleccion offers an escape from a world of poverty during the night as well.

The girls are well-cared-for by Sister Olga and the teachers and staff, so they can worry less and focus more on getting a good education. The girls also receive counseling, and Sister Olga offers sewing classes to their mothers so that they may acquire the skills they need to make a better living for themselves and their families. In the beautiful land of volcanoes and lakes in Nicaragua, La Recoleccion offers a safe and special beacon of hope for so many girls and their mothers.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NICARAGUA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | May 31, 2017En Español

A five-hour drive from Costa Rica’s capital is the small town of Bribri in the Talamanca region, southeast of San Jose, along the border of Panama. The town is inhabited mostly by the indigenous Bribri tribe, which is comprised of people who live and work close to the Sixaola River, which separates Costa Rica from Panama by just a short boat ride.

For the last nine years, during five of which Sister Bertalina has been at Santa Luisa, the 83 children in our program have been receiving food, clothing, shoes, and school supplies upon monthly visits to the home.

The area produces various crops, including bananas, plantains, cacao, and a variety of tropical fruits; agriculture provides little income for the families in the region, however. Among the houses and schools within the Bribri community is the Santa Luisa home for the elderly, which not only serves the aging population, but also provides support for children in the community.

A Surprising Connection

We left San Jose at 4:00 a.m. to make the drive to Bribri; we passed over mountains and then drove along the Caribbean coast until the paved road we had been traveling on stopped, and a gravel path lead us into the jungle, the river to the south visible every so often over banana trees.

When we arrived at Santa Luisa, we saw a community center at the entrance gate, and there was a basketball court in front of it. Directly behind it was the home for the elderly, which consisted of four or five separate buildings connected by walkways. Another home sat on a hill above the driveway, where Sister Bertalina, our volunteer coordinator, was waiting for us.

Sister Bertalina with one of our sponsored children

Upon greeting us, Sister Bertalina explained that she had been our coordinator for two years at La Milagrosa in San Jose — which we had visited just the day before — until 2011, when she came to Santa Luisa.

Before that, she had worked at one of our other affiliate sites, Casa Central, in Guatemala as well. In the last ten years, she has been our coordinator for three different sites in two different countries — meaning she has a lot of experience with how to best support the children in our program.

A Community in Need

Sister Bertalina showed us around the grounds of Santa Luisa, which are well-kept and full of chickens, roosters, and fruit trees — all of which provide food for the residents of the home. Santa Luisa is funded and run by the Costa Rican government.

Ten staff members help care for upwards of 25 elderly residents at a time, and the four Sisters that live on the property help to oversee operations, as well as provide support for the children and their families in the surrounding communities through our sponsorship program.

For the last nine years, during five of which Sister Bertalina has been at Santa Luisa, the 83 children in our program have been receiving food, clothing, shoes, and school supplies upon monthly visits to the home.

Both the young and old are being affected by the delicate nature of their families’ economic situations — all because of poverty.

Although the children and the elderly don’t interact with one another during those visits, in many ways, they go to the home for similar reasons. The elderly there have families who are no longer able help them as they become older and unable to care for themselves. Being a casualty of the cycle of poverty, these families can’t afford to take care of aging parents or extended family members, and they are forced to leave them in the government’s care.

This is something that I have become used to seeing with children in our program, but hadn’t yet seen with the elderly. Both young and old are being affected by the delicate nature of their families’ economic situations — all because of poverty. The elderly residents, just like so many children, are lacking the support they greatly need, and are just as vulnerable as children are.

Living in the jungle

After showing us the Santa Luisa grounds, Sister Bertalina took us to visit the home of two children in our program, only a few-minutes drive away. The visit took us deep into the jungle, where at first glance, it didn’t seem that a path off the main road existed at all.

Blanketed by large banana trees, it was narrow and muddy, and it took us up a steep incline. When we arrived at the wooden two-bedroom house, which was built on stilts on the side of a hill, we were greeted by the father, who held his small son in his arms. His wife and their other son were out, but he told us we would meet them at Santa Luisa the next day, when we were to meet with the other sponsored children in our program.

We provided shoes to children thanks to Because International.

The father explained that the roof leaks whenever it rains, which forces them to bag their clothes and tie those bags to the rafters in order to keep their belongings dry.

The family has little money for food because the father makes a very low wage working banana fields. The youngest son is anemic, which makes it difficult to keep him healthy. As we left, Sister Bertalina mentioned that she wants to buy mattresses for many of these families who sleep on the floor or foam padding. She also wishes she could start a nutritional program for the families so she could provide them with vitamins, as well as instructions on how to eat well.

Neither young nor old

The following day, the children went to the center to meet with us, along with their mothers, and some with their fathers, like the family we had met the day before. The children were excited to meet with us, and it gave them a chance to play on the playground, too.

They ran around together until it was time for us to hand out school supplies and shoes we had brought with us for them to take home. Each child received a pair of shoes from Because International, a book bag, pencils, erasers, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

It is more than just a home for the old which also supports the young — it is a home that makes a difference for everyone in-between in Bribri, too.

After they received their gifts, the mothers served a large meal of rice, potatoes, and vegetables. After we ate, everyone went home for the day, and we said our goodbyes. The family we had visited the day before came to speak with us — the father, the mother, and the two small boys. The parents, who were neither young nor old, expressed their gratitude for the support they receive from our program, thanks to the Santa Luisa home.

It occurred to me how important Santa Luisa is to this community. It is more than just a home for the old which also supports the young — it is a home that makes a difference for everyone in-between in Bribri, too.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN COSTA RICA?

You can sponsor a child in Costa Rica in one of two ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Costa Rica that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD