Tag Archives: children

Shelley Callahan | En Español

In our work at Children Incorporated, we often talk about the importance of getting an education. For children in our program, we believe education is the key to finding jobs upon graduation that will enable them to work toward breaking the cycle of poverty from which they come.

Unfortunately, statistics show that children growing up in impoverished households often perform less well academically than their peers.

The challenges of living below the poverty line

Jackie is pictured here with one of our sponsored children at Beaver Creek Elementary School.

As reported by the non-profit Operation Warm’s website, “Children living above the poverty line are entering kindergarten more prepared than those below it. High-income families are able to put more money towards their children’s cognitive development than those living in poverty.”

“Parents with low incomes, on average, have less time to read to their children, no funds for pre-school and less stable home environments. The difference in preparation tends to persist through elementary and high school.”

Beavers Are Achievers

According to our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, this achievement gap is prevalent in some of our affiliated schools in Eastern Kentucky, and specifically at Beaver Creek Elementary School in Knott County. Located in the small community of Topmost, families of children enrolled at Beaver Creek Elementary face rampant poverty. They struggle to overcome the common socioeconomic problems that plague Knott County such as adult illiteracy, school absenteeism, child obesity and substance abuse.

“There is no question that poverty can impact academic achievement in ways ranging from lack of books in the home to transportation barriers that make it difficult to travel to cultural and historic sites,” stated Renée. 

While visiting Beaver Creek Elementary School, Renée met with our volunteer coordinator Jackie, who Renée describes as incredibly devoted to helping her students.

During their meeting, Jackie explained that although the school motto is “Beavers Are Achievers” the children are struggling academically as they aim to reach their goals. The school’s test scores lag behind state averages, reaching only the 51st percentile in reading and just the 38th percentile in math in state ranking.

“There is no question that poverty can impact academic achievement in ways ranging from lack of books in the home to transportation barriers that make it difficult to travel to cultural and historic sites,” stated Renée. 

Making kids feel loved

Often times while visiting our affiliated projects, Renée visits with parents of children enrolled in our program.

Jackie told Renée that one of the biggest challenges in the community — and the county as a whole — is coping with drug addiction and the lack of treatment options for it. The fallout affects many children, resulting in them being raised by grandparents or other family members. For other children who still live at home with their parents, they are often being neglected and raising themselves.

Jackie feels fortunate that a local church brings food to the school’s Resource Center for her weekend Backpack Feeding Program. She says that the Children Incorporated sponsorship program is vital in helping with clothing, shoes and school supplies throughout the year. Jackie also values how sponsors make her students feel special and let them know that someone cares for them.

Meeting two special parents

After taking a tour of the building and grounds, Jackie was happy to show Renée the Family Resource Center where she had asked two of her parents — Raven and Scottie — to thank our organization on behalf of all the parents of sponsored children.

While meeting with Raven and Scottie, Renée could tell they were both very dedicated to and concerned for their daughters.

“Raven is a homemaker. Scottie was unemployed for a long time but has recently gotten a job at a small, local non-profit community center. The pay is meager. They told me that our sponsorship program has meant so much to their little girls, and that it warms their hearts to see the excitement their sponsors bring to their children,” said Renée.

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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 at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

 

Shelley Callahan | En Español

After spending nearly a month visiting all seventeen of our affiliated projects in South Korea, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visited the Yung Shil Ae Yuk Children’s Home and the Yong Jin Children’s Home as his last stops before returning to the United States.

As he prepared to return home, Luis thought about how genuinely essential the support of the Children Incorporated sponsorship program has been for young people in South Korea.

The Yung Shil Ae Yuk Children’s Home

Located in Okcheon, the Yung Shil Ae Yuk Children’s Home serves 34 underprivileged and orphaned children. The home itself is made up of three spacious buildings. Our sponsorship program provides support for thirteen children at the home. The local government pays for the salaries of the eighteen staff members.

Differing from many of the other homes we partner with in South Korea, the Yung Shil Ae Yuk Children’s Home focuses on helping children who have physical or mental health conditions. The dedicated staff of the home is professionally educated and trained to provide the children with the special care they need.

“The children at the Yung Shil Ae Yuk Children’s Home require much more attention than children at the other homes we support,” explained Luis.

“I was pleased to see the staff is well-equipped to provide special care for the children.”

The Yong Jin Children’s Home

The Yong Jin Children’s Home serves children ages five to nineteen years old in the city of Gwangju.

Luis was pleased with all of our projects in South Korea in how well they were supporting children in our program.

Situated on the slope of a mountain overlooking rice paddies below, the cluster of brick and stucco buildings that make up the home houses dormitories, an auditorium, a dining room, kitchen and offices. The grounds include a vegetable garden and apple orchard.

According to Luis, the home also has a small museum in which bones and artifacts are on display for the children to see at any time.

“The Director of the Yong Jin Children’s Home is the son of the founder of the home, Mr. Min. Mr. Min had a love for archeology, so he started collecting dinosaur bones and other fossils from various countries around the world,” said Luis.

“Soon after his son graduated as a social welfare worker, Mr. Min sent him to archeology school, and between them they have a great collection of bones and fossils. Local school children often visit the home for educational tours.”

“This is a very well run home. The children get to enjoy a lot of field trips outdoors, camping and searching for fossils and bones,” explained Luis.

Thanks to our amazing sponsors, hundreds of children in Korea are being cared for and looked after every day while also receiving much-needed support as they grow up.

Getting to meet our sponsored kids

During his final two visits, Luis was pleased to get to meet with the children at both homes after their school days were over.

“It was great to interact with them. The children were truly approachable and not shy at all. They even tried to practice their English with me since I do not speak Korean!” exclaimed Luis. “It was fun to communicate with them.”

As he prepared to return home, Luis thought about how genuinely essential the support of the Children Incorporated sponsorship program has been for young people in South Korea. Thanks to our amazing sponsors, hundreds of children are being cared for and looked after every day while also receiving much-needed support as they grow up.

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How do I sponsor a child in South Korea?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

 

Shelley Callahan | En Español

The second-largest nation in Latin America, Argentina is truly a nation of contrasts. In geography alone, its borders envelop a full spectrum of topography including rugged, towering mountains, tropical lowlands, arid steppes and plateaus, and frigid tundra.

Despite being a rather wealthy country, Argentina faces a poverty crisis caused in large part by inflation rates.

Argentina is located mostly in the southern half of South America. The country is bordered by Chile to the West, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Drake Passage to the south. It is located between the Andes Mountains on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Despite being a rather wealthy country, Argentina faces a poverty crisis caused in large part by inflation rates.

Facts about Argentina

–    The capital is Buenos Aires

–    Argentina is the second-largest country in South America

–    The population is 44.27 million

–    The official language is Spanish

–  92% of Argentinians are Roman Catholic religion

–  Argentina is the 8th largest country in the world

– The currency is the Argentinian peso

–  The name “Argentina” comes from the Latin word for silver

Facts about poverty in Argentina

  • The government of Argentina estimates that a third of the population lives below the poverty line
  • About 20% of the population lives on less than $2 a day
  • Women make up a larger share of the poor. They comprise a large percentage (60 percent) of those employed in part-time or low-skill (and therefore low-paying) jobs
  • About 50% of children under the age of 14 live in poverty
  • There are currently an estimated 500,000 young people in Argentina outside of the country’s education system

Where we work in Argentina

In Argentina, we are affiliated with two projects, Casa del Nino-Maria de Nazaret and Casa del Nino-Padre Jose Kentenich, both of which are located in Buenos Aires.

Read more about these projects

A Shining Light in the Culture Capital of Argentina

Creative Learning in Buenos Aires

How you can help children in Argentina

You can help a child living in poverty in Argentina in a few different ways. One way is through our child sponsorship program. Sponsorship provides an underprivileged child with basic and education-related necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, school supplies and school tuition payments.

SPONSOR A CHILD IN ARGENTINA

This vital support allows impoverished, vulnerable children to develop to their full potential — physically, emotionally and socially. Sponsors positively impact the lives of the children they sponsor through the knowledge that someone cares about their wellbeing. This gives children in need hope, which is powerful.

Our on-site volunteer coordinators use those funds to purchase items for children in our program, to ensure that they have what they need to do their very best and succeed in school.

Our policy has always been to consider the needs of each sponsored child on an individual basis. We work closely with our volunteer coordinators at our project sites in Argentina, who are familiar with each individual circumstance and the needs of every child in their care. Sponsorship donations are sent to our projects — orphanages, homes, community centers and schools — at the beginning of each month in the form of subsidy stipends. Our on-site volunteer coordinators use those funds to purchase items for children in our program, to ensure that they have what they need to do their very best and succeed in school.

You can also help children in Argentina by donating to one of our special funds. Our special funds offer a variety of giving options for sponsors who wish to further their support, as well as for donors who wish to make a difference without making a commitment. In the past, thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund and our International Feeding Program, we have been able to further support our projects in Argentina beyond sponsorship.

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Shelley Callahan | En Español

Making sure young people have positive influences around them is crucial to their development.

This is especially true for children coming from difficult circumstances like the orphans and children from impoverished backgrounds living at the Kang Nam Children’s Home in South Korea.

After a visit to the home, our International Director of Programs, Luis Bourdet, reported that the sixty children living at this Children Incorporated affiliated project meet with local university students every week. The college students not only help the kids with their homework but also serve as role models and mentors.

Apart from having more than twenty-six staff members, the local university volunteers spend their free time at the home tutoring and participating in sports activities with the children.

These interactions with caring adults outside of their supervisors and teachers help the children learn valuable life skills and teach them behavior that will prepare them for the outside world once they are grown up.

Kang Nam Children’s Home

Located on the south side of Seoul, the Kang Nam Children’s Home provides orphaned and underprivileged children in this region of South Korea with a safe, nurturing environment, nutritious food and medical care.

Children are often placed in the home after having been through the country’s welfare system. Many of them are coming from broken homes or have only lived in an orphanage, having no living parent. Because of this, many of the children we support have already had very challenging lives considering their young ages.

Thankfully, the administrators of the Kang Nam Children’s Home, with help from our sponsors, make sure the children receive food, clothes, housing and an education.

College students help kids at the Kang Nam Children’s Home with their homework and serve as role models and mentors.

“On top of support from sponsorship funds, the local government provides money to cover staff salaries and building maintenance. The Korean Welfare Foundation also supports the home for any incidental expenses,” says Luis.

The home also has some corporate sponsors and individual local sponsors. Because of all this, Luis reports that the physical buildings in the home are in great shape, and the children are well cared for by many different individuals and groups.

“To further support the children’s psychological development and give them a sense of family life, the facilities have been divided into ‘houses’ where six to nine kids share the house along with a housemother, who is always a university-educated social welfare worker,” continued Luis.

Volunteer to give back to kids

Apart from having more than twenty-six staff members, the local university volunteers spend their free time at the home tutoring and participating in sports activities with the children, helping with psychological evaluations or leading field trips to local parks.

Combined with the knowledge that they have a caring sponsor, the university students and the fantastic staff of the Kang Nam Children’s Home ensure that our sponsored and unsponsored children are surrounded by dozens of encouraging adults who are helping the youth of today grow up to be influencers of tomorrow.

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How do I sponsor a child in South Korea?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

The Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf, or FAID, is one of the few schools in Lebanon that provide an education to hearing-impaired children. A long-time Children Incorporated affiliated project, FAID supports about 100 students every day, many of them refugee children from neighboring countries – primarily Syria.

FAID’s mission:

 To act as a caring institute for the deaf and hard of hearing, which reflects a healthy balance of academic goals and building self-esteem, self-awareness, and life skills.

During a trip to Beirut, Lebanon, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visited FAID and met with our Volunteer Coordinator Ms. Shawish. She explained to Luis that the most challenging aspect of her job is that the school receives less and less support from the Lebanese government each year. Yet every year, the need to help more and more children continues to increase. Currently, the school’s funding comes from various local and foreign partners, including Children Incorporated. Our sponsors help to support over sixty students at FAID alone.

A history of FAID 

FAID was founded in 1957 by Anglican clergyman Reverend Dr. Arie J. Andeweg. Reverend Dr. Andeweg, known as “the father of deaf people in Lebanon,” first started his work in 1956 by meeting with deaf adults at local coffee houses in Beirut. He was soon able to communicate with them and decided to establish a club for the deaf so that they could meet on a regular basis. In 1957, with younger deaf children in mind, he founded FAID. Today, FAID is one of the most prominent education centers for the deaf in the Middle East. 

 A leading comprehensive center

Sponsor a child in Lebanon to change their life for the better

Many deaf and hearing-impaired students at FAID could still use the help of a caring sponsor.

FAID provides an education to children from preschool to high school, ages three through eighteen. There, they learn to develop language to support memory and learning, achieve their academic and vocational potential, develop tools for safety and confidence in the modern world, create happy memories of their childhood and lasting friendships, and have a place to be healthy and resilient both physically and emotionally.

While in attendance at the school, students learn the Lebanese national curriculum and sign language. They are provided with much-needed audiology services, including supplies of hearing aids, hearing aid batteries, and ear molds; hearing tests; and hearing aid maintenance. The children also attend speech therapy sessions twice a week; auditory training with methodologies for listening and learning to hear; and they receive psychological and emotional support.

Enabling kids to reach their full potential

While they were meeting, Ms. Shawish explained to Luis that the aim of FAID is for every child and young person that attends to develop into the best possible version of themselves. She stated that the earlier hearing loss occurs in a child’s life, the more serious the effects can be on the child’s development. Similarly, the earlier a problem is identified and intervention begins, the less serious the ultimate impact is likely to be. 

While in attendance at the school, students learn the Lebanese national curriculum and sign language. They are provided with much-needed audiology services, including supplies of hearing aids, hearing aid batteries, and ear molds; hearing tests; and hearing aid maintenance.

As they toured the school and met with some of our sponsored children, Ms. Shawish told Luis that because of the special circumstances that the children are in — especially the older refugee children who attend the school — FAID has created group classes to meet the needs of the students who had never been to a specialized school.

The school also offers a theater class. Ms. Shawish feels that drama is an important tool for preparing students to live and work in a world that is increasingly team-oriented rather than hierarchical. Drama classes also help students develop tolerance and empathy.

Looking towards the future

Although having enough funding to provide for all the needs of the children is an issue, Ms. Shawish is confident that the school will continue to grow and add new programs. She talked with Luis about how FAID is piloting an outreach program among the Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon and the Lebanese community in order to raise awareness regarding deafness and the importance of education for those affected. Ms. Shawish is also hopeful that she will find a means to offer assistance to students who want to continue on to universities or technical schools once they graduate.

Before Luis left, Ms. Shawish assured him that without Children Incorporated’s support, the school, which is incredibly valuable to so many children, would not survive. She also mentioned that there are many deaf and hearing-impaired students at the school who could still use the help of a caring sponsor to ensure that they are equipped to fully participate in the world around them.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN LEBANON?

You can sponsor a child in Lebanon in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in Lebanon who is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Our President and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Carter, recently accepted a generous contribution in the amount of $1,000 from the employees of ADUSA Food Lion Distribution Center in Disputanta, Virginia.

The funds will go toward supporting the Children Incorporated International Feeding Programs, wherein children and their families receive healthy and nutritious meals and food assistance.

Introducing ADUSA

Food Lion Associates supporting Children Incorporated through t-shirt and food sales

ADUSA Food Lion Distribution Center is the only distribution center for Food Lion Grocery Stores in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The facility, which employs approximately 600 associates, serves nearly 200 stores across Virginia as well as a few select locations in North Carolina.

In June of 2018, a group of the associates from the distribution center formed the charitable unit of ADUSA Food Lion Distribution Center with the goal of giving back to organizations they see as having positive impacts on children and families.

Helping kids in need

To raise money for this purpose, the staff of ADUSA sells lunches to its associates every Thursday and occasionally sells T-shirts and other items. All profits are set aside for charitable purposes. In the first year of the program, ADUSA supported an organization that helps children who are struggling with cancer. Children Incorporated is the second aid organization to receive a $1,000 gift from ADUSA.

According to Ms.Rojas, after finding out about Children Incorporated, she felt it was a natural choice for her and her associates to make.

Ms. Orquidea Rojas, the Engagement and Communications Coordinator with ADUSA Food Lion Distribution Center, explained that when it was time to select a recipient organization for the 2019 gift, she did a great deal of research to find a charity with a proven record of making a difference and changing the lives of children for the better.

According to Ms. Rojas, after finding out about Children Incorporated, she felt it was a natural choice for her and her associates to make.

About our International Feeding Program

The purpose of our International Feeding Programs Fund is to feed children who would otherwise go hungry so that they can be alert at school and ready to learn. The fund supports programs in the Philippines, Kenya and Ethiopia to buy grains, meats, vegetables and cooking supplies. Every year, Children Incorporated provides meals for thousands of kids.

We are very grateful for the generous donation from all of the associates at the ADUSA Food Lion Distribution Center. Thank you for your support of children in need!

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How do I donate to Children Incorporated’s International Feeding Program?

You can donate to our International Feeding Program in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org, or go online to our donation portal and donate to our International Feeding Program via on secure online donation process.

DONATE