Tag Archives: education

Shelley Callahan | March 20, 2018En Español

Education has always been one of Children Incorporated’s core values; and that is why, since our very beginning, we have supported our sponsored and unsponsored children through our Higher Education Fund.

Our Higher Education Fund helps young people pursue their dreams of completing certificate programs or obtaining a degree from a university or college by providing them with financial support. The program is highly effective, thanks to our amazing volunteer coordinators, who know each and every one of our sponsored and unsponsored children personally — and as such, also know their individual needs and goals.

Our higher education program

Thanks to our Higher Education Fund, Maria was able to attend college.

The volunteer coordinators in both our International and U.S. Divisions nominate children who are enrolled in our program and are in their last year of secondary education.

Once accepted into our Higher Education Program, these young people may pursue any course of study they wish at an accredited institution. Many of our Higher Education Fund beneficiaries have later returned to their communities in positions as teachers, nurses, social workers, accountants, architects, counselors, and speech therapists.

Contributions to our Higher Education Fund essentially help make our sponsored and unsponsored youngsters’ dreams come true. We recently heard from a former sponsored child who received assistance from our Higher Education Fund — and just that has happened for her. Her name is Maria* and she is from Bolivia; she started on her path to education at our affiliated project Pedro Poveda School in La Paz.

Maria’s home

The small landlocked nation of Bolivia comprises the rugged Andes Mountains and vast high-altitude plateaus to the west — including a portion of Lake Titicaca, the largest high-altitude lake in the world — and lush lowland plains of the Amazon Jungle to the east. Despite its wealth of natural beauty and resources, however, Bolivia bears the scars of centuries of conflict, beginning with the Spanish conquistadors, and followed by almost 200 years of wars and internal military coups. Political and economic instability have brought about considerable poverty, resulting in widespread malnutrition, crime, and disease.

Since Children Incorporated partners with Pedro Poveda School, we were able to match Maria with a sponsor, so that she could attend the school.

At 12,000 feet above sea level lies La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, and Maria’s hometown. Some of the city’s most impoverished have no sanitation or potable water, and disease and malnutrition are rampant there.

Thankfully, children living in poverty have our affiliated project, the Pedro Poveda School, to offer them a safe and comfortable place to learn, which is just what Maria needed while growing up in poverty.

Matching Maria with a sponsor

Maria was raised without a father, and her mother was very poor and could not afford to send her to school without support. Since Children Incorporated partners with Pedro Poveda School, we were able to match Maria with a sponsor, so that she could attend the school; she received school supplies, books, school uniforms, and other basic needs throughout the year. Not only did her sponsor send contributions, but she also wrote letters to Maria, which motivated her.

While she was in her last year of high school, our volunteer coordinator at Pedro Poveda School recommended Maria for our Higher Education Program, because Maria was a very good student – and she was accepted into the program. After her high school graduation, Maria went on to attend a college in Bolivia, thanks to our Higher Education Fund. She graduated from there with a degree in business administration, and soon after, began working in a hospital for women. Maria is very grateful for the generosity of our donors, as well as for that of her sponsor, who helped her to get where she is today, and to have a much brighter future than she would have had without an education.

*Name changed for child’s protection.

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How do I donate to the Higher Education Fund?

You can contribute to our Higher Education Fund 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, create an account, and donate to our Higher Education Fund.

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Shelley Callahan | March 19, 2018En Español

Mary Wilson is a founding member of the most famous female singing group in history, the Supremes; and for over fifty years, she has been entertaining audiences throughout the world. Ms. Wilson is also known for her charitable work, and in 2003, she was named a U.S. Cultural Ambassador by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. This year, Ms. Wilson became a sponsor with Children Incorporated, deciding to help a special little girl in her own hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

Ms. Wilson says she looks very forward not only to assisting the child, but also to helping bring awareness to the life-changing work that we do. We welcome Ms. Wilson to the Children Incorporated family!

About Ms. Wilson’s hometown

Founded in 1701 by French settlers, the port city of Detroit has since grown to become the second-largest metropolis in the Midwestern United States. It is best known for its Motown music, like that of the Supremes, and its automobile industry, which boomed throughout the twentieth century – and the city even served as a major supplier of provisions for Allied troops during World War II. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, however, Detroit saw a 25 percent plunge in its population. Despite efforts to revitalize the city, in 2013, Detroit was forced to file the largest municipal bankruptcy case in United States history.

Today, the city struggles with rampant unemployment, poverty, and all of their associated socioeconomic issues. The community served by Wayne Elementary School, which Ms. Wilson’s sponsored child attends, is no exception to these maladies. In fact, here in Detroit’s east end, the need is even greater for such necessities as food, clothing, and shelter. For this reason, Wayne Elementary School serves as a beacon of hope. In addition to basic needs, the school provides students with a safe, nurturing learning environment – all thanks to our caring sponsors! This setting is one that emphasizes the value of respect – for self and for others – and of daily excellence. Bolstered by highly-qualified teachers, dedicated parents, and strong community involvement, the school equips this talented group of rising young academic stars with the technological and authentic literacy skills that they need in order to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which they come, and to break the cycle of poverty.

Ms. Wilson with our CEO, Ronald Carter, and her sponsored child in Detroit

Welcoming Ms. Wilson

Ms. Wilson has sponsored children in the past with other organizations, and told our President and Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Carter, that she found those experiences to be quite enjoyable. We are so grateful that she is now helping a student to receive basic needs through Children Incorporated. Ms. Wilson says she looks very forward not only to assisting the child, but also to helping bring awareness to the life-changing work that we do. We welcome Ms. Wilson to the Children Incorporated family!

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN DETROIT?

You can sponsor a child in Detroit 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.

Shelley Callahan | March 15, 2018En Español

The Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School is located outside of the vast Navajo Nation in New Mexico, in a remote area of the state. The nearest post office, in Cuba, New Mexico, is thirty miles away. As a result, the school, which serves children from kindergarten through the eighth grade, is incredibly important for the families that live in the nearby communities – families who otherwise might not have a way to get their children to and from a school even farther away. Having actually been constructed by the people of the community with materials supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the school stands as a testimony to the determination of these Navajo families to see their children receive a good education.

Transferring schools is not ideal

Our Volunteer Coorindator Twilia with one of our sponsored children

Many of the residents in this region of New Mexico, where the unemployment rate is high, are living in poverty. Nearly all of the children enrolled at Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School come from families too poor to afford even the most basic essentials, such as food and clothing, for their young ones. On a trip to visit the school, U.S. Programs Director, Renée Kube, met with our Volunteer Coordinator Twilia. Twilia’s background is in business management, and she is naturally meticulous in her work with the Children Incorporated program. When Renée me her, Twilia was warm and welcoming, and eager to discuss the community.

Twilia explained to Renée that there are often transfers of students between the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School and Pueblo Pintado Boarding School during the school year. Both schools are in the vicinity of Cuba, but they’re many miles away from it. The reason for the transfers is that Pueblo Pintado, which is also one of our affiliated projects in New Mexico, has a dormitory where the students can stay during the week; but the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School does not. When the annual potato harvest season comes around, parents withdrawal their kids from the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School, and enroll them at Pueblo Pintado Boarding School, so that they can go work in fields away from home, and at the same time, know that their kids are taken care of. Their kids stay at the dorms during the week, and go home on the weekends, when the parents have a break from farming.

When working with children who come from impoverished households, and who may also have the added challenge of changing schools every year, it is difficult to ensure that they are getting everything they need to succeed academically.

The only option

Transferring schools is not ideal, but it is the only option for many kids in poor families. In Cuba, employment opportunities are very limited. The next closest town is Bernalillo; and the closest city is Rio Rancho, but it’s quite a distance away – and many students’ parents have unreliable or no transportation. Many don’t have high school diplomas, either, so they can’t compete for better jobs.

Twilia told Renée that she has four volunteers who help her with shopping for our sponsored kids. All of the volunteers are teachers’ aides at the school. Twilia also says she has a great relationship with the school social worker. The social worker there is very proactive, and she is deeply concerned about the children’s welfare. She coordinates clothing drives and works with kids who come to school in need of hygiene items – and she even lets them use the showers there before classes start. She works in conjunction with Twilia to seek food donations, which is a great help.

It is wonderful that Twilia has so much support from other school staff members to help take care of the kids, both those that are enrolled in our program and those who are not. When working with children who come from impoverished households, and who may also have the added challenge of changing schools every year, it is difficult to ensure that they are getting everything they need to succeed academically.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NEW MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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 | March 12, 2018En Español

The remote town of Pueblo Pintado is located in the northeastern corner of McKinley County, New Mexico. There, residents’ only access to water is through an old water tower, and the nearest Walmart and other modern conveniences are almost two hours away. It is also here that Tse’ Yi’ Gai (pronounced “Say Guy”) High School opened in September of 2004.

Our sponsors can now continue helping children in this region all the way through high school, until they graduate, and establish longer, even more meaningful relationships with them.

The school, accessible only by dirt road, is part of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools system in the Navajo Nation. The Nation comprises more than 27,000 square miles of spectacular but inhospitable countryside, extending into both Utah and Arizona. Despite its massive scale and rich cultural history, residents of the Nation face a great deal of poverty. There is virtually no employment; most families must sustain themselves through one of the region’s two primary industries: ranching or sheep-herding. Thankfully, students have the Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School to provide them with a quality education – the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so that they may rise above the difficult economic circumstances from which they come.

Sparking Lindsay’s desire to go to college

Children Incorporated used to lose children enrolled in our program in this region after middle school, because we didn’t have affiliations with high schools there. When these children graduated from middle school, they would move on to high schools that were not affiliated with us, and we were unable to continue to provide them with sponsorship support. For that reason, the partnership with Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School is so valuable – our sponsors can now continue helping children in this region all the way through high school, until they graduate, and establish longer, even more meaningful relationships with them.

The Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School is located in a very remote area of New Mexico.

While visiting Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, was unfortunately unable to meet with our sponsored and unsponsored kids, because they were in the middle of testing; but thanks to our Volunteer Coordinator Paula, Renée was able to meet with Barbara, an older sister of one of our sponsored kids, Lindsay*. Barbara is employed as a teacher’s aide at the school. In 2016, Children Incorporated sent a Hope In Action Fund gift to help Lindsay so that she could attend the National Tribal Public Health Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. She had been chosen as one of the Navajo Tribe’s youth representatives. Barbara was so glad to express the family’s appreciation to Renée face-to-face, saying what an unforgettable experience it had been for Lindsay.

Barbara continued by telling Renée that she feels that the event really sparked Lindsay’s desire to go to college once she graduates, and that she has expressed an interest in the subject of health issues that native peoples face. Even though Renée wasn’t able to meet with the children, Barbara’s comments alone made her feel that the trip was an incredible success, because Children Incorporated, with the support of Lindsay’s sponsor, was able to help a young girl dream big, and to see the value in getting a good education, which is what we strive to do every day for kids in need.

*Name changed for child’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN New MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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 | March 7, 2018En Español

The town of Bloomfield is located in New Mexico in a desert crisscrossed by gullies where only scrub oak, piñon, and mesquite are hardy enough to survive. Within the town is our affiliated project the Huerfano Dormitory, which was originally designed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a school. The Huerfano (pronounced “WAR-fen-oh”) Dormitory was converted into a dormitory when the families that live in the Navajo communities in the outskirts of Bloomfield decided they wanted their children to be able to stay in town during the school week, because their homes were too far away to make daily commuting viable. Once the school was converted, students in kindergarten through grade twelve began staying there five days a week, making the dorm like a second home for them.

The socioeconomic effects of poverty, including broken homes, alcoholism, unemployment, and hopelessness, pervade Navajo life.

**A hogan for a first home**

Families of children that stay at the Huerfano Dormitory typically live in traditional Navajo homes called hogans, which are made of logs and mud, in communities where there is rampant poverty. Due to widespread, debilitating unemployment, many parents struggle to afford even the most basic necessities. The socioeconomic effects of poverty, including broken homes, alcoholism, unemployment, and hopelessness, pervade Navajo life. Thankfully, all the children who stay at the Huerfano Dormitory and attend public schools in nearby Bloomfield receive three well-balanced meals a day – and those that have sponsors receive much-needed assistance.

While visiting the Huerfano Dormitory, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, first met with Elsie, our Volunteer Coordinator there. Elsie is an experienced, long-time coordinator for Children Incorporated. She is the Residential Manager for the dorm, and holds a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Denver.

Our Volunteer Coordinator Elsie

Elsie told Renée that the dorm only recently obtained high-speed internet access. As such, she asked Renée to consider the dorm as a possible recipient of support from our Hope In Action Fund to purchase laptops and tablets for its residents. She said that the kids also need more blankets for the cold New Mexico winter nights.

Susan’s very own sponsor

After talking with Elsie about the needs of the dorm, Renée was able to meet some of our sponsored and unsponsored children. First, she met Jonathan*, who is in the sixth grade and loves hanging out with his friends. She also met Brian, who is in the eighth grade and likes to doodle and draw. Next, Renée met Susan, who is in the third grade. At the time, Susan was unsponsored. During their visit, Susan told Renée that her favorite thing to do is play outside.

Elsie said that Jonathan and Brian’s sponsors have been an incredible help and a blessing, and that she couldn’t wait for Susan to also become sponsored and be able to have that experience as well. Just a few short weeks later, when Renée returned back to our office, she was able to match Susan with her very own sponsor.

*All names changed for children’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NEW MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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 | March 6, 2018En Español

The remote town of Crownpoint is in northwestern New Mexico, near the Arizona border and the vast Navajo Nation. Within the town is our affiliated project Lake Valley Boarding School. As one of the smaller schools within the Bureau of Indian Affairs system, with only 33 children in attendance, Lake Valley Boarding School provides a safe haven for Navajo students whose homes are far away, and whose families are desperately poor. In addition to the educational opportunities with which the children are presented at the school, the Children Incorporated sponsorship program helps each and every one of them to receive the basic needs they require on a regular basis.

Shelley with Alice and Judy

Were it not for Lake Valley Boarding School, our sponsored and unsponsored children coming from impoverished homes would have little opportunity to rise above their difficult socioeconomic circumstances. In Crownpoint, there is virtually no employment for adults. Broken homes, alcoholism, and inadequate food are a constant problem in many households, and most parents struggle to afford to properly care for their kids. Thankfully, the children are able to stay at Lake Valley Boarding School during the week —so five days a week, they are guaranteed three nutritious meals a day, and a healthy, supportive environment.

Every student supported

While visiting New Mexico, U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, met with our Volunteer Coordinators Alice and Judy at Lake Valley Boarding School. Alice is a retired teacher, and Judy is currently a teacher at the school. It is rare for our affiliated projects to have every child that attends enrolled in the Children Incorporated program — especially at schools in the U.S., where attendance rates are usually high.

Also, having more than twenty children enrolled in our program is oftentimes too much work for our volunteer coordinators, because they typically already have many different jobs within the school. Thanks to the small number of students at this school, however, not only are all the children there enrolled in our program (currently thirty with sponsors, and three waiting for sponsors), but Alice and Judy are also able to give the children the individual support they need to overcome adversity in their lives.

Were it not for Lake Valley Boarding School, our sponsored and unsponsored children coming from impoverished homes would have little opportunity to rise above their difficult socioeconomic circumstances.

When Alice is preparing to purchase items for the students, thanks to funds donated by their sponsors, she asks the teachers directly what the students need most, based on their observations. The teachers, Alice tells Shelley, always have the answers ready for her. They know exactly what the children need because they see them every day, and they know what the kids are coming to class without – whether it is proper winter clothes, good shoes, or hygiene items. Alice also provides classroom resources from which everyone can benefit, like school supplies, lotion, hand sanitizer, and tissues.

Although it is unfortunate that every child at Lake Valley Boarding School is living in poverty, and therefore needs the support of the Children Incorporated program, it is wonderful to know that such caring people like Alice and Judy are able to help every child in the school – and thankfully, we are able to help the unsponsored children through our Shared Hope Fund in the meantime, until they get their very own sponsors.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NEW MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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