Tag Archives: education

Shelley Callahan | December 7, 2017En Español

We couldn’t do what we do without the help of our partners. At every one of our projects, whether it is an orphanage in South Korea, a community center in Costa Rica, or a school in New Mexico, without our affiliated projects or the volunteer coordinators who oversee our program at each location, we would not be able to provide support for some of the poorest children in the world. One of our most important partnerships here in the United States is with the Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSC) in Kentucky, where we have 2,294 sponsored and unsponsored children currently enrolled in our program.

The Family Resource Center at Owingsville Elementary School is stocked full of supplies for students.

The Family Resource and Youth Services Centers were established as a component of the historic Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990. The mission of these school-based centers is to help academically at-risk students succeed in school by attempting to minimize or eliminate barriers to their learning – a similar mission to our own here at Children Incorporated: we strive to give impoverished kids the basic necessities they need in life so that they can go to school and learn. Schools where at least twenty percent of the student population is eligible for free or reduced school meals can receive FRYSC funding, which means that many schools in Eastern Kentucky, where some of the poorest counties in the U.S. are located, qualify.

Each of our affiliated schools in Eastern Kentucky has their own FRYSC in a separate and private room for students to go to confidentially, without embarrassment, when they need clothes, shoes, school supplies, hygiene items, or food to take home after school. Each center coordinator, who works full-time to offer support to every child at the school, also serves as the Children Incorporated volunteer coordinator in the schools with which we affiliate in Kentucky. The centers have established a record of success based on improved student performance on class work and homework, as well as healthier peer relations, according to research conducted by the state. Parents also benefit from the assistance they receive through nutrition and parenting classes, holiday meals, and even emotional support from coordinators when they need to talk about the daily struggles of living in poverty.

Without our affiliated projects or the volunteer coordinators who oversee our program at each location, we would not be able to provide support for some of the poorest children in the world.

The evolution of helping in the community

Owingsville Elementary School was one of the first schools in Eastern Kentucky to receive its Family Resource and Youth Services Center, which has been ably run since 1992 by Michele, our volunteer coordinator, along with her assistant, Barbara. Michele said that when the centers were first established, many included a component for a daycare that was run by the school. Over the years, however, as the needs of the community evolved and resources became scarcer, many schools have closed their daycare centers.

Owingsville Elementary School has kept this service in place for its families, though. Michele works very closely with the Daycare Director, Willie Mae, who has maintained this position for over 25 years – and on a shoestring budget. Michele and Willie Mae collaborate on many outreach efforts, such as home visits. In this way, Michele can get to know the parents and guardians of the youngest children, who will eventually become school children served by the FRYSC.

On a recent visit to Owingsville Elementary School, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, met with Michele, who showed her around the resource center. Michele had set up a shoe and clothes closet, as well as a food pantry. She explained that there are two retired sisters who are former county administrators that hold food drives at their churches and through their other contacts. These sisters take food to the center on a regular basis, and every Friday, Michele sends small bags of food home with kids who otherwise might not eat on the weekends.

Food is just as important for children as clothes, shoes, and school supplies.

Michele said that the greatest need at the FRYSC includes ongoing help with food; hygiene items, which include buckets and mops for home visits; and additional funds for her collaboration with a special program through Morehead State University and AmeriCorps called “Build-A-Bed,” which helps families who do not have enough beds, or any beds at all, in their homes. With additional support, Michele feels that she could do a lot more; but she told Renée that she is incredibly grateful for our sponsorship program – for what it does not only for the children, but also for the entire community.

Kids who love their sponsors

After Renée met with Michele at the resource center, they took a tour of the school, where Renée had the opportunity to meet some of our sponsored children. Michele introduced Renée to Courtney*, whose sponsor, Robert, had recently sent her a package with pretty, new clothes. Courtney, who is in the fifth grade this year, was so happy with her gifts because they made her feel special. What’s more, the gifts really helped her and her family. Courtney’s parents both work; her dad installs drywall when construction work is available to him – but it is not regular, steady employment. Her mom works at a fast-food restaurant, but only part-time. Their wages are low, and they receive no benefits.

Afterwards, Renée met Melanie*, an adorable and outgoing little girl. Melanie and her brother and sister are being raised by their grandparents, who are disabled and can no longer work. They depend on social services assistance to care for their grandchildren, but they struggle with the everyday expenses involved in raising rapidly-growing kids. Michele said that Melanie visits the FRYSC almost every day. As a second-grader, Melanie loves having a sponsor who has been part of her life since kindergarten. Her sponsor’s support is helping her to be a healthy and happy child who is able to do her best in school.

Lastly, Renée met Connor*, who had also just received a package from his sponsor, making him incredibly happy. Connor is an active first-grader who lives with his parents and three siblings. His parents are among the families who are trying to stay in their community, so they work on small farms, because all the other jobs around them have disappeared. They don’t have much land, and they try to maintain a few beef cows and a little tobacco. Their income is very low. Thankfully, however, Connor, along with our other sponsored and unsponsored children at our 87 affiliated schools in Kentucky, have the Family Resource and Youth Services Center to rely on, as well as our wonderful volunteer coordinators, like Michele, to help them get what they need.

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

Shelley Callahan | December 6, 2017En Español

It is an unfortunate reality that even in modern times, girls have fewer opportunities than boys when it comes to receiving an education. Girls all over the world face discrimination within their cultures. They are typically seen as unequal to boys, and there is therefore an absence of emphasis on educating them. Barriers such as early marriage, low social status, chores and responsibilities, unsafe schools, and a lack of sanitation prevent young girls from learning, and from getting jobs that generate a steady income. Women without an education can’t educate their own children or other family members, either, which keeps entire families and countries living in a cycle of poverty.

“If we educate a boy, we educate one person. If we educate a girl, we educate a family – and a whole nation.”

– African proverb

Girls are the priority

This is particularly true in India, where girls’ education isn’t seen as valuable in comparison to boys’, especially as young women age. Many girls start out attending primary school along with boys their ages, but they are expected to drop out to help their mothers care for younger siblings, or to get married and take care of their own families. This is not the case, however, at the St. Paul’s Home for Girls in Paloncha, India, where girls’ education is the priority.

The St. Paul’s Home for Girls is located in a small industrial town in the south Indian state of Telangana. Since the 1970s, Paloncha has seen a population explosion due to a rise in industry there, which includes the construction of a thermal power station. The town saw its population jump to over 200,000 people; and because of this rapid growth, many people from surrounding rural communities rushed into Paloncha in search of jobs that were never found. The result has been extreme overpopulation, and a serious lack of housing, sanitation, medical care, and schools.

Our sponsored children are well taken care of at the St. Paul’s Home.

Illnesses and poverty have caused many children to become malnourished and neglected. Knowing that girls tend to fare less well than boys when it comes to getting an education in India, the Church of South India established the St. Paul’s Home for Girls. Thanks to our contributors, 62 girls are currently enrolled in our program, and are receiving an education.

A happy home

Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, and I arrived at the home to visit with the children in our program, as well as with our Volunteer Coordinator, Mrs. Samson, who greeted us warmly, along with her husband. Mrs. Samson is not only in charge of the Children Incorporated sponsorship program there, but she is also the matron of the home. She and her husband live in a small house on the property with their two children, and she explained to us that she loves spending a lot of time with girls after school and on the weekends to ensure they feel supported and cared for while living at the home.

As a result of her dedication to the girls, she feels that the girls are very happy in the home – and based on what I saw there, I agree. As we spoke, it was a lively scene behind us as the girls ran around the courtyard, laughing and playing; and it was apparent they were having a great time together.

As we toured the facility, I couldn’t help but notice that this was one of the nicest projects Luis and I had visited on this trip to India. The buildings are well-maintained and freshly painted. The bathrooms are brand new, with tile floors and wide sinks. The girls’ dorm, which was built with funds from Children Incorporated more than ten years ago, remains in great shape, without cracks in the walls or leaks in the roof.

Without support from their sponsors, many of the girls would never get an education in life.

Mrs. Samson tells us that the girls come from local families that are too poor to feed their children, or to send them to school. She continued, saying that at the home, the girls are provided with more than just food, shelter, and an education; they also receive guidance and care. Without support from their sponsors, many of the girls would never get an education in life.

A symbol of progress

After our tour, I spoke with the girls in the courtyard while Mrs. Samson helped Luis plant a symbolic fruit tree at the center of the grounds of the home, among other small plants and flowers, in remembrance of our visit, and as a way to say thanks for all that Children Incorporated does to help these girls get educated. It was a sweet gesture, and an appropriate one as well; just as the fruit tree will grow bigger and stronger over the years, these young women’s knowledge will flourish in the safety and security of the St. Paul’s Home for Girls. Thankfully, they have been given the important opportunity they deserve to be educated, which shows progress in closing the achievement gap between boys and girls in India.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN INDIA?

You can sponsor a child in India 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 search for a child in India that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | December 2, 2017En Español

Bath County Middle School is located at the end of Main Street in Owingsville, Kentucky, where residents have experienced economic decline, unemployment, and poverty in an otherwise picturesque region of the United States. On a recent trip to Owingsville, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, visited with our Volunteer Coordinator at the school, Kaye, to find out more about how Children Incorporated is helping kids enrolled in our program get what they need so that they don’t fall into a pattern that is all too common for students living in poverty:

Exterior shot of the school

“Our biggest problem is the students who drop out of school before graduation,” says Kaye. “Our goal at Bath County Middle School is to encourage students to graduate from high school and go on to some useful post-graduation training or higher education.”

Meet the Andrews

Bath County Middle School serves 471 children in grades six through eight. The Family Resource and Youth Services Center at the school provides the primary support for kids in need. While talking with Renée, Kaye said that she works hard to provide simple things to the children — usually items that we don’t think about going without, like toiletries, clothes, and shoes.

Kaye mentioned the Andrew* family, who Renée had met the day before while visiting with our volunteer coordinator at Bath County High School. Kaye described the Andrews, a family of six with two children living at home, as one of the neediest families that she works with. Although the parents are incredibly loving, they have a hard time finding steady employment due to their lack of education and skills. The father picks up odd jobs, but is unemployed more often than not. The mother is disabled; she has some health conditions that affect her greatly, and she is plagued by cataracts and extremely poor vision.

“Our goal at Bath County Middle School is to encourage students to graduate from high school and go on to some useful post-graduation training or higher education.”

Recently, when their landlord sold the small house they were renting, the Andrews became homeless. Thankfully, they were able to stay with another family temporarily; but the transition only caused this already impoverished family to struggle more than ever. Kaye was able to help them by providing them with soap and shampoo — things that the Andrews couldn’t afford – thanks, especially, to the Children Incorporated program. With two sponsored children enrolled in the program — a son at the high school and a daughter at the middle school — Kaye says it has been a blessing for the Andrews’ children to have sponsors to help them while their family tries hard to get back on their feet.

Kaye continued to praise our sponsors and what they do for the children at her school. She said it is an incredible feeling, at times when she is trying to figure out what to do to help a child who is really struggling, to receive an additional monetary gift for that child from a sponsor, or a package or caring letter or card from the sponsor. Kaye said that the sponsors’ interest in and devotion to these kids are transformational for them.

Overwhelmed by the need

Renée with the Andrew Family

When Kaye first started working at the resource center, then became our volunteer coordinator, she felt overwhelmed by how in need the students at Bath County Middle School are. Over time, she has established many methods and systems through which to care for them, one of which is stocking her supply closet full of the important small items that help kids out a lot. Donations of school supplies and food come from local churches and school staff members here and there, but Kaye relies mostly on the support of sponsors for purchasing clothes and shoes for kids.

Despite receiving help for the more than forty kids she now has enrolled in our program, Kaye says that her greatest need is more funding still for the purchase of hygiene items like sanitary napkins, deodorant, and laundry detergent. Kaye washes a lot of clothes for students in a washer at the resource center that was purchased years ago with Children Incorporated funds. The children bring their dirty clothes to her in the mornings, and she cleans them and returns them to their book bags before the school days are done, ensuring it is done discretely so as to not embarrass the kids she serves. The students also need more food to take home on the weekends, because oftentimes they don’t receive food outside of the free meals they receive at school.

It all adds up; these small things that don’t cost a lot really add up and become expensive when the need is so great. Renée told Kaye that she was impressed that she is able to accomplish so much for the children on the small budget she receives for the resource center. Kaye returned the compliment to Renée, telling her that without a doubt, Children Incorporated is her favorite program and her best resource to help kids get the little things they so desperately need.

*Name changed to protect the family.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of three 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 or click the link below:

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | December 1, 2017En Español

The past two fall seasons, Altar’d State’s Mission Monday program has upheld the clothier’s motto: “Fashion Focused. Cause Motivated.” – contributing more than $10,000 to our Warm Clothing Fund, and “standing out for good,” just as the company promises it does.

Every Monday, ten percent of each store’s net sales go to the nonprofit that it is promoting.

How the Mission Monday program works

Each Altar’d State location chooses a nonprofit local to it to be its beneficiary for several weeks to a couple of months, depending on the length of the brand’s current theme. Topics vary from self-esteem, to pets, to cancer awareness, to service men and women, to children, to hunger and homelessness. Every Monday, ten percent of each store’s net sales go to the nonprofit that it is promoting. Literature about the Mission Monday charity is posted at cash registers during its promotion, so Monday shoppers can learn even more about the new life their dollars will find beyond the shopping experience, as one-tenth of that money exchanging hands is going toward a philanthropic cause.

That should really make Altar’d State’s clients shine when they don their new bohemian flair!

Not only does the outfitter provide financial support to charities, but it also offers greatly-needed and too often overlooked manpower; its employees have contributed over 8,000 hours of their treasured time to carrying out community service tasks on a volunteer basis at the nonprofits they benefit.

“Giving back is more than just what we do… it’s who we are.”

And give Altar’d State does! In 2018 alone, the brand donated over $2.5 million to charitable causes through its “Give Back” brands, the sales of which have funded the construction of a number of high schools and community centers in Peru through a nonprofit organization called Coprodeli. The retailer also sponsors 200 children in high-risk areas of the country through the same charity, helping disadvantaged kids to receive nutritional, educational, and psychological support. Altar’d State employees may also choose to sponsor Coprodeli children individually, too.

While the business itself is fairly new – barely ten years old – it has done a whole lot of good in less than a decade.

Each and every day, one percent of Altar’d State’s total profits are directed toward Coprodeli causes. These contributions have also provided computers and books to students, as well as clothes, school supplies, and other necessities to sponsored kids. The “Give Back” incentive has supported relief efforts in times of disaster through the sale of globally-conscious T-shirts for causes, with proceeds being donated for the purchase of supplies in times of immediate need. In addition, members of the Altar’d State home office team have participated in a number of Habitat for Humanity construction projects.

From coffee to attire – but always giving back

While the business itself is fairly new – barely ten years old – it has done a whole lot of good in less than a decade. In November of 2009, the first Altar’d State, which was then both a retail store and coffee shop, opened in Knoxville, Tennessee. The original and lasting mission of its duo of founders, Aaron Walters and Brian Mason, is upheld to this very day: to utilize the retail industry to change the world for the better.

Little by little, the Altar’d State brand personality bloomed into the artful flower that is now poised in the garden of the fashion industry. Today, the company oversees more than 100 boutique stores in thirty U.S. states – each and every location contributing year-round to the efforts of local nonprofits.

Children Incorporated’s local store and great advocate for children is located at Short Pump Town Center in Glen Allen, Virginia. Many kids in Appalachia, our Inner City Division, our Native American Division, and in Altar’d State – Short Pump’s and our own backyard in Richmond, Virginia are staying warm and healthy this winter season because of Altar’d State’s Mission Monday program and the store’s chic, socially-conscious shoppers.

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HOW DO I DONATE TO THE WARM CLOTHING FUND?

You can donate to the Warm Clothing 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 make a contribution to our Warm Clothing Fund.

Shelley Callahan | November 29, 2017En Español

A few months ago, we reported on our partnership with the international nonprofit organization Wine To Water, which works to bring clean water solutions to some of the most remote parts of the world. Before Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, and I left for our trip to India in August, I visited the Wine To Water headquarters in Boone, North Carolina, and took a training course on how to use Sawyer water filters, which when used properly, can last for up to ten years.

A Sawyer water filter provides clean water for up to ten years.

Requiring little maintenance and upkeep, the Sawyer filters were perfect for us to take to India to distribute to our affiliated projects. I could easily fit thirty of them in a suitcase — enough to give three or four to each of our volunteer coordinators in India, so that they could provide clean drinking water for the children in our program, reducing their risk of contracting illnesses such as typhoid or cholera.

Training day

When Luis and I arrived in India, we found that most of our projects, including the Grace Aaron Boarding Home in Bhoorgampahad, had wells on their properties and used groundwater as their source for cleaning and drinking water. In fact, Children Incorporated supporters funded the installation of the well and pump at the Grace Aaron Boarding Home about ten years ago so that the home would have a freshwater source for cooking, cleaning, and bathing. The problem with the groundwater there, however, is that it is not safe to drink, because sewage disposal in the country is ineffective, and wastewater from toilets is fed into the same water system from which well water is pumped.

On our first day in India, four days before we visited the Grace Aaron Boarding Home, where 68 girls in our program live, Luis and I held a training session for all six of our coordinators who work at our affiliated projects in and around Dornakal. I showed them how to properly assemble the Sawyer water filters and how to correctly use them. The filters require two containers — one on which to attach the filter, where the contaminated water is contained, and another for the clean water that comes out of the filter. All of our coordinators were enthusiastic about using the filters, and they were grateful to have them to start using right away at their projects.

Sanitary practices all around

The girls at the Grace Aaron Boarding Home now have clean water, too, which is essential to their well-being.

When we arrived at the Grace Aaron Boarding Home a few days later, our Volunteer Coordinator there, Mrs. Jesintha, had set the filters up in the activity room where the girls practice singing and dancing after school. Now all the girls have access to clean drinking water throughout the day, whenever they want it. As we toured the rest of the home, we saw that the structure had newly-updated bathrooms, which included tile floors and large hand-washing sinks, which are important in good sanitation practice, helping keep the girls healthy so that they can attend school.

On top of receiving nutritious meals every day and having a safe and sanitary place to live, the girls at the Grace Aaron Boarding Home now have clean water, too, which is essential to their well-being. What seemed at first like a small gesture — providing basic, easy-to-use water filters to our projects — I now understand to be a crucial part in providing basic needs to children living in poverty.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN INDIA?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | November 20, 2017En Español

It is difficult to compare India to any other countries where Children Incorporated works. Although a developing country economically, India is still far behind other countries when it comes to providing support for children living in poverty. During my time in India, I could see that the children at our projects, although well cared for, were coming from extremely poor living situations.

Education is the key to children's success

It is important for children to stay healthy so they don’t miss school.

In comparison to other impoverished nations like Kenya and Ethiopia, where the children in our program face similar challenges, of the many noticeable differences that I saw, one that really stood out to me was a lack of access to mosquito nets – an important resource to keep children safe from preventable mosquito-borne illnesses – in India.

The need for protection

While in Kenya and Ethiopia last year, Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, and I visited the homes of some of our sponsored children’s families – homes where there were mosquito nets covering beds to help prevent family members from acquiring diseases such as malaria and dengue. The nets were provided by our Mosquito Net Fund, which purchases hundreds of nets for children in Africa every year. Requested by our volunteer coordinators, the nets are an inexpensive way to help keep the children in our program healthy so that they can attend school every day.

While visiting the Dornakal Girls’ Hostel in India in August, I noticed that there weren’t any mosquito nets over the children’s bunk beds in any of the dorms. When we asked our coordinator if the children ever fell ill from mosquito-borne diseases, she replied that they did sometimes suffer from dengue. I realized then just how much our projects in India were struggling in comparison to our projects in Africa.

Unfortunately, with all the concerns our coordinator has with regard to providing for the children she serves, and making do with very little funding outside of the support she receives from Children Incorporated, she hadn’t thought to mention a need for mosquito nets.

It is crucial for all the girls to stay healthy, so that the older girls can graduate and make better lives for themselves, and the younger girls can be well enough to go to school – and move on to get a higher education themselves.

Mosquito nets for everyone

Children Incorporated has been affiliated with the Dornakal Girls’ Hostel since 1982. Sixty-three girls live in the home permanently, and 59 of them are in our program. Only a short walk from the bishop’s home, the hostel is located on the Dornakal Diocese Compound. The age range of the girls is wide – the youngest are in kindergarten, and the oldest are taking college-level courses, which I found to be wonderfully surprising.

At most homes, when teens finish high school or when they turn eighteen, they have to leave the home to make room for younger children, and they no longer receive support. Instead, at the Dornakal Girls’ Hostel, youth are encouraged to work hard to obtain their degrees before leaving, which gives them the advantage of being more prepared for the job market when they move out and are on their own for the first time in their lives.

I was happy to see the young women at the Dornakal Girls’ Hostel receive support through college; and it made me grateful to know our sponsors are a big part of that. I appreciated having had the opportunity to visit these dorms, and having had the chance to ask about mosquito nets, specifically.

We will now start sending support from our Mosquito Net Fund to this hostel, as well as to our other affiliated projects in India, as we have already been doing for our projects in Africa. It is crucial for all the girls to stay healthy, so that the older girls can graduate and make better lives for themselves, and the younger girls can be well enough to go to school – and move on to get a higher education themselves.

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HOW DO I CONTRIBUTE TO THE MOSQUITO NET FUND?

You can contribute to our Mosquito Net 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 Mosquito Net Fund.