Tag Archives: hope

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

After many years of not being able to visit Lebanon and South Korea, where we support hundreds of children through our sponsorship program, our International Programs Director, Luis Bourdet, was finally able to visit both countries at the end of last year.

Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing stories about Luis’ visits to our projects in Lebanon and South Korea.

“In recent years, great turmoil and many political issues have created instability in countries neighboring Lebanon and South Korea. As a result, previous plans to visit the two countries have had to be postponed,” said Luis.

“Thankfully, last year it became safe enough for me to travel to both countries to see first-hand the positive effects that our sponsors are having on impoverished children.”

Our affiliated projects

sponsor a child in lebanon

In Lebanon, Children Incorporated is affiliated with three projects.

In Lebanon, Children Incorporated is affiliated with three projects: The Armenian Evangelical Schools (AES) and the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID), both located in the country’s capital, Beirut; and the Armenian Evangelical Secondary School in the small city of Anjar.

We have a large number of projects in South Korea – eighteen in total, all of which are homes for orphaned children. Our affiliated sites are located all over South Korea, including in the cities of Seoul, Busan, Iksan, Daegu, and Gwangju. Thanks to the help of our Korean Volunteer Coordinator, Ms. Soung Ok Cho, who oversees all of our projects in the country, we are able to work with so many homes.

“Since most of the homes are located in cities with large populations of more than 1.6 million people, and they are far away from one another, it would be truly difficult to coordinate and visit sites on a regular basis without the help of Ms. Cho,” Luis stated.

A Brief history of Lebanon

Located in Western Asia, Lebanon borders with Syria to the north and east, and with Israel to the south. Cyprus is west of it, across the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the country’s location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland, Lebanon has a rich history and cultural identity evincing the influence of such illustrious civilizations as the Greek, Roman, Arab, Ottoman Turk, and French.

However, Lebanon’s wealth of diversity has also contributed to its turbulent history. Lebanon continues to suffer the repercussions of a history riddled with wars – both civil and international. Unemployment, underemployment, and the ever-present threat of war are tragic realities there. These are, perhaps, most pronounced in Beirut. Settled over 5,000 years ago, this historic city is Lebanon’s largest and primary seaport, but it is also afflicted with dire poverty and its subsequent socioeconomic effects.

About South Korea

Comprising the lower half of a mountainous peninsula in East Asia, this populous nation, with a population density ten times higher than the global average, is today renowned for its future-oriented advancements in technology.

Although it emerged as an autonomous country in the aftermath of World War II, more than half a century after the Korean Armistice Agreement, South Korea is still haunted by the ghosts of its turbulent past. The Korean War, from 1950 to 1953, devastated South Korea, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives – both military and civilian – and leaving thousands of children orphaned. As a result, a number of orphanages were constructed – orphanages that now house children enrolled in our sponsorship program, ensuring that they have the resources they need to go to school.

More stories to come

Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing stories about Luis’ visits to our projects in Lebanon and South Korea. Seeing these two diverse countries through his eyes, we hope you will catch a glimpse of how – thanks to our affiliated projects, volunteer coordinators, sponsors, and donors – we are able to make a huge a difference in the lives of children in need.

“Children Incorporated support is essential in these countries for the purchase of clothing, food, and shoes, so that children living in poverty can attend school,” said Luis.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN LEBANON OR SOUTH KOREA?

You can sponsor a child in Lebanon or 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 donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Lebanon or South Korea that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Situated in the hilly rural Eastern Kentucky Coalfield region of Appalachia, Leslie County is an area of stark contrasts. Its breathtaking rugged beauty and veins of coal drew its first residents there more than a century ago; and for generations, coal mining served as a primary source of employment for its residents.

For some students, whether they are sponsored or not, our program not only provides them with basic needs, but it also affords them the chance to feel as though they fit in at school.

With the rapid decline of that industry, however, employment opportunities have drastically diminished, resulting in the need for many families to move away and seek employment elsewhere. Those who remain must endure the daily realities of poverty, including a widespread drug abuse problem that devastates the entire community — not just the users themselves.

Thankfully, students at W.B. Muncy Elementary School have teachers and administrators to provide them with a well-rounded education, as well as support from Children Incorporated sponsors and donors to help them overcome the barriers they face living in poverty. For some of those students, whether they are sponsored or not, our program not only provides them with basic needs, but it also affords them the chance to feel as though they fit in with the other students who aren’t experiencing difficult circumstances.

Meeting Joseph

Helping a child in need will change their life.

Sponsorship often helps children with their self-esteem, as well as provides them with basic needs.

On a trip to Leslie County, Children Incorporated’s U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, visited with our Volunteer Coordinator at W.B. Muncy Elementary School, Amy, as well as with a few children in our program. Amy explained to Shelley that Children Incorporated helps her to obtain clothing, backpacks, and school supplies for her students, along with other essential items — which is incredibly important for single and unemployed parents, as well as for grandparents who are struggling to get by on a day-to-day basis because they are raising children again.

After meeting with Amy, Shelley had the opportunity to sit and talk with a special student named Joseph*. Joseph is currently unsponsored and on our waiting list. Amy helps him with additional funding that she receives from Children Incorporated’s Shared Hope Fund, which helps to support kids who are waiting for sponsors. When Shelley was first introduced to Joseph, she could see that he had a tough exterior; he sometimes found it difficult to allow himself to smile.

After he returned to class, Amy told Shelley that Joseph harbors a lot of anger because of the situation in which he finds himself: he is being raised by a single dad who doesn’t have a lot of money. Joseph feels like he really stands out from other kids at school. Amy then told Shelley a story about how our program was able to help Joseph to overcome some of those issues he faces.

A hat makes a big difference

A few months prior, Amy realized that Joseph needed new clothes and shoes, because his were worn out. So she invited him to the Family Resource Center so that she could ask him what he wanted and needed. He told her what he could use; but before he left, he leaned in close to Amy and quietly said, “The school is having a ‘Hat Day’ next week, and I don’t have a hat like the other kids. If you could get me a hat, too, I would really appreciate it.”

Thanks to the support he receives, Joseph feels less different from everyone else at his school – and he now holds his head high and smiles more often, because he feels like he fits in.

Amy purchased Joseph’s new clothes, including a hat, over the course of the next few days. When “Hat Day” came around the following week, Joseph made a point of returning to the Resource Center to see Amy; he was wearing his hat and a brand new outfit — as well as a big smile on his face. Joseph said, “I really love my hat. Thank you for remembering that I didn’t have one for today.” Later that day, he returned to the Resource Center once again and told Amy, “You don’t know how much this helps my dad. We don’t have a whole lot of money, so now he won’t have to worry about getting me clothes and shoes.”

According to Amy, the Children Incorporated program has had a great impact on Joseph’s life; it has really helped him to blossom and feel more confident. Thanks to the support he receives, Joseph feels less different from everyone else at his school – and he now holds his head high and smiles more often, because he feels like he fits in.

*Name changed for child’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.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Buckhorn School is located in Perry County in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. This region is known for its lumber and coal industries, which sustained the people of this beautiful, very rural and isolated part of Appalachia for generations.  Unfortunately, however, those industries are now waning, and there are few businesses in the area today. High unemployment and transportation problems are also major setbacks for most residents.

Just as Judy does, the school administration recognizes the importance of preparing kids with the tools they need to succeed, too.

Founded in 1902, Buckhorn School has a dedicated staff of teachers and administrators that have worked hard to create a nurturing environment where every student has the opportunity to obtain a quality education. This is especially valuable for students whose families are living in poverty.

As the only kindergarten through twelfth-grade school in Perry County, Buckhorn School has an enrollment of approximately 200 students. Our sponsorship program helps to provide children there with basic needs throughout the year. For many of Buckhorn’s high school students, support from sponsors means that they are receiving quality professional clothing and shoes that they may use for future job interviews.

Shopping for themselves

sponsoring a child changes their life.

Judy, who is pictured here with Shelley Oxenham, encourages her students to do their best.

While visiting Buckhorn School, our U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, met with Judy, the school’s Family Resource and Youth Services Center (FRYSC) Coordinator and Children Incorporated Volunteer Coordinator. Judy has worked at the school in various positions for twenty years, and she has been the FRYSC Coordinator there since October of 2017.

During their meeting, Judy explained to Shelley that the Children Incorporated program has allowed her to purchase clothes and shoes for sponsored children, which has been especially helpful for her high school students, who otherwise might never have new outfits to wear. Since they are among the older students in our sponsorship program, instead of shopping for them, Judy meets the high school-aged sponsored kids at a local clothing store and lets them pick out their own clothes and shoes. While shopping, Judy encourages them to choose items that they may wear not only to school, but also to professional settings when they are seeking employment opportunities after they graduate.

“Professional Day” for students

Judy explained to Shelley that she feels that preparing seniors for obtaining employment after graduation is about more than just wearing the right clothes. Just as Judy does, the school administration recognizes the importance of preparing kids with the tools they need to succeed, too. Every year, the school hosts a “Professional Day” where seniors are asked to wear their most professional outfit to school, and they are given tips on how to dress appropriately in their business attire. The seniors also receive help creating their resumes, they learn how to search for jobs online, and they carry out practice interviews so that they may feel more confident in pursuing employment on their own.

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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

Roy G. Eversole Elementary School is located in Eastern Kentucky in the small city of Hazard. With a population of less than 5,000, Hazard is the county seat of Perry County. This region of Kentucky is known for its lumber and coal industries, which sustained the people of this beautiful part of Appalachia for generations.

Tammy knows that he is doing his absolute best as a father; but the family still requires additional assistance from a few caring sponsors.

Originally founded as a settlement in 1790, Hazard received its name in 1854 in honor of American naval hero Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Today, despite a progressive local government that has spurred economic growth, unemployment is high and wages are low in Perry County. The coal mining industry — once a main source of income for thousands of families in the area — is rapidly waning.

In addition, a variety of social maladies such as drug abuse and alcoholism plague the families of this small community. Amidst the poverty-related stress, our affiliated project, Roy G. Eversole Elementary School, supports children so that they may receive an education, while our sponsorship program provides kids with basic needs, so that students and families have the opportunity to overcome some of the barriers they face in life.

Eager to find sponsors

Sponsor a child changes lives.

Shelley pictured with Tammy, our Volunteer Coordinator at Roy G. Eversole Elementary School

On a trip to visit Roy G. Eversole Elementary School, our U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, met with our Volunteer Coordinator, Tammy, at the school’s Family Resource and Youth Services Center (FRYSC). Tammy is a former school secretary at Hazard Middle School, and she currently oversees the Children Incorporated program at both Eversole Elementary School and Hazard Middle School. In total, approximately 750 students between pre-kindergarten and the eighth grade are in attendance at the two schools. While they were meeting, Tammy explained to Shelley that she is anxious to obtain sponsors for some of the children that she has identified as very needy as soon as possible.

Tammy told Shelley about one particular family in which a single father is raising four children all on his own. He works for the Housing Alliance, and was able to acquire an apartment through his employer; but it is still difficult for him to manage day-to-day responsibilities at home while also having to work — and his job doesn’t pay enough for him to ensure that his children are receiving everything they need, like new school outfits, school supplies, and hygiene items. Tammy knows that he is doing his absolute best as a father; but the family still requires additional assistance from a few caring sponsors who she knows could really change this father’s life and his children’s lives drastically through their monthly contributions.

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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

Kimper Elementary School, one of our many affiliated projects in Pike County, Kentucky, is proud of its reputation of academic excellence. With an attendance rate of 96 percent, this school has had a positive impact on the children and families of this struggling Appalachian community for decades. The school itself is very small, with an enrollment of about 175 students from kindergarten to the eighth grade. Our sponsorship program is making a difference there, as we help to ensure that the children receive the clothes, shoes, school supplies, and hygiene items they need on a regular basis.

So little time left for family

Kimper Elementary School students’ parents often work long hours away from home.

Recently, on her way to visit with our Volunteer Coordinator at Kimper Elementary School, Vivian, our U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, drove by a fairly large Kellogg Company factory, where well-known breakfast cereals and other convenience foods such as Corn Flakes are produced; she also passed a McCoy Elkhorn Coal Operation mine. Shelley was surprised that both seemed to be in full operation, and she was pleased to see industry in such a remote part of the county, where there would usually just be closed factories and mines.

When she arrived at the school, Shelley asked Vivian about employment options in the area. Vivian told Shelley that the McCoy Elkhorn Coal Operation mine used to be one of the better companies to work for – offering great pay, good benefits, bonuses, and pensions. Today, however, the mine operates on only a very small skeleton crew.

The Kellogg Company factory, on the other hand, employs a large number of people in Pike County – many of whom are parents of our sponsored and unsponsored children. Their shifts are long, though; employees work twelve-hour shifts either from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., or overnight from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. This leaves staff with little time to be available for their kids. The long shifts are especially difficult for single parents.

The effects of working long hours

Thankfully, these children have the Family Resource and Youth Services Center (FRYSC), Vivian, and the support of their sponsors.

Even with better-paying jobs, parents who work long shifts still have plenty to worry about when it comes to providing for their kids. If they aren’t home in the evenings, they aren’t able to help their kids with homework, or prepare nutritious meals for them. Parents that work into late afternoon can’t take their kids to and from after-school activities, either; their kids may therefore miss out on sports and other school functions.

Kellogg Company employees may not have a chance to ensure that their kids are ready for school and properly dressed, with their book bags packed for the day. They may also miss important evening meetings at school. Thankfully, however, these children have the Family Resource and Youth Services Center (FRYSC), Vivian, and the support of their sponsors. Although their parents may not have as much time to dedicate to them as they would like, these kids are still being looked after and cared for each and every day.

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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