Tag Archives: hope

Shelley Callahan | October 27, 2016En Español

After just a few days in Mexico, Luis and I have already seen the impact of not just Children Incorporated’s efforts in these communities, but the impact of local generosity and perseverance too.

Luis pictured with Sister Isabel

Santa Julia, a home for girls just outside downtown San Miguel de Allende, was both like and unlike Mexiquito. Narrow roads led to the home, which is closely surrounded by private residences separated from the home by steep, protective walls, giving it a sort of tightly packed fortress feel.

In reality, Santa Julia is larger than it initially appears. The tall dorms obscure the rest of the property from sight, but the property includes a computer lab, an art room, a recreation room, a sanctuary, a cafeteria, a playground, and gorgeous grounds with the lime trees that are starting to feel to me like a symbol of comfort and calm.

Meeting Sister Isabel

Luis is initially confused by the introduction of Sister Isabel, Santa Julia’s new director. She’s not the director we’re used to working with — her predecessor, Sister Lydia, had been transferred a month ago. That’s fairly standard practice among the sisters so that they can have experience doing different kinds of work. At first, Luis was nervous. Sister Lydia had been a huge advocate for Children Incorporated and had taken great care to learn the program and diligently reported information about the 30-plus children who are enrolled at Santa Julia.

After just a few days in Mexico, Luis and I have already seen the impact of not just Children Incorporated’s efforts in these communities, but the impact of local generosity and perseverance too.

Sister Isabel quickly made us realize that our timing couldn’t be better. She’s new, but she’s very enthusiastic about learning more about Children Incorporated, so we took the opportunity to familiarize her with the program. And Sister Isabel, for her part, told us about the 36 girls who live at Santa Julia.

But really it wasn’t until we met them at lunchtime that we really fell in love. The Santa Julia girls introduced themselves by giving us hugs — they were so well-behaved, energetic, and loving. And it extended to the sisters, too. Each girl seemed so affectionate with their caretakers, and we realized it was probably the only affection the girls ever experienced. Most of them were abandoned or orphaned, and some come from abusive or neglectful families. But now, all of them — from age two all the way to university-age — are surrounded by love and support.

The children were so excited to have their guests sit and eat with them at lunchtime, and we were surprised that they knew all about sponsorship. Some of them kept asking us why we didn’t bring the sponsors — they call them “padrinos,” which means “godparents” — with us! I loved the idea that they so warmly wanted to meet their sponsors.

Like Mexiquito, Santa Julia received some funding from the government, but only for individual children who the government placed in the home. Unlike Mexiquito, the surrounding community donates not just in-kind services but a significant financial gift as well, particularly the foreign community in San Miguel de Allende. Their funding is evident in the brand new dorms, the new playground, and the English classes taught by a dedicated teacher.

By the time we leave, we’re fully convinced that Sister Isabel is the right person to be at the helm of the good ship Santa Julia. Even though she’s new to the job, her big heart and enthusiasm are so evident, as is the experienced team she has working with her.

We wave goodbye to the girls of Santa Julia, promise to thank their padrinos, and get ready for a visit we’d been looking forward to since the day we started planning our trip.

21st Century Knowledge for 21st Century Children

About four years ago, a few Children Incorporated donors traveled with Luis to San Miguel de Allende to meet with Sandra Suaste, director of the local library. The idea had been floated that if Children Incorporated focused on coming up with a way to teach technology to the children in both San Miguel de Allende programs, that would give those boys and girls a significant leg up for the future.

We wave goodbye to the girls of Santa Julia, promise to thank their padrinos, and get ready for a visit we’d been looking forward to since the day we started planning our trip.

Often, local schools and even the homes themselves don’t have the resources to dive into teaching technological skills. The donors and Luis envisioned an environment where children could be instructed on how to use computers and even get the building blocks for how to build digital products. Adults, too, could use the facility to take classes that might generate a little income for the library. Like farming, which we’ve seen some of the more rural programs make a priority for learning, tech instruction has the potential to reach down through multiple generations and change lives.

The Director of the Biblioteca Publica de San Miguel de Allende was on board, and now, our mission was to check on the classes.

Sandra was all smiles — the classes were going well, and she even had some recommendations for updating the computers at the lab and donating the older ones for the community to use. Having just met the children from Santa Julia and Mexiquito, we were able to picture them at the lab. It felt great to know that they were receiving something that they’d have trouble getting access to otherwise.

I enjoyed finding another way that Children Incorporated has helped these kids. The Biblioteca Publica reminded me that Children Incorporated work goes beyond homes and schools, sometimes setting up entirely new programs with willing partners.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN MEXICO?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | October 20, 2016En Español

It’s our fourth day in Mexico, and Luis and I have left a truly special place. I have never felt so much serenity when visiting one of our projects — in Mexico, in Africa, in Bolivia, or anywhere else. The sisters who run the Mexiquito Home outside San Miguel de Allende have just shown us a sanctuary (in every sense of the word) for boys of all ages.

Everybody needs help, as Luis said, and it’s true. The most charming cities to visit can be home to so many children who depend on the kindness of others to survive and flourish.

When we left Mexico City yesterday around noon, we found ourselves in San Miguel de Allende late in the afternoon. The bus ride to the far eastern part of Guanajuato was nice, and we were charmed by the city, as many before us have been. San Miguel de Allende’s cobblestone streets and colonial features dating back to its founding in 1541 have made it a scenic destination for tourists, artists, and writers. The restaurants, small shops, galleries, and hotels are all results of today’s tourism industry, but the 17th and 18th-century historic city center and cathedral are so well-preserved, you can easily imagine yourself hundreds of years back in time.

There seems to be so much money in the beautiful city of San Miguel de Allende, so it’ll be interesting for me to learn more about the community’s needs. I asked Luis how it is that Children Incorporated has gotten to work with so many different projects, and he responded, “Everyone needs help.”

Helping boys find their future

Sister Teo showing us the former room of Jose Mojica in San Miguel de Allende.

The next day, I was shocked when I arrived at the Mexiquito Home, just a short distance outside of the city. Luis had told me many things, but he wasn’t able to prepare me for just how stunning the property is. Mexiquito is located on a beautiful compound, with an iron gate that led up a lushly landscaped driveway and expansive stairs that led up to the entranceway of the building. From the top of those stairs, we could see the entire grounds — with dorms, a sanctuary, a cafeteria, and even a large courtyard with basketball hoops.

Once we met the director, Sister Teo, and we began our tour, I began to understand why the Mexiquito Home is the way it is. Jose Mojica, a famous Mexican singer and actor, founded the home in 1960 after following a calling to become a priest. He built the home to provide shelter and support for orphaned, abandoned, and underprivileged children — 50 years later, it’s still doing just that.

The government and the surrounding community help out as much as they can, with donations of food, books, clothes, and school supplies. Organizations like Children Incorporated make up a much-needed difference through sponsorships, making it possible for these boys to leave the streets and grow up in such a serene and loving environment.

The property’s sanctuary housed Mojica’s living quarters until he died in 1974. Sister Teo made the sanctuary the first stop on our tour. She and her fellow sisters commissioned local artists to paint portraits of Mojica and other prominent people affiliated with the home, as well as some children, and at one point next year, they hope to open the sanctuary as a museum with a café to honor Mojica’s legacy as well as generate some extra income for the home.

Something in the air

As we toured the sanctuary, I assured them with complete sincerity that I would be thrilled to visit a museum such as they’d described. The actor-turned-priest’s story is fascinating, and his living quarters are really impressive to see.

But to me, the real attraction is the home itself and what the sisters have been able to do with it.

Organizations like Children Incorporated make a difference through sponsorships, making it possible for these boys to leave the streets and grow up in such a serene and loving environment.

With 31 boys currently enrolled, the Mexiquito Home is not at its 50-student capacity. We were asked not to take photos of the boys living there, who range in age from toddler up to teenager. Their backgrounds are sad stories and they remain vulnerable to danger outside of the home, so the sisters do what they can to keep them in an entirely safe environment. It doesn’t hurt that the same environment is beautiful to the eye and even the nose — the whole place smells like lime trees!

Sister Teo took us up to the roof, where we saw the newly installed solar panels. Solar energy provides all of the school’s power and heats its water, which feels so resourceful in addition to being environmentally friendly. A Canadian volunteer comes and teaches music to the boys once a week in a music room, college students come to the Mexiquito Home to run the facility’s greenhouse, and there’s also a small dental and medical facility run by a volunteer doctor and nurse, in addition to a psychology room, a large playground, and a computer lab.

The sisters even keep chickens and sheep for trading and for food. We eat lunch alongside the boys as they return from school. They’re so sweet to us and each other, despite what we’ve heard about their difficult lives. I can only imagine what they’ve been through, but it’s clear that they have the support not only of Sister Teo and the other four sisters, but of each other as well.

Even in San Miguel de Allende, an exquisite city that, by all appearances, is doing so well for itself, there’s poverty and crime. Everybody needs help, as Luis said, and it’s true. The most charming cities to visit can be home to so many children who depend on the kindness of others to survive and flourish.

More and more on this trip, I’m reluctant to leave the places we visit. But we return home to our hotel and I think about the faces of the boys I met. Without pictures to remind me, I’ll have to rely on my memory.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN MEXICO?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | October 13, 2016En Español

Tucked away amongst the small, tree-lined cobblestone streets and Colonial-era houses of Coyoacan Delegation, lies the Casa Hogar Santa Ines Girls’ Home. It’s pretty here, with the home (and now museum) of celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo nearby.

We made it through the busy, but organized Mexico City morning traffic to the Home’s huge wooden door, which opens for us as we arrive. It’s tough to drive through the streets in this neighborhood. The roads are so narrow it’s difficult for even one car to get through, and pedestrians have to fit on just a sliver of a sidewalk.

We marvel at the school’s immaculately kept courtyard. Santa Ines looks like a small place at first, but I soon realize that it extends beyond my current view. Behind the buildings I can see, which contain dormitories and offices for the sisters, are large dorms that house up to forty girls at a time.

Many of them have had some trauma, witnessing violence, drug use, and abuse, and some of them find it difficult to cope.

Sister Flor greets us. She used to work in a church in a predominantly Hispanic community in Fort Worth, Texas before her order assigned her to work here.

For the past three months, she’s been directing the home, which consists of 32 girls and five sisters, and we sit and discuss the sponsorship program with her. It’s hard not to keep looking around for the children, but they’re in school at the moment. We look forward to when the younger girls will return (older students are in private schools and could be in school as late as 6 pm).

A safe haven for little girls

Children Incorporated, Sister Flor tells us, helps with school supplies, clothes, shoes, and school uniforms. With the government really only providing enough support for eight girls at the moment, Santa Ines relies heavily on financial support from churches, individual donors, and in-kind donations from the community.

The children are sometimes left with the sisters by families who are too burdened to support them, sometimes they’re plucked from abusive homes, and sometimes they’ve been abandoned. Casa Hogar Santa Ines has been working with Children’s Incorporated since 1974, the year of the school’s founding.

A nearby private school offers scholarships to every Santa Ines child who is old enough to attend. It’s not easy for the children, who are as young as three and as old as 13. Many of them have had some trauma, witnessing violence, drug use, and abuse, and some of them find it difficult to cope. A psychologist visits once a week, but Sister Flor often gets calls from the school that the students have acted out after being picked on because of their background.

In an effort to give some of these young women a place of stability in their lives, Sister Flor and the other sisters have made it a priority to keep their living spaces and facilities clean and comfortable. We love seeing the dorms, which are tidy and painted a pale purple with pictures of Disney princesses and other cartoon characters festooning the walls. The toys are ones that encourage group play — Barbies and dollhouses — while the high ceilings and large windows allow in a cheerful amount of natural light. Santa Ines is certainly one of the nicest and best-kept homes I’ve seen in my travels with Children Incorporated.

Happy faces in Mexico City

It was difficult to tear ourselves away from such energetic harmony, but I felt good knowing these special children are so well-cared-for in the heart of such a big and sometimes impersonal city.

Finally, the children arrive. They’re energetic, outgoing, and eager to meet Luis and me. We have lunch with them, a mixture of beef and vegetables with a side of beans. The girls seem loved and cherished by the sisters and the volunteers who are walking around, helping them with their meal. We watch the children play in the courtyard between the dining room and the doors. They swing, they slide, they draw pictures with chalk, they even hula hoop.

It was difficult to tear ourselves away from such energetic harmony, but I felt good knowing these special children are so well-cared-for in the heart of such a big city.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN MEXICO?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 29, 2016En Español

When Luis Bourdet and I traveled to Africa earlier this summer, we found ourselves, as always, deeply impressed by the programs and centers we visited and the hard-working people who run them.

The beginning of gardening work at Kids Hope.

A five-acre compound that schools, houses, and nurtures the disadvantaged children of rural Ethiopia is supported by the child sponsorship organization, Canadian Humanitarian. In the area outside of Shashamane, life is both easier and tougher for Ethiopian children.

While they don’t suffer from the closely-packed life of the slums, with its crime, disease, and scarcity caused by overcrowding, they also live a life of isolation. It’s harder to get from one place to the other in the country, especially when roads aren’t maintained and distances between home and school are vast. The land is ripe for cultivating crops, but the people are so poor that even the basic farming supplies (even seeds!) aren’t available to them.

Skills for a lifetime

Bisrat Sime, Kids Hope’s Director, had high hopes for some of this land. The five acres on which the compound sits wasn’t being used effectively, he said, and it was perfect for a hands-on gardening program. Such an experience wouldn’t just help feed the community, it would give children the agricultural skills that would last their whole lives—perhaps even pass down to future generations.

Luis and I were struck by that idea, that the only thing separating this community from several lifetimes of positive change was simple supplies. The willingness to educate was there. The willingness to be educated was there. The environment was right. A nation was ready to feed itself.

The willingness to educate was there. The willingness to be educated was there.

Upon our return, Luis set about putting a bug in donors’ ears, and in a short time, he was able to send funds to Bisrat.

Weeks passed, and then in August, Luis received the update he’d been hoping for: the combined efforts of a tractor and oxen plow (bought with the money they’d received) had cleared the land, and training had begun.

A month later, and the project was in full swing. Bisrat sent photos of children learning how to plant a fruitful vegetable garden, with emphasis put on reaping the most benefit from the land without exhausting both natural and donated resources. Like the land, the children will bear their own fruit—a healthier life fed by nutritious food and a brighter future made possible by skills-based education.

A donation to Children Incorporated goes a lot further than just a packet of seeds or even a plow. It grows into something that can be harvested over and over, making real change in the lives of not just today’s children, but tomorrow’s as well.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN ETHIOPIA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 13, 2016En Español

In El Salvador, children have two choices: try as hard as they can to stay in school or submit to the constant pressure to join neighborhood gangs. Organized crime is rife in El Salvador, and recruitment starts at an early age, when kids are at their most vulnerable. Often, their parents are working and the children are home alone—that’s when gang culture starts to come knocking, angling for loyalty and increasing their numbers.

Luis is pictured with our volunteer coordinator and some of our sponsored children.

When parents are involved in their children’s day-to-day lives, they’ll have some control over their child’s activities. But that can’t always be the case, and that’s why programs like the Marillac secondary school are often the only force helping children resist an easier, but much more dangerous, way to make a living.

Opening doors to a better life

The Sisters who run Marillac focus on expanding their reach and increasing their offerings for the poor families that surround them. They recognize that children not only need education, a safe space to learn, and psychological support, but also activities that foster motivation, independence, and a sense of community. To further these goals, the sisters have put their heads together and dreamed up new facilities that sponsors have helped them become reality. A new gymnasium, a computer lab, and even a robotics program. Children Incorporated has been proud to help with the security for the lab, and even prouder to watch as the children find joy in something that will help them stay focused on a better life for both them and their families.

They recognize that children need education, a safe space to learn, and psychological support, but also the activities that foster motivation, independence, and a sense of community.

One Children Incorporated-sponsored student, in particular, has embodied this spirit of using her gifts to help her community. Sofia’s adventure began as “just a student of ours who likes to sing,” as Luis describes it. After losing her father a year prior, Sofia was having trouble coping.

“She was so sad,” remembers Luis. “You could see how sad this poor little girl was. And she would sing this famous Spanish sad song, and it was powerful. Her voice was incredible.”

Members of the community began to promote Sofia in the area, and she was invited to participate on a local television program. The producers noticed her skill at singing, dancing, and leading other children, and asked her if she would like her own show, now a popular children’s musical hour.

The local radio station followed suit, and Sofia now also hosts a talk show for children. “She’s so motivated to do well,” says Luis. “She comes back and coordinates these dances at the school, and shows everyone how to do the dances—she’s always involved in this, that, and the other.”

Because of donations to Children Incorporated, Sofia has been able to afford Marillac’s school fees, and it’s opened up opportunities for her in ways she may never have experienced. Now, she’s on track to become an El Salvador success story, and she’s inspiring other children to express themselves while carrying on cultural traditions. To Luis, that’s a testament to the belief of Children Incorporated’s donors, who know that helping out one child can affect the lives of many.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN EL SALVADOR?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 13, 2016En Español

In 1964, Jeanne Clarke Wood traveled to Guatemala and met 95 impoverished children, all struggling bravely through the harshest of circumstances. She founded Children Incorporated so that she could make an impact on those who need help the most — poor, often abandoned or orphaned children in countries without government services to provide even the basic necessities of life.

The organization now supports eight separate programs in Guatemala, which Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visits often. The rampant poverty in his native country is difficult to witness. While Guatemala attempts to clean up corruption within the government, many organizations have to go without funding, which means the citizens have to go without the services that the organizations provide.

Luis watches as a student practices her cosmetology skills on another student.

This year, a massive drought will deprive 1.5 million of basic staples, further slowing the government’s efforts to turn their economy around.

Songs in the key of hope

Luis finds his hope in the schools and programs he visits, where volunteers and donations from global organizations like Children Incorporated have, over the years, transformed the lives of hundreds of children. One school in particular, Juan Apostol School in Guatemala City, brings hope, strength, and inspiration to children in a very specific way. Though its students come from the heart of the Guatemala City slums, they make up one of the country’s best and brightest school bands.

Our Volunteer Coordinator, Tita, had to convince Luis that supporting the band was in line with Children Incorporated’s mission. As she spoke, it became clearer to him that the band was a unique academic motivator for Juan Apostol’s children. To participate in the band, you have to be an A student. And this isn’t some side project — the 85-student band and its two smaller bands of 45 and 30 are the school’s pride and joy. It’s by design — the coordinators understood that the band had to be something truly special to get these kids’ attention.

One school in particular, Juan Apostol School in Guatemala City, brings hope, strength, and inspiration to children in a very specific way.

Not only do the band members learn creative expression through music, but they also learn how to function as part of a very close-knit team, both musically and practically. The students and their parents have to raise funds for every trumpet, every drum, and every trip they take. The result is a group of families that are truly invested. “Every student wants to be in the band,” says Luis. “It’s just incredible.”

“They’re taught responsibility, coordination, administration, and they have to be good academically,” he continues. “So I thought we needed to support that.”

This year, Children Incorporated delivered enough brand-new instruments to replace a large percentage of Juan Apostol’s. Luis was able to attend a student performance as they blew their new trumpets and beat their new drums. He remembers feeling the children’s excitement as it grew and grew. “This is not a school that has a lot of money, and seeing those 85 kids playing felt like 20,000, all so proud of what they’re doing and showing that.”

Hands-on training now for a better tomorrow

Along with helping with the school’s band, which travels all over the region, Children Incorporated assisted in implementing a skills training program at Juan Apostol. Participating children train for more than a year in computers, graphic design, or even cosmetology, and when they’re finished, they receive a certificate from the government. So not only are Juan Apostol graduates earning a step up because of academic training, but they’re also going out into the world with skills they can use to do meaningful work. The program’s effectiveness has grown with its popularity, and now almost every child gets to participate.

It’s innovative programs like these that help children distance themselves from the challenges they face at home. Guatemalan children are often pressured into the drug trade or have to find legitimate work to help their families. Making sure that both students and parents understand the value of learning the skills taught in band or the skills training program, and keeping the process engaging for all shows these children, and their families, a glimpse of a better life.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN GUATEMALA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD