Tag Archives: hope

Children Incorporated | October 27, 2022

Nestled in northern Central America, Honduras was once home to several Mesoamerican peoples — most notably the Maya. This ecologically diverse land — with its rainforests, cloud forests, savannas, mountain ranges, and barrier reef system off the northern coast — teems with life. Its wealth of natural resources is equally impressive, including a variety of minable minerals and agricultural exports such as coffee, tropical fruit, sugar cane, and lumber.

In Honduras, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as they struggle with poverty and a lack of educational resources.

Moreover, its growing textiles industry serves an international market. The nation’s wealth of natural beauty and resources,
however, belies the dire poverty in which its people live. In fact, Honduras holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of the poorest nations in Latin America. This is due in part to its longstanding political instability, social strife, and economic issues that includes fluctuating export prices, rising inflation, and unemployment. Other contributing factors include frequent natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding, as well as widespread poverty, disease, and inadequate education, which results in a high rate of illiteracy.

Challenges for Children in Honduras

In Honduras, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as they struggle with poverty and a lack of educational resources. Right now, children in Honduras need your help.

An estimated 48.3 percent of Hondurans (around 4.3 million people) live below the national poverty line
About half the population in Honduras lives on less than $5.50 USD a day
In Honduras, seven out of ten children live below the poverty line, as classified by UNICEF
43% of children do not live with their parents because of immigration and migration to other countries or areas
3 out of 4 children in Honduras leave school between the ages of 12 and 18

Our Work in Honduras

Thanks to caring people like you, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of children living in poverty in Honduras since 1964.

We work with our volunteer coordinators in local communities to provide health and nutrition, education, hygiene items, clothes, shoes, and other essentials that help children and families rise above the poverty in which they live.

Our strategy is to focus on individual children through our sponsorship program, ensuring they are receiving exactly what they need on a regular basis.

Your support makes all our work possible to help children in crisis in Honduras.

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How do I sponsor a child in Honduras?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

SOURCES:

https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/33EF03BB-9722-4AE2-ABC7-AA2972D68AFE/Global_POVEQ_HND.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jun/09/poverty-drought-impending-famine-now-pneumonia-takes-its-cruel-toll-on-honduran-children-acc

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/why-children-are-fleeing-honduras-and-what-unicef-doing-about-it/35571

Shelley Callahan | August 30, 2022

Whether through our sponsorship program or through our special funds or special projects, we help tens of thousands of children around the world each year — thanks entirely to the support of our sponsors and donors.

Children Incorporated supports children in many different ways, all of which fall under four areas of impact — education, health and well-being, emergency relief and community support. Our focus on these four key areas allows us to expand our reach beyond the children in our program, helping their families and entire communities break the cycle of poverty.

Children Incorporated helps children living in poverty in many ways, all of which fall under four areas of impact — education, health and well-being, emergency relief and community support.

Read more about each of our areas of impact and follow our Stories of Hope blog to find out how you are directly changing the lives of individuals around the world by donating to Children Incorporated.

Education

Families living in poverty work hard to make ends meet living on low wages. To ensure that children have the resources they need to attend school, we provide children with educational items throughout the year such as school supplies, book bags and tablets for virtual learning. We also purchase desks and school uniforms, as well as pay tuition so children living in poverty have all their basic needs met so they can go to school ready to learn.

WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP KIDS IN KENTUCKY

KEEPING SIBLINGS TOGETHER IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

DESKS FOR KIDS AT DANDORA

Health and Well-Being

One of our highest priorities is making sure children are healthy so they don’t miss school. We provide children around the world with the proper shoes, clothes, hygiene items, and vitamins on a regular basis. We also have feeding programs in the United States and internationally that provide regular and consistent meals to students as well as food to take home on the weekends.

WELL RESTED AND READY TO LEARN

AIDING RICARDO IN EL SALVADOR

MEETING GIRLS’ NEEDS IN INDIA AND KENYA

Emergency Relief

There are many instances when families living in poverty are not financially prepared for emergency situations. We provide emergency relief after housefires, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding and when families find themselves in need of immediate medical support. Our ability to quickly respond to emergencies means that families can worry less when disaster strikes, and can start to rebuild as soon as they can.

CLEAN UP AND RECOVERY IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

RESPONDING TO COVID-19 IN THE UNITED STATES

HOPE AFTER HAIYAN

Community Support

We believe strongly in supporting children, families and communities to help generations of people break the cycle of poverty in which they live. We support construction projects, playground and greenhouse projects, renovation projects and skills training projects at our affiliated sites to lift up multiple groups of people at a time and better whole communities.

OUR SPECIAL FUNDS AT WORK IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

EXTRA SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN IN NORTH CAROLINA

INVESTING IN THE YOUTH OF COSTA RICA

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Children Incorporated | August 26, 2022

From the snowcapped Himalayans to tropical beaches, India is truly a nation of contrasts. It boasts a rich history spanning tens of thousands of years. In fact, the earliest known civilization in South Asia once called India’s fertile Indus Valley home. Today, with the world’s second-largest population, India includes a staggering variety of ethnicities, languages, religions, and cultures. Its wealth of natural resources and vibrant cultures, however, belie the abject poverty in which so many of India’s citizens live.

Thanks to caring people like you, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of impoverished children in India, offering them a chance at a better and brighter future.

According to the World Bank, even though India has made remarkable strides at reducing poverty over the years, today, 22% of the population, or 270 million people live below the poverty line.

Challenges for Children in India

In India, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as they struggle with poverty, and lack of educational resources. Right now, Children in India need your help.

30% of the world’s extremely poor children live in India
Each year, 1.4 million children in India die before their 5^th birthday
Nearly 25% of children have no access to education
4% of children are stunted and suffering from malnutrition
Child labor persists within the country, keeping school-age children from going to school
Children from rural areas, urbans slums, scheduled castes, and tribal communities often suffer
from malnutrition, access to quality health services, child marriage, lack of sanitation
facilities, hygiene, and access to improved water
India is highly prone to flooding, droughts, earthquakes and refugee flows that
impact children’s lives and ability to access basic resources

Our Work in India

Thanks to caring people like you, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of impoverished children in India, offering them a chance at a better and brighter future.

We work with our volunteer coordinators in local communities to provide health and nutrition, education, hygiene items, clothes, shoes, and other basic needs that help children and families rise above the poverty in which they live.

Our strategy is to focus on individual children through our sponsorship program, ensuring they are receiving exactly what they need on a regular basis.

Your support makes it possible for us to help India’s children in crisis.

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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 sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in India that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

SOURCES:

https://www.worldbank.org/en/search?q=india+poverty&currenttab=4&currentTab=1

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/in-child-poverty-india-next-only-to-sub-saharan-africa-report/article26196097.ece

https://www.unicef.org/india/children-in-india

https://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/news/poverty-in-india-602

Children Incorporated | August 15, 2022

When children are living in poverty, they have fewer resources than children who come from more affluent households. Resources missing from impoverished homes include nutritious food, adequate clothes, and hygiene items — but also educational resources such as school supplies, computers, books, homework activities and learning games — which help equip young children for success in school.

Poverty has a determinate effect on childhood education and a child’s chances at success in school.

Additionally, families that live in poverty also often have parents that work long hours at multiple jobs, leaving them without the time or energy to help their children with homework. Without the proper resources and support to keep up with their studies, children living in poverty fall behind, feel inadequate about themselves, and no longer have a desire to stay in school and get an education, which is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty in which they live.

How Poverty Effects Children’s Education

Poverty has a determinate effect on childhood education and a child’s chances at success in school. Statistically, children from families with lower incomes have less developed vocabulary and communication skills than other students and have a harder time concentrating in school.

-1 in 7 children in the United States is growing up in poverty

-40% of children living in poverty aren’t prepared for primary schooling

– Children from low-income families are seven times more likely to drop out of high school than children from affluent families

– Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members

How Children Incorporated is Helping

Children living all over the world need our help to receive an education and have the chance to rise out of the poverty. Children Incorporated works in 20 countries, including the United States, to provide children living in poverty with school supplies, tuition, and other educational resources so they can go to school prepared and ready to learn.

Thanks to our caring donors, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of children in the United States since 1964.

Your support makes all our work to help children receive an education possible.

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

You can sponsor a child 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 that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Sources:

https://www.nassp.org/poverty-and-its-impact-on-students-education/

https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/covid-deep-poverty-struggle-education-equity

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/brief/what-is-learning-poverty

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-education-and-poverty-america

Kristen Walthall | August 14, 2022En Español

As a part of our “Virtual Tour” of our Floyd County, Kentucky affiliated sites, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, tells us about her “visit” to John Stumbo Elementary School.

“This is a small school in the community of Grethel, which is in a very rural area about 20 miles south-southeast of the county seat, Prestonsburg. The community is on Kentucky Route 979, and besides the school, there is a small post office and a Dollar General store.”

Angie told me that the parents our sponsored children are incredibly grateful for the help given by the sponsors.

“John Stumbo serves 344 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th. About 84% of the children come from low-income families. The children struggle academically too. Test scores are below the state average, with science at 22% and social studies at 39%.”

Working hard to help kids and families in need

“Our Volunteer Coordinator is Angie. She works tirelessly at the Family Resource Youth Services Center to help the children and their families. When the pandemic started, Angie was very worried about how she would be able to shop properly for the students. In the early days, there were limits on the number of items she could buy per shopping trip. Many stores had low inventories, and so things ranging from hand sanitizer to Lysol wipes were limited.”

“She was also concerned about getting correspondence from their children for their sponsors since the children were at home instead of in the school, and many didn’t have internet or phones for her to check in on them. She was gradually able to work out the kinks, and she began feeling some confidence. She was able to make a big shopping trip at the end of April 2020, and she made home deliveries to every single Children Incorporated sponsored child. Once the 2020-2021 school year began, the shortages eased up, and Angie was able to make plans and to shop without any difficulties.”

“But, unfortunately, she had other challenges. Floyd County had a couple of surges of the COVID-19 virus, driven by variants. She talked with many worried parents and grandparents, especially those who are medically vulnerable. One of her students lost her custodial grandmother due to COVID-19, which was heartbreaking.”

Yearning to get back to normal

“Angie commented that when the current 2021-2022 school year began, she detected a high level of ‘COVID fatigue’ among students and their caretakers. The kids especially yearned to get back to normal, and she empathized with them – she wanted them to be able to have less to worry about and just focus on learning and getting to see their friends and feel a little closer to normal.”

“At the end of our virtual meeting, Angie told me that the parents our sponsored children are incredibly grateful for the help given by the sponsors. With inflation hitting the gas stations and grocery stores, parents’ very limited budgets are being squeezed almost to the breaking point. Our sponsors’ support with the children’s school clothes, classroom supplies, and hygiene items is deeply appreciated.”

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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; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in Kentucky that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Kristen Walthall | August 12, 2022En Español

As we begin to receive updates from our affiliated sites in Eastern Kentucky, we want to share with our sponsors and donors how clean up and recovery efforts are coming along in areas in which our sponsored children and their families have been greatly impacted.

At Letcher County and Jenkins Independent Schools, the opening for the new school year, which had originally been scheduled for the week of August 8^th, has been postponed indefinitely because of the flooding. Superintendents at both school districts said that damage to the schools alone will not determine when school will resume. In addition to damage to buildings and grounds, the districts have students who have lost everything. Staff members have died and have lost homes, and vehicles and many roads are still impassable.

Thanks to our entire Children Incorporated family for everything you have done to help our families in Eastern Kentucky!

Letcher County Public Schools took damage to six facilities, including the central office, the old vocational school, West Whitesburg Elementary, Whitesburg Middle School, Martha Jane Potter Elementary, and the Fleming-Neon gymnasium.

The Letcher County Public School officials have still not been able to reach many staff members, students and families because of damage to cell phone towers, landline telephones, Internet services and roads.

In the town of Jenkins, the Superintendent said the middle and high school had mud in the parking lot, but nothing inside. Burdine Elementary lost its playground equipment and fencing, and there is damage to the school buildings due to floodwater.

We are incredibly grateful that in the wake of all this devastation, thanks to our supporters, we have currently sent over $47,000 to our affiliated sites in Eastern Kentucky to help families with clean-up efforts and with basic needs.

At this time, we will do our best to keep our supporters up-to-date with relief efforts as they continue, and with information regarding the re-opening of our affiliated schools in the area.

Thanks to our entire Children Incorporated family for everything you have done to help our families in Eastern Kentucky!

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How do I sponsor a child in Kentucky?

SPONSOR A CHILD