Tag Archives: opportunity

Shelley Callahan | January 15, 2023En Español

The year 2022 marked a return to in-person site visits for our International Division — first to Mexico in May and then to Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua in August.

“Although at times it is difficult because some of the families have to walk two to three hours to get there, they say the support is still invaluable to them, as those that live further away from the Center have the greatest needs by far.”

Today, we hear from our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, about his visit to the Santa Luisa Center in Costa Rica, almost exactly five years after the last trip to this site by our Director of Development, Shelley Callahan.

About Santa Luisa

“The Santa Luisa Center is managed by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent of Paul,” said Luis.

“The Sisters run a nursing home to help low-income families in this rural part of Costa Rica, and along with the home for the elderly, they operate a center to support children so they can receive resources as well.”

“The Center is located about 220 kilometers from the capital city of San Jose, in an area known as Bambu, where social services and educational support are minimal. The roads from San Jose to Bambu are treacherous, and the drive takes about six hours,”explained Luis.

“Bambu is an agricultural town, where production of bananas is the main source of income for farmers. Although the Costa Rican government does have public schools available for the children in the area, they often have to walk a long distance to reach the schools, after having little or no food and school supplies due to poverty. The Children Incorporated sponsorship program supports their educational needs, and provides food and clothing for these children.”

Luis is pictured with our volunteer coordinator, a sponsored child, and a few of the mothers from the community.

Seeing the Center after many years

“The Center’s nursing home is well-cared for and has well-maintained buildings for the elderly.”

“Our sponsorship program is run in a section of the nursing home that has a hall where the sisters do activities with the children. They also host the children and their families on a patio for larger gatherings,” said Luis.

“The Center has a small kitchen to cook for the sponsored children while they are there and a small office/storage area where they keep food and school supplies purchased in bulk, so they can be distributed to the children on a monthly basis.”

“During my visit, we met with a few parents and children, but my visit was cut short because of the travel time to and from San Jose. But before I left, the parents shared that coming to the Center to get food, school supplies, and other commodities once a month is a blessing and a great support for the children’s education. Although at times it is difficult because some of the families have to walk two to three hours to get there, they say the support is still invaluable to them, as those that live further away from the Center have the greatest needs by far,” said Luis.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Costa Rica?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | January 5, 2023

Located along South America’s central-western coast, Peru comprises arid Pacific coastlands, spectacular mountain ranges and the vast Amazon rainforest. This land has been home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years, including the Inca Empire, the empire that constructed Peru’s most iconic landmark, Machu Picchu.

Peru’s rich culture, breathtaking beauty, and wealth of natural resources, however, belie the abject poverty in which many of its residents live.

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

Many rural areas are still recovering from the Sendero Luminoso terrorist attacks of the 1990s, which claimed countless lives and caused thousands of families who had relied on agriculture for generations to seek shelter in large cities where they encountered even deeper poverty. While Peru as a whole suffers from high unemployment, hyperinflation and all the difficulties that poverty entails, problems like disease, malnutrition and crime are most pronounced in its overcrowded urban areas.

Challenges for Children in Peru

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

32% of children in Peru live in poverty
Many Peruvian families are affected by unemployment, making it difficult for them to
provide much-needed resources to their children
Access to healthcare, sanitation and nutritious food has become increasingly difficult for
families in Peru through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as due to the current political
climate in the country
Children in Peru are often forced into labor at a young age to support their families,
which means they drop out of school and no longer receive any formal education

Our Work in Peru

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

***

How do I sponsor a child in Peru?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

SOURCES:

https://www.unicef.org/media/101111/file/Peru-2020-COAR.pdf

https://www.unicef.org/peru/en

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC?locations=PE

Children Incorporated | January 3, 2023

Situated in the northwestern corner of South America, Colombia is rich in natural beauty, comprising rugged Andean mountains, lowland plains, sprawling Amazon rainforest, and coastline on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Archeological evidence suggests that humans have called this land home for thousands of years.

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

Its modern history begins at the end of the fifteenth century, when Christopher Columbus and the first Spanish explorers arrived in the region, subsequently establishing the area’s first successful Spanish settlement in 1508. Spanish colonization continued for over 400 years.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Colombia gained its independence and established itself as South America’s first constitutional government. However, political instability in the mid-to late-twentieth century led to the uprising of guerilla groups which have wreaked havoc through all manner of social injustice.

Tragically, their targets are most often children. Kidnappings, human trafficking, recruitment as soldiers into paramilitary groups, and forcible participation in drug-trafficking rings are all too common realities for vulnerable and disadvantaged children here.

Challenges for Children in Colombia

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

– Just over 34% of Colombians are living below the poverty line
– One in five children in Colombia has no access to education
– One in ten children in Colombia faces malnutrition
– Children living in poverty are at risk of experiencing child labor, homelessness, and food insecurity

Our Work in Colombia

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

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 children in crisis in Colombia.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Colombia?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

SOURCES:

https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/colombia-children-poverty-have-healthy-nutrition-thanks-donor-funding-salesian

https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/987B9C90-CB9F-4D93-AE8C-750588BF00QA/AM2020/Global_POVEQ_COL.pdf

Children Incorporated | December 26, 2022

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our December 2022 Impact Report as a way to say “thank you” to all our supporters who make our work possible.

Beyond what you already provide to children through our sponsorship program, your donations to our Special Funds and Special Projects allow us to help families and communities as well, often in times of crisis.

YOUR IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD

Just in this past month, your donations have:

– Provided funds to repair and replace areas of the roof and ceiling in the dorm, kitchen and dining halls at the Maria Reyna Home in Honduras

– Provided funds to purchase menstrual hygiene items for girls at Santa Isabel Ana Seton in Guatemala

Among so many other things, your donations provided funds to purchase meals for a month for 25 children at the Dandora Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds for an educational field trip for children at Sparta Elementary School in North Carolina

– Provided funds to purchase meals for a month for 25 children at the Dandora Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds to purchase gas for cooking for sponsored children at the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf in Lebanon

– Provided food for 200 children for a month at the St. John’s Community Center in Kenya

– Provided food for 25 children at Fortune’s Children at Parang Center in the Philippines

– Provided emergency funding for a displaced family with a sponsored child who attends James D. Adams Middle School in Kentucky

– Provided eyeglasses for students at Page High School in Arizona

– Provided funds to purchase underwear, socks, and shoes for children at Crossroads Elementary School in Kentucky

– Provided food for 25 children for a month at Kids Hope Ethiopia in Ethiopia

… all in addition to the support you already provide through sponsorship to children in our program. Thank you for everything you do for children in need!

***

HOW do I MAKE A DONATION TO CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can donate to Children Incorporated in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at hello@children-inc.org and a staff member can assist you with making a donation; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and choose a particular fund in which to make a donation.

DONATE

Ron Carter | December 20, 2022En Español

On Christmas Eve in 1914, as the battles of the first World War were raging all around, soldiers in the British Expeditionary Force overheard some German troops in the trenches across from them singing Christmas carols. The British soldiers noticed that their adversaries had placed lit lanterns and small fir trees all along their trenches, their way of decorating for the special night.

Slowly, the opposing soldiers began to call out to one another across the way, “Merry Christmas!” and “Frohe Weihnachten!” The following day, the British and German troops met mid-way between their camps, in “no man’s land”, and exchanged gifts and played football together. They also took the time to bury their dead and repair their trenches, enjoying a period of peace, even in the midst of war.

This holiday season, my hope and prayer is that we can all set aside our differences and discover that we share many things in common, among them a desire for health and prosperity.

This holiday season, my hope and prayer is that we can all set aside our differences and discover that we share many things in common, among them a desire for health and prosperity. Perhaps we can come together and find commonality in serving others, in providing those who go hungry with food, and in supplying clothing to those who are cold or ill-prepared for excessive heat. Perhaps we can join our hearts and our minds together to help “the least of these,” the children, by offering them hope and possibility for their futures.

Children Incorporated has been assisting children and families since the fall of 1964, meeting a vast array of needs along the way and addressing poverty head-on. Thousands of young lives have been improved as we have served as the conduit for our sponsors’ and donors’ incredible generosity. Through decades of upheaval and social unrest, we – along with you – have found common ground in serving, caring, and giving for the benefit of others.

This holiday season, may we join together once again and uplift those who struggle through acts of kindness toward them and toward one another. Through generosity and the sharing of our resources, may we celebrate this season of Love and Light, and may we find peace, even in our chaotic world.

From the heart,
Ron Carter

***

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

Children Incorporated | December 19, 2022

Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world – both geographically and in terms of population. It is truly massive, sharing borders with every other country in South America except for Ecuador and Chile.

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

The Amazon rainforest – recognized for having the greatest biological diversity on the planet – sprawls over the country’s northern half, with rugged mountains to the south. But despite its wealth of natural resources and beauty, Brazil suffers from staggering poverty, rising inflation, unemployment, and a lack of social development.

Challenges for Children in Brazil

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

Forty-five percent of children in Brazil live in poverty
About 18 million children live in households that are surviving on less than $90 a month, or around $3 a day
Roughly 8.8 million children in Brazil are deprived of an education
Approximately 7.6 million children lack access to clean water and sanitation

Our Work in Brazil

You can change the life of a child in Brazil. Consider becoming a sponsor today with Children Incorporated.

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

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 Brazil.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Brazil?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

SOURCES:

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/business/2022/09/45-of-children-in-brazil-live-below-the-poverty-line.shtml

https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/direitos-humanos/noticia/2018-08/six-every-ten-children-brazil-live-poverty