Tag Archives: opportunity

Shelley Callahan | September 29, 2017En Español

When Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist, and I met with our Volunteer Coordinator, Brenda Curry, at Fallsburg Elementary School in August, the first thing Brenda wanted to talk about was a very special family that she had arranged for us to visit with that afternoon. Stewart and Carolyn Sawyer* live in a small home in Lawrence County, Kentucky, about a twenty-minute drive away from the school, where their son, Michael*, who is sponsored through Children Incorporated, is in the eighth grade.

Stewart and Carolyn’s son Michael benefits greatly from our sponsorship program.

Of the nineteen children that are in our program at Fallsburg Elementary, Brenda has the greatest connection with Michael and his parents. They are more than just a family that Brenda has helped to get support when they have needed it over the years – the Sawyers are like family to her. She has known Michael since he was in preschool, and she talked about what a sweet little boy he was, and how he always gave her a hug when he saw her in the hallways.

In the ten years that Brenda has been a coordinator for Children Incorporated, she has grown close to Stewart and Carolyn, too, who live only a few minutes from Brenda and her own family. Brenda described them as amazingly kind, humble, and grateful for everything they have in life, even though they are very poor, and struggle to get by.

Volunteering to show gratitude

Stewart and Carolyn have been together for fourteen years, and Michael, who is thirteen years old, is their only son. Many years ago, Stewart owned a garage where he was the head mechanic; but hard times fell on him, and he lost his shop, and everything he owned. Now he works odd jobs, mostly doing landscaping for local families – and much of that work comes as a result of referrals from Brenda. But the work is inconsistent, and it pays very little.

Carolyn has struggled with health issues for many years, and is unable to work. With only one income to support them, the Sawyers struggle to get by, as do many poor families in Eastern Kentucky. But Brenda told us that, despite the difficulties they face, both Stewart and Carolyn consider themselves lucky, and do whatever they can to give back to the community. They are grateful for Michael’s sponsor because without that support, there would have been many years without a Christmas, and Michael wouldn’t get new school clothes or supplies when times are tough.

Just like his parents, Michael, who doesn’t have very much, has found a way to go above and beyond to give back to others – to say thank you for all that he feels that he has to be thankful for in life.

Because they want to show their gratitude to others for helping them when they need it, Stewart and Carolyn regularly volunteer at the school in order to give back. Stewart often helps out with special events, like directing traffic during the Fall Festival, and helping to set up and break down tables and chairs when the school hosts holiday parties. And Carolyn works with the pre-school children at the school, mostly reading to them and helping their teacher out as best she can.

Feeling blessed through it all

After we visited with Brenda at the resource center, she took us to meet Stewart and Carolyn at their home. Their house sat on a hill along a narrow gravel road, far off of the main highway. When we arrived, they greeted us warmly, and invited us inside. We walked up to their tattered porch, old wooden boards creaking under our feet. It was obvious that the house was in need of repair. Inside, the floors were worn, the wallpaper was peeling away, and the furniture was torn and stained. Stewart and Carolyn had done their best to make this house their home, using what little they had.

As we sat down in the living room to talk, I noticed black plastic trash bags scattered about the floor. Stewart told us they were filled with Michael’s toys, which they had bagged up because earlier in the year, the chimney began to fall, damaging the wall between the living room and the back bedroom. Stewart spent months tearing it down and repairing the wall so they could use the bedroom again.

On top of that, Stewart spent the summer ripping up the floor of their small home to replace rotten boards, because the floor had started to cave in. His next project would be to start replacing boards in the walls between the living room and the kitchen, which were now too short because of the repairs he made to the floorboards.

The Sawyers’ home is in constant need of repair.

It was overwhelming listening to him talk about his endless repair list – but the whole time he spoke, Stewart had a smile on his face, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Even when he talked about having recently wrecked his truck upon swerving to avoid hitting a dog that ran out in front of him on the road, he and Carolyn giggled at the story of the small, mangy animal not knowing how much damage it had caused to his vehicle.

As we were listening to their stories, Brenda noticed that their air conditioning unit was no longer working, and offered to find a new one for them. She felt confident that she would find someone in the community willing to donate one. Both Stewart and Carolyn thanked Brenda for having the idea, but declined her offer, because they knew there were other people that could use one more than they could – and they instead talked about how blessed they are each and every day.

After we said goodbye to Stewart and Carolyn, Brenda drove us back to the school. On the way, she told us about how Michael always buys her a Christmas gift – something small from the dollar store, like a necklace or earrings – with money he saves helping his grandfather with odd jobs throughout the year. Just like his parents, Michael, who doesn’t have very much, has found a way to go above and beyond to give back to others – to say thank you for all that he feels that he has to be thankful for in life.

*Names changed for family’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 | September 25, 2017En Español

Since I first started visiting our affiliated projects in Eastern Kentucky in April of 2015, I have been reporting on the burden of poverty that our sponsored children and their families face every day. With a lack of jobs and scarcity of resources for people in need in this region of the United States, I often get asked when I return home: Why don’t people in need just move somewhere else?

It is a question that I had not been able to answer on my own, because quite honestly, I didn’t know how to answer it. When your situation seems bleak, and there are few opportunities for a better future for you and your children, why not leave and start over in a new place?

Feeding kids hundreds of miles away

Boxes of food line the walls of the resource center.

I decided to talk to our Volunteer Coordinator, Barbara Hall, at Blaine Elementary School in Lawrence County about this issue. I knew Barbara would be able to shine some light on the subject; she has been working in the school system for 23 years, and has been a resource coordinator since 2000. Currently, Barbara plays an integral role in ensuring that students are fed every day, in addition to her many other responsibilities.

200 children attend Blaine Elementary School in Blaine, Kentucky, and 85 to 95 percent of those kids are receiving reduced price or free lunches. There are currently 79 children receiving food to take home on the weekends through the school’s backpack feeding program. Barbara explained that without the help of a church in Alabama that supports her school, she wouldn’t be able to help all these children.

The church not only raises money to provide food for the students, but they also do all the shopping – and they even drive eight hours to Blaine Elementary School once a month to distribute the food. Barbara is incredibly grateful for this support; she said that there are very few businesses in Blaine to sponsor food and clothing drives for poor families. Without this church, she doesn’t know how she would ever help so many children who would otherwise not be able to eat on the weekends.

The children most in need of sponsors are the ones that come to school dirty, with worn out clothes and old shoes, and providing them with new items is something they really value.

Through Barbara’s story, it was apparent that she knows very well the hardships that families living in poverty face here – especially the children in our program. She said that the children most in need of sponsors are the ones that come to school dirty, with worn out clothes and old shoes, and that providing them with new items is something they really value.

When I asked her the tough question about why families have stayed in Eastern Kentucky long after the coal mines closed, businesses started to move out, and stores closed down, she said that in actuality, many families have left to look for jobs elsewhere. But a lot of people haven’t moved away, and it was for more reasons than I could have come up with on my own.

The many reasons not to move

For many families, the simple answer is that they have nowhere else to go. They have no relatives outside of Eastern Kentucky, and everyone they know lives near them. Another reason families don’t move is because they are comfortable where they are and with their current surroundings, and the idea of making a big change in life is overwhelming, because it is easier to stay in an already familiar place. And even though they may not have much beyond a small piece of land and an old trailer in which to live, these families, despite being poor, have a great deal of pride in what little they have. It was something with which I could empathize greatly, as I, too, am proud of my home.

Our Volunteer Coordinator, Barbara, and U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham at Blaine Elementary School

Another reason many families don’t move is because moving is too expensive. Jobs aren’t guaranteed anywhere, and neither is housing. I had heard the day before from our coordinators LuAnn Kelly and Anne Preece, who also work in Lawrence County, that many parents travel as far as South Carolina and North Carolina to work, and return home only on the weekends. Others drive a few hours each day to commute to jobs within the state. Those who don’t drive out of the county for work have settled for jobs that would typically be for high school students, like at fast food restaurants, to support their families.

It all started to make more sense. Why would you move your kids away from grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, and have them change schools, when you can’t be sure the next place would even offer anything better?

Come to find out, the answer to my question was complex; not only did it have many practical implications, but it had a lot of heart to it, too. Whether living in poverty or not, moving isn’t easy, and it’s not something that just anyone can do. Even if resources are scarce, some families in Lawrence County can count on the support of coordinators like Barbara, and programs like our sponsorship program and the backpack feeding program.

Beyond that, Kentucky is home for these families, no matter what changes around them. Whether businesses move in or out of the county, and as industry comes and goes – it doesn’t make Kentucky any less of a home and a place to be proud of for its residents.

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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, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Shelley Callahan | September 18, 2017En Español

In late August, Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist for Children Incorporated, and I traveled to Lawrence County, Kentucky to visit Louisa Middle School and Lawrence County High School. The two schools are located in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field region in a very rural part of the state. The county is one of the largest in the state, meaning the distances between stores, homes, schools, and businesses are vast.

The county is one of the largest in the state, meaning the distances between stores, homes, schools, and businesses are vast.

There is no quick trip to anywhere in Lawrence County; even going to buy a carton of milk or visiting the post office can take twenty or thirty minutes by car – and that is for those who are fortunate enough to have reliable vehicles. For people living in poverty that can’t afford to own a car, such large distances between destinations create huge problems.

Shelley and I first met with our Volunteer Coordinators Luann Kelly and Anne Preece in Luann’s office at Louisa Middle School; Anne’s office is at Lawrence County High School only a few hundred yards from the middle school, up a big hill, but only a short walk away. It is one of the few times on my many trips to Eastern Kentucky that I have seen schools within walking distance of one another. Luann has been working in the school system for eighteen years; Anne is newer and has been at the school for only a few years, but she has gotten to know the students well.

Shelley Oxenham unloading school supplies and clothes for Lawrence County High School kids

Of the 440 children that attend the middle school and the 691 that attend the high school, eighteen children are currently enrolled in our program. But both Luann and Anne told us that many more children could benefit from having sponsors. One in four people in Lawrence County lives in poverty, and the unemployment rate is 11%.

Finding a way to feed kids

Luann and Anne talked with us about the difficulties that so many of these families face. Many of the children come from broken homes and are being raised by their grandparents; several of them live in foster care. Luann told us about one family in particular that currently has three children at the middle school; she sends food home with the kids not only on the weekends, which is most typical of backpack feeding programs at resource centers, but also during the week, because the parents can’t afford to feed the children dinner at night.

Thankfully, since eighty percent of the children in Lawrence County would already qualify for free lunch from the government, the county provides free lunch to all students, so families don’t have to worry about feeding their kids – at least during the day, while school is in session.

It is important as children get older that they not miss out on moving on to get a higher education or employment simply because they don’t have the means to leave their homes.

But once the school year is over, it’s hard for the parents again; summers present a big problem for families. The schools in Lawrence County have summer feeding programs, but the school buses don’t run when school is out, so there is no way to get the children from their homes to the schools to eat, and parents don’t have a way to drive their kids to the school to take advantage of the program.

The transportation issues aren’t just about whether parents can get their kids to and from places to receive support. Luann and Anne also told us that during the school year, because the county is so large, many children get on the bus at 6:00 a.m. and don’t get home until 5:00 p.m. The students that are picked up first and dropped off last might be on the bus for an hour or more to and from school each day. There is no way to make it easier for any of them, or to make the commute any shorter, because they live far from the school. Because of this, the children are often tired during class and don’t have much time in the evenings for homework, extracurricular activities, or to play with their friends.

No way to get to work

High school students often do not have transportation to get to after-school jobs.

It’s not just the younger middle school students who are affected by not having a means of transportation, either. Seventy percent of high school-aged students can’t work because they are unable to get to work, and there is no public transit on which to rely. Even though they may be old enough and responsible enough to be employed at fast food restaurants or convenient stores, if they can’t afford a vehicle, they can’t work – and they are therefore unable to help their families with additional income or save money for college.

For parents, there are few options for jobs in Lawrence County other than working for the hospital or in the school system. So many of them have to drive out of town to work – sometimes an hour or two, and sometimes as far as South Carolina and North Carolina. A lack of transportation also makes it difficult for parents who are disabled and living in poverty to get to doctors’ appointments; or for grandparents with little or no income, but who are raising children, to get to the social security office or to a local church to get clothes or food for the children in their care.

It’s hard to think about these kids not getting the opportunities they deserve in life when something like access to transportation – which is a simple part of most of our daily lives – keeps so many impoverished people in Lawrence County from getting where they need to go. Luann told us that after high school, graduates often drive 45 minutes to a local community college to study woodworking, nursing, heavy machine operation, mechanics, or to take culinary classes – great skills that can help them get good jobs. It is important as children get older that they not miss out on moving on to get a higher education or employment simply because they don’t have the means to leave their homes.

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | September 5, 2017En Español

The tsunami that hit Sri Lanka in 2004, caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the island country’s coast, was one of the most devastating disasters ever recorded in the country’s history.

The tidal wave left tens of thousands dead, and many more, homeless, as well as had widespread effects on the country’s environment and ecosystems. The eastern shore of Sri Lanka faced the hardest impact because it was facing the epicenter of earthquake.

This family’s house was repaired after the tsunami, thanks to Children Incorporated.

The coastal town of Galle, just two hours south of Colombo, a hotspot for tourists that has a bustling fishing industry, was hit incredibly hard. The tsunami swiftly destroyed an estimated 7,000 houses, most of which were made of wood, leaving many families without homes. The Dadella Children’s Center, located in the center of Galle and only a few hundred feet from the ocean, was submerged in eight feet of water. It took nearly a year for the city to recover after such a large disaster. Many children were orphaned, as more than 6,000 people lost their lives as a result of the tsunami.

Helping rebuild after disaster strikes
In the aftermath of the tsunami, Children Incorporated, along with the Dadella Children’s Center, which is run by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Sri Lanka, provided considerable relief and aid through the reconstruction of homes, while also supplying food, clothing, and mattresses to families who lost everything.

The YMCA initiated the process of constructing 25 homes for families whose children attended the Dadella Center, and who had been left homeless after the tsunami. But when they asked the government to provide the land, the government came back with one provision: they would provide the land to build on, but they wanted the YMCA to build fifty homes instead of 25 – but the government was not going to provide additional monetary support.

The YMCA didn’t have enough money to complete all fifty homes; but thankfully, Children Incorporated was able to step in and provide the funds needed to purchase doors and windows, and to finish roofs in order to complete the homes – and twice as many families as originally anticipated were, in fact, given homes. That was over twelve years ago now. Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, however, still clearly remembers visiting Galle and the Dadella Children’s Center when the houses were being built. He recalls going to our sponsored children’s destroyed homes after the tsunami, and seeing that their families were left with no belongings, having to start their lives over with nothing. At least, he thought, they’d have homes to go to.

They have overcome difficult obstacles in their lives, and it was incredible to meet them and see how well they are doing, despite many setbacks and challenges in life.

On our visit to the Dadella Center in August, Luis was pleased to see the same children he had visited with before – but this time, as young teens and adults. Luis greeted a young man whose house had not been entirely lost, but was in dire need of repair after the tsunami. He is grown now, and working as a teacher in a local public school that some of our sponsored children attend.

We met another boy that Luis remembers well, now older and out of our sponsorship program, who lost his father in the tsunami, and spent his childhood in fear because he lived close to water. Children Incorporated helped build a house for him and his mother, and he is now a high school graduate, is currently taking his advanced-level exams, and hopes to go on to college one day.

There were many success stories from the Dadella Children’s Center, and I could tell from Luis’ smile that he was really proud of all the children he was able to visit with again. We were pleased to hear that many of our former sponsored children are working with the center once a week as leaders to the 23 sponsored children currently in our program. They have overcome difficult obstacles in their lives, and it was incredible to meet them and see how well they are doing, despite many setbacks and challenges in life.

Connecting projects

One of 50 homes built by the Dadella Children’s Center after the tsunami

While visiting the center, we were shown around by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the YMCA, a kind Sri Lankan man named Angus, who has held this position since 1986. He explained that he found out about Children Incorporated many years ago because his cousin is Dr. Rodrigo, our Volunteer Coordinator at the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center in Colombo. I was glad to see the connection between two wonderful projects, knowing that as a result of that connection, we have been able to help a lot of children in Sri Lanka over the years.

The Dadella Children’s Center is on a large compound, with the playground as its centerpiece. The building itself is three stories tall, with classrooms on the first and second floors. More than 200 children go to the center every day. On the first floor, there is a preschool and daycare center for very young children, and the older children go to the center for after-school tutoring programs.

Our sponsored children go once a week for leadership programs and English classes, and they are also provided with food, school uniforms, book bags, food, shoes, and school supplies, thanks to their sponsors. The center is important for children who are living in poverty, and most of them come from nearby villages; visiting the center helps them to keep up with academics, which are extremely competitive in Sri Lanka.

Better homes and better lives

After visiting with the children at the center, we set off to see some of the homes that Children Incorporated had helped build years ago. The houses were located in areas past a vast rice field, in the more rural parts of the town, away from the water – land that had previously been nothing but jungle before the tsunami.

I was impressed by the homes. They had separate bedrooms and kitchens, as well as a living area, and were all on their own piece of land covered in lush greenery. The houses were made of concrete — a much stronger material than the wood used to construct the homes that the families lived in before, which made the structures susceptible to damage from the weather.

It was nice to see that these families now have stability in their lives after all they have been through in the past. For them, the tsunami wasn’t something that happened a long time ago, and it isn’t something they have forgotten about. But they have repaired their lives, and continued to care for their children, having been given the opportunity to start over in a place they can call home.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN SRI LANKA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | August 29, 2017En Español

The country of Sri Lanka has always valued the importance of learning, and even more so after gaining their independence from Britain in 1948. Since then, the government has made education a high priority, and it has paid off. The literacy rate is over ninety percent — the highest in all of South Asia – and enrollment in school for both boys and girls is just as high. This is in large part due to the well-developed network of public schools in the country, giving children more opportunities to be educated than many other developing or underdeveloped countries where Children Incorporated works.

Dr. Rodrigo speaks with one of our sponsored children outside the center.

At the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center in Colombo, poor children living in surrounding neighborhoods are given a place to gather after school to study and learn English, math, Sinhalese, dance, art, and sewing, which not only helps to propel them academically, but it also keeps them off the streets.

Although our Volunteer Coordinator at the center, Dr. S.N. Rodrigo, tells us that the neighborhood isn’t unsafe, and that the children are well cared for by their mothers, she feels that it is important that the children have something to do in the afternoons, because there is a drug problem in the area, and she worries that people who don’t have jobs or much to do could negatively influence impressionable children.

Keeping kids off the streets

Knowing that the poor children who lived close to her were at risk was exactly the reason that Dr. Rodrigo started the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center 35 years ago. She and her husband bought a home in Colombo in the 1970s, when she was still a practicing physician, and her husband was a surgeon.

Dr. Rodrigo connected with Children Incorporated in the early 1980s, when our founder, Mrs. Jeanne Clarke Wood, traveled to Sri Lanka to expand our programs in Asia. Dr. Rodrigo and her husband are both retired now, and they fill their time with taking care of the dozens of children that go to the center every day, ranging from six to eighteen years old. Twenty-two of the children who attend are currently enrolled in our program, and six are awaiting sponsorship.

Even though many of our sponsored children come from similar situations where jobs are scarce or low-paying, it was encouraging to hear from Dr. Rodrigo about how motivated the children are to learn.

Dr. Rodrigo picked me and Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, up to take us to the center, and she talked about how when they first moved into the neighborhood, there were many shanties and mud huts, and she would see children running around outside of her home that were unkempt and dirty, and not in school during the day. She first started helping them by providing them with meals; and she eventually found a small hut to use as a home base to meet with them more regularly.

It wasn’t until five or six years ago, after having partnered with the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center for nearly three decades, that Luis convinced Dr. Rodrigo to let Children Incorporated build a proper center, thanks to a donation from a special sponsor who wanted to support infrastructure at our international projects.

Dr. Rodrigo was hesitant at first, being unsure as to whether or not she could handle the work that would go into managing a larger building. But after managing to secure a piece of land from the government, she agreed to the construction; and now the center is a two-story building that offers plenty of room for the children to gather, and space for a certified teacher to work with the children every day after school.

Breaking the cycle of poverty

One of our sponsored children and his proud mother

While we were visiting the center, Dr. Rodrigo introduced us to one of the mothers in the neighborhood who is a former sponsored child. Dr. Rodrigo considers this mother’s story the greatest success story for the center.

The mother received support from her sponsor throughout her childhood, and after graduating from high school, she opened a store in her home to sell dry goods, in order to generate money for her family. Her husband drives a tuk-tuk (a three-wheeled motorized vehicle used as a taxi) to earn an income, and they have two children. Their daughter is now in our program, and their son graduated a few years ago, after having a sponsor for many years, and is now working towards becoming an engineer.

Thanks to the mother’s sponsorship support growing up, and to the parents’ dual income now, their children have better educational opportunities than they ever had, which has helped this family break the cycle of poverty. What’s more, the mother is giving back to the Center after so many years of receiving support — Dr. Rodrigo has put her in charge of purchasing items for our sponsored children! She typically buys food, school supplies, soap, toothbrushes, rice, tea, clothing, and shoes, and on a monthly basis, determines which items will best help each individual child in our program.

Motivated to learn

As we continued to meet with our sponsored children throughout the day, we heard stories about how their parents struggle to make ends meet. We met a family who sells fruit at the local schools, but loses their income during the month-long breaks from school that happen three times a year, making it hard to provide for their children. Thanks to sponsorship, the kids receive food when money is especially tight for the parents.

Even though many of our sponsored children come from similar situations where jobs are scarce or low-paying, it was encouraging to hear from Dr. Rodrigo about how motivated the children are to learn. Academics in Sri Lanka are very competitive, and the children work hard to stay on top of their studies. Despite the barriers that poverty creates, many kids aspire to careers beyond just becoming drivers and seamstresses — many of them want to become engineers and doctors, just like Dr. Rodrigo and her husband.

Children dream big in Sri Lanka, and even though they face many challenges, they have opportunities to excel, thanks to places like the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center, which help prepare them for the future. In Sri Lanka, the possibilities for success are real, and our sponsored children are reaching for their goals.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN SRI LANKA?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | August 18, 2017En Español

Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, just below India, that is known for its natural beauty, wildlife, and tea and cinnamon exports. Its heritage rich in Buddhism, Sri Lanka is the oldest democracy in Asia. And although thriving with regard to tourism and commerce, many people in the country live in poverty — especially children who have been removed from their homes by the government because of abuse and neglect, like those that live at the Touch a Life with Hope Center.

Children and their parents enjoy refreshments during our visit.

When Luis Bourdet, Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, and I arrived in Sri Lanka, I first noticed how nice the roads were – a sign of development and progress for nations that are considered to be developing or underdeveloped. Since the end of Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government in 2009, a war that caused great hardship for the population, economy, and environment of the country, the focus has shifted to increasing tourism, which has meant improvements to highways, and the construction of more hotels and business, most prominently seen in the capital city of Colombo. Though Sri Lanka is much better off in certain ways than it was eight years ago, the country and its people are still recovering from the instability and lack of infrastructure caused by decades of war.

Fifteen cents a day is not enough

Though Sri Lanka is much better off in certain ways than it was eight years ago, the country and its people are still recovering from the instability and lack of infrastructure caused by decades of war.

We arrived at the Touch a Life with Hope Center, centrally located in Colombo, just a minutes drive from our hotel. The center is tucked away down a small, narrow road lined with tall palm trees. A security wall protects the building, which is not only a home for girls, but also serves as a place for children who live with their families to receive support. Our sponsored children who do not live at the home, but in neighborhoods close by, are both girls and boys. The children attend local public schools, where core academic subjects are taught, including English. Children Incorporated has been affiliated with the home for over thirty years, thanks to a partnership developed by our founder, Mrs. Wood.

We were greeted in the courtyard by a few of the board members; our Volunteer Coordinator, Mrs. Chandini Tilakaratna, was away on business, but her cohorts were more than knowledgeable about the center and its inner workings, and they shared with us in great detail the ways in which the children are provided for at the home. The home was founded in 1982 and is operated by a group of supporters from the community.

A proud mother (left) who works hard to help her daughter stay in school

Most donations to the center come entirely from private donors, either in the form of actual monetary funds or through the donation of clothing and food for the girls. Since the government provides only forty rupees a day for each child — about the equivalent of fifteen U.S. cents — sponsorship is really important in ensuring their needs are met. Although the girls attend free public schools, the cost of school supplies and books is always additional, and the center has little money to use for things other than food and boarding expenses.

Some children go to the Home at a very early age and stay until they are eighteen years old. Currently, 29 girls live at the home, the youngest being seven years old. The sponsored children we met there were of varying ages. They ranged in grade level from elementary to high school. Some of the children have been in our program for as many as fifteen years — a true testament to how sponsorship can support children long-term.

A motivated mother

We met with both parents and sponsored children throughout the day. We spoke with one mother who talked about how she and her husband both work – but the work is never permanent, meaning they don’t have a steady income. She works for a small business that makes and sells crafts, and he works as a rugby coach — two jobs that aren’t consistent year-round, and pay only around 500 rupees a day, or a little more than three U.S. dollars.

Their rent alone costs them 100 U.S. dollars a month, so many times, they have to decide which bills to pay to keep the lights on or to have running water. Money from sponsorship helps her purchase books and pay class fees for tutoring or art classes for her daughter — things that the family would otherwise not be able to afford. The mother talked about how she is very motivated to help her daughter excel, and we could see that she is successfully encouraging her daughter. Her daughter hasn’t finished high school yet, but is already taking nursing courses.

Some of the children have been in our program for as many as fifteen years — a true testament to how sponsorship can support children long-term.

Never without a home

After meeting with the children, we took a tour of the two-story building; we saw the library, the two study rooms, and the computer lab. The center has a lunchroom and kitchen, one dorm for the younger girls and one for the older girls, and showers and a washing area. Each bed has a custom-made mosquito net big enough to cover the entire bunk. There are four full-time matrons who live in separate living quarters at the home, and the center’s administrative offices are in the building as well.

It was explained to Luis and me that when the girls turn eighteen years old, they move out of the home, but continue to receive support for three years as they acclimate to living on their own, and continue their education or find jobs. Sometimes the girls go to live with family, and sometimes they find their own way, but they are always welcome to return to the home to visit – and there is even a bedroom where they can stay the night if they wish.

The center does such a good job of keeping in touch with the girls who have grown up in the home and moved on that they even have special events and holiday parties which they invite them to join. No longer girls, these women, some who moved out as many as ten years ago, return to the home with their own children.

And the women reciprocate the invitation to celebrate as well. As we were leaving for the day, I noticed a bulletin board in the hallway that had dozens of wedding photos pinned to it – beautiful brides stood with their grooms, smiling at the camera. There were thank-you cards to the matrons and administration for having been in attendance on these special days – a gesture that showed me that the girls considered those who raised them in the home family.

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