Tag Archives: opportunity

Shelley Callahan | February 22, 2017En Español

Shonto Preparatory School isn’t like other public schools. Located in northern Arizona, the school is in the heart of the Navajo Nation, and serves children who are economically poor, but rich in culture and history.

Most Shonto families don’t have running water or electricity, but they take daily classes to learn a language that was first written down only a generation ago. They have little money for clothes and school supplies, but they supplement their income by making and selling the art that represents their tribal history.

“Children Incorporated helps them be able to get clothes and school supplies and food.”

Marlita has worked as the media resource officer for Shonto Preparatory School since 1996, and she works as a volunteer coordinator for Children Incorporated, helping to connect sponsors to students who need financial support.

“Children Incorporated helps them be able to get clothes and school supplies and food,” she said. “Most of the families use [sponsorship funds] for clothes and shoes, but I have one family who uses the money totally for food – so I know they’re really hurting for food.”

An Employment Desert

Shonto is an elementary, middle, and high school with just over 600 students altogether. Virtually all of them are Native American, and more than ninety percent of them qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Marlita (right) with other volunteer coordinators in Arizona

Much of the reason for this poverty is that jobs are scarce, Marlita said. There are eight or ten jobs at each of the three trading posts in the area, along with a health clinic, and the two schools — but that’s about it. Even those few employment opportunities are hard to get; the clinic employees are mostly highly-skilled healthcare workers, and the schools require a college degree of anyone working directly with children.

There’s a Walmart, a coal mine, and a power plant about an hour away, but the coal mine and power plant are both slated to close. Most families supplement what little income they have by making and selling traditional Navajo art and crafts.

Cottage Crafts

“The Navajo are extremely talented with art – any kind of art,” Marlita said. “They do painting, beadwork, jewelry, metalworking, rug weaving – and, of course, pottery.”

A few local artists earn enough to make a living at it, and a couple of them have become internationally known; but for most, arts and crafts just help to make ends meet.

Home gardens help, too, and corn is the primary backyard crop. The local species requires very little water, which is fortunate, because most residents depend on the rain, not irrigation or hoses. The local corn isn’t eaten by itself, though – it’s too tough. Instead, it’s ground up and cooked with other ingredients.

Some residents also sell food on the streets to make money. For instance, a few people sell burritos outside the school every morning.

But most have very little money, so Children Incorporated sponsors help the children receive the needed items their parents struggle to provide.

Shopping Trips

Marlita manages the shopping for those with sponsors. When the children’s funding comes in, she meets the families at Walmart, where they’re told how much they have to spend, and what it can be used for.

Each family then makes their own decisions about what they need most – shoes or backpacks, shampoo or bread – and then they meet her at the checkout line.

“I review their purchases to be sure everything is appropriate,” she said. “Sometimes I have to tell the students, ‘No, I’m sorry, that’s not acceptable.’ But for the most part, they are buying clothes and shoes and school supplies.”

But most have very little money, so Children Incorporated sponsors help the children receive the needed items their parents struggle to provide.

Marlita takes a look at their food choices, too, counseling them on nutrition as she decides what may be purchased with Children Incorporated funds.

“I tell them that pop is not okay, but juice or even Kool-Aid, I’ll accept,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard, because sometimes the families don’t understand – it’s what they’ve been used to getting.”

Once everything has been rung up, Marlita pays for it with the family’s gift card, which was purchased with the child’s sponsorship funds.

One of the benefits to waiting in the checkout area is that she sees everyone who comes through the store, and she’s always greeted by former students.

“They’re always excited to see me,” she said. “I get to keep up with a lot of them that way.”

Of course, since Walmart is more than sixty miles from Shonto, some families can’t get there. Some send their shopping lists to Haviland, and she buys their items for them. And a few older students are allowed to do their family shopping online from the school, with Haviland’s assistance.

The children and Haviland are used to managing without direct parental involvement. Many students live with grandparents or other relatives, either because parents have had to take jobs far away, or because they’re not in the picture at all.

Cultural identity

Some families still live in the eight-sided hogans that the Navajo have traditionally built, but nowadays, most live in one-room homes made of wood or concrete blocks – though they’re little more than sheds.

An exterior picture of the Shonto school campus

“It used to be that very few kids had running water and electricity, but they’re becoming more and more common,” Haviland said. “In a survey a year ago, more of them said they have water and electricity – but not necessarily at their house; it’s often at another relative’s house they go to.”

One of the challenges faced by educators and aid workers is how to improve the children’s quality of life without erasing their cultural identity. To help maintain the children’s heritage, the school now mandates that everyone take a Navajo class every day.

Traditionally, the language is oral, and was never written down until the 1930s (which is why it was used by U.S. code talkers in World War II; since it wasn’t written, it couldn’t easily be learned by non-native speakers). When Haviland first came to Shonto, most children spoke Navajo, but not English. Over the years, however, the Navajo language has been dying out. Now, few children speak it, and few older people can read or write it.

Respecting families’ language, food, arts, and culture while also ensuring children have shoes that fit and healthy meals to eat is an ongoing challenge; but financial support from Children Incorporated makes it possible, Haviland said.

A Helping Hand

In her trips to Walmart, she watches her students learn to make good spending decisions, and get to pick out their own clothes and school supplies. And she gets to see these life lessons pay off in the form of former students who greet her as successful adults.

And she doesn’t always have to make the sixty-mile trip to Walmart to see it.

“We have former Children Incorporated students who work at the school,” she said. “One is a teacher. I didn’t know until he said, ‘Yeah, when I was a kid, I was in the Children Incorporated program.’”

“Shonto is a wonderful community,” she added. “The people are very friendly and sociable – they just need a hand.”

***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN Arizona?

You can sponsor a child in Arizona by calling our office and speaking with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381 or by emailing us at sponsorship@childrenincorporated.org.

Shelley Callahan | February 8, 2017En Español

We are delighted to announce a new partnership that will help even more children rise above poverty. The International Student Exchange (ISE) has chosen Children Incorporated to be one of two partners selected for its new “Giving Back” initiative, which includes a six-figure contribution to support our domestic programs.

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ISE volunteers at the airport with a special sign.

It’s a good match. After all, we both bring strangers together to build bridges between social, economic, and geographic divides. Just imagine what we could do together.

“I am so impressed with ISE,” Children Incorporated CEO, Ron Carter, said. “The organization does incredible work all around the globe, and I look forward to the projects we will undertake together in the coming year.”

Ron Carter recently visited ISE at their office in Long Island, New York. Here’s what ISE’s CEO, Wayne Brewer, had to say about the partnership:

RC: For those unfamiliar with ISE, how would you describe the program?

WB: ISE is a not-for-profit organization that has been in existence for 35 years now. Our mission is “educating tomorrow’s leaders.” ISE brings in 2,800 students from over 45 different countries each year to spend a year in a public high school living with a volunteer host family. ISE works with international partners throughout the world who find and screen the students before sending us the 25-page profile of the student.

RC: How long have you been the CEO at ISE? Why did you join the organization?

As a language teacher, I was always thinking of ways to bring people of the world together.

WB: I have been the CEO of ISE for the past twenty years. I was a teacher and public school administrator before I became highly interested and started to work in the student exchange industry. I decided to go full-time in this wonderful work in 1988. I worked for another exchange organization as Vice President and CEO before taking on the challenges of ISE as CEO in 1997. As a language teacher, I was always thinking of ways to bring people of the world together. I found the vehicle of student exchange to be the perfect way to demonstrate to foreign students the kindness and caring nature of the American people. I always tell people that ISE and its fellow organizations do more good than any government in bringing people of our world together. It is rewarding work!

RC: Why did ISE choose Children Incorporated as a partner?

A warm welcome for an international exchange student.

WB: ISE has always wanted to “give back.” ISE certainly achieves its goals, but it usually deals with children who have the means to be part of an international program. It is so obvious that there are many children out there who do not have basic needs simply to survive. Knowing that ISE can help with this is just another reason to maintain the success of its program. We chose Children Incorporated due to its mission and costs. We were very careful in choosing an organization that was extremely careful and attentive to the percentage of each dollar going to the children. Your organization had one of the highest percentages in this regard.

RC: This is a new charity initiative. Can you tell us more about why ISE started a fund for non-profits like ours?

WB: As a non-profit, we are limited as to the projects and purchases in which ISE can be involved. After we finalized our new building, the Board and I discussed what else we could do to help children in need in addition to our overseas programs. It did not take long for our Board to realize the great needs that are out there and how we could help. I believe that it adds another dimension to our organization and our mission.

RC: Can you share an example of an exchange that made a lasting impact on a person or community?

It may be a lofty goal, but it is one that can be realized if we all pitch in together.

WB: It is so evident in today’s world that we need to promote inclusion and understanding in our relations with the world population and leaders. Our program specifically tackles that objective so that our students return to their native countries with a positive and warm feeling about our country and people. To many, this should be the cornerstone of our foreign policy. I always tell people that we see this in action every year. When we take our incentive trip to a different country, our representatives are met with students and families from the past. Our representatives are invited to the communities and homes of their former students. What better way to promote world understanding? Many of our students now have high positions in governments around the world, so they are in a position to promote our goals and missions. As a personal note, two former exchange students who lived with my family are now members of our Board of Directors. They bring a great deal to our Board in terms of understanding and promoting the work that we do.

RC: What is the overall goal of this initiative?

WB: Our Board has asked me as well, “How do we measure ‘success’?” My answer is simple: We will send people out to see first-hand what our donation is doing to help your organization. I will be asking them to bring back to our Board the specifics of how we are helping. I am sure that this is going to be a long list. I see this donation as the second part of our mission to “educate tomorrow’s leaders.” Basic needs must come first before the benefits of education can be realized.

RC: Do you have a vision for what you want the world to look like?

WB: The people of the world must first understand each other, the world’s needs, and the world’s concerns. We must always keep a clear vision as to how we can help people so that their dreams and goals can be realized – a world in which all people can live together, understand each other, and care for all members of society. It may be a lofty goal, but it is one that can be realized if we all pitch in together.

***

Shelley Callahan | January 26, 2017En Español

In 1997, Southwest Airlines distributed thousands of copies of Dr. Richard Carlson’s bestseller, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, to its employees — including pilot Don Wyatt of Palm Coast, Florida.

Inspired by the sentiment of the book, Wyatt wanted to give back. And since the late author was a strong supporter of Children Incorporated, Wyatt began to research the organization.

“There are many fine agencies to choose from, but my personal favorite is Children Incorporated… The experience has brought tremendous joy and satisfaction to my entire family.”

– Dr. Richard Carlson

After thoughtful consideration, Wyatt signed on. He currently sponsors four siblings — three sisters and a brother. They live in El Progreso, Honduras, a town still recovering slowly from the destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Today, the population still grapples with the effects of homelessness, disease and continued poverty stemming from that natural disaster.

El Refugio Welfare Center opened soon after the hurricane to provide a place for poor and abandoned children to go to for food, clothing, and educational assistance. The center provides for the children during the day and invites parents to become involved at the center by providing support in childcare, hygiene and healthcare.

A sponsor since 1999, Wyatt has consistently gone above and beyond to help provide the siblings with the essentials they need to succeed. He is currently paying for one to attend college and plans to help the other three when the time comes.

We sat down with Wyatt to learn more about why he chose to become a sponsor, and what he’s learned along the way.

CI: How did you get involved with Children Incorporated?

DW: Like many other people, I learned about Children Incorporated though the book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. I acquired that book through my employer, Southwest Airlines, in 1997. The company thought so much of the book that they bought thousands of them for their employees. The book says to give back to others, and I was impressed with what the author said about Children Incorporated. I have contributed to other charities, and one of the things that I liked the most was that the money goes straight to the children.

CI: What do you know about Honduras?

DW: It was the first time I had been in Honduras in about three years. I am prior military and have lived all over the world. I am very familiar with how things are in underdeveloped countries. I have been to Korea and the Middle East, and I have seen poverty.

CI: What do you know about the childrens’ living situation?

Mr. Wyatt with his family and sponsored children’s family

DW: They live with their mother. She is the primary caregiver, and she has worked several odd jobs in El Progreso. Employment is hard to come by, so she has worked as a clerk in a grocery store, and a custodian at a hospital. But recently, the mother has had health problems. I don’t know how she helped the children when they were not old enough to take care of themselves.

They live in a very rough part of town, and it is amazing that they have somewhere to live at all. They rent the home. For a while they were squatting in a home, and they got into the program because they found an empty home right next to the coordinator’s home. She enrolled the children in Children Incorporated’s program, and then they eventually moved into a home that they could legally pay for.

CI: What do you know about El Refugio?

DW: I met an assistant coordinator, Trenie, who always arranged for a translator and a driver, and has always met me, and spends the whole time with me and my wife, and going about visiting the children’s homes. I have visited all of their schools, and I have taken them out to restaurants and water parks for a day of relaxation. The children are being provided for at the center after school with supplies, clothes and large bags of groceries on a monthly basis.

CI: What can you tell us about the children you sponsor?

The book says to give back to others, and I was impressed with what the author said about Children Incorporated. I have contributed to other charities, and one of the things that I liked the most was that the money goes straight to the children.

DW: Bernardo* was my first sponsored child, but he ended up dropping out of the program. I was asked if I was willing to sponsor a child in the same program in Honduras, which is when I learned about Samuel*. Over the course of a few months, I was told about some special needs of this family, and found out that he had three sisters as well. For about six months, I was only sponsoring Samuel, and then started sponsoring all the children — and that was in 2005.

Cándida* is the eldest of the four children. She was about eleven back then, and now she is 21. She is in her second year of the higher education program in university classes in El Progreso, where she studies information technology. When she’s not studying, she spends her time listening to music and watching movies with her friends.

Right behind her is Mariluz*, who just graduated last December. She’s also a movie buff. We got her a computer to help her with her studies.

Samuel is seventeen. He took an auto mechanics course in junior high school and is continuing his studies at a technical trade school, along with some regular classes.

Natalia* is the youngest. She’s in high school. Like any other teenager, she likes movies and listening to music — but mostly, she looks for simple things to do that don’t cost that much.

CI: Do you communicate with the children directly?

DW: Yes, I try to write them at least as often as they do, if not more — six to eight times a year, and then on birthdays and holidays as well. I tell them a little bit about my life and what I do, and I take pictures of the cockpit of the airplane and send those, and ask them about their health and happiness, and try to encourage them in school. I am hopeful that it will provide some additional opportunities for them.

CI: Do they write back? What do they say to you?

DW: The letters are normally eight to ten lines long, and they give a brief sentence of how they are doing. And then say they hope my family is happy and healthy.

CI: What advice would you have for someone reading about you and your sponsored children, and considering sponsorship?

DW: Children Incorporated is extremely responsive. They welcome inquiries, pass along concerns and are willing for me to get more personally involved with the needs of the children. I am very happy being associated with Children Incorporated, and I feel that the organization has a great history, and every dollar goes to the direct needs of the child.

People contribute to charities for a lot of different reasons. If you are the type of person that wants to become more involved on a personal level, Children Incorporated lets you do that. Often with other charities, you don’t feel like you have a personal impact. With Children Incorporated, you can be more than just a contributor of money.

* Names changed for children’s protection.

***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN HONDURAS?

You can sponsor a child in Honduras 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@childrenincorporated.org, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Honduras that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | January 16, 2017En Español

Someone set fire to the playground matting at G.H. Reid Elementary School last summer. The fire spread around the equipment, melting and disfiguring most of it, and leaving the 750 Richmond, Virginia public school children with few options for outdoor play.

But when bad things happen, good people often start showing up to help. Hundreds of volunteers from various Richmond organizations, including Children Incorporated, stepped up to help out last November.

But when bad things happen, good people often start showing up to help.

Together, they rebuilt the playground in just one day.

Community support

Renée Kube, director of U.S. Programs for Children Incorporated, explained that the project was led by KaBoom, a national nonprofit that builds playgrounds, especially in low-income areas.

“We had been told by our volunteer coordinator at the school that funding had been secured from KaBoom,” she said. “But KaBoom requires community buy-in — additional community funding and also hands-on help — so what they really needed from us was warm bodies to come and work all day.”

They also needed maintenance funding, and Children Incorporated pledged to provide that as well.

A one-of-a-kind design

But it was the children who designed the playground, which was based on ideas and drawings submitted by students at the school. Because the children created their own ideas and voted on what they wanted, the Reid Elementary School playground is one-of-a-kind.

The playground under construction

The CarMax Foundation and KaBoom put in most of the upfront money and materials, and on November 3rd, Kube turned up to work, along with her Children Incorporated co-workers, Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Programs Specialist, and Chuck Smith, U.S. Sponsorship Manager.

They were among about 250 volunteers who built the playground from the ground up in just one day. One of the jobs Kube, Oxenham, and Smith were tasked with was painting maps and game boards onto the playground surface.

A global concern

They painted maps of the United States and of the world, a hopscotch board, and other game lines on the blacktop. Fortunately, Kube said, they didn’t have to be experts on global geography in order to get the maps down.

“KaBoom sent people out the day before to plan out where things would go,” she said. “They decided where to put the monkey bars and swings, and they drew out the outline of the maps for us.”

When the work team arrived on November 3rd, they painted the maps, after some redesign.

“One of the volunteers looked at the map of the world and said, ‘That’s not right,’” Kube recounted. “He was Dutch, and he said that part was wrong – so we said, ‘Okay, you’re in charge of Scandinavia.’”

They also needed maintenance funding, and Children Incorporated pledged to provide that as well.

An enthusiastic audience

In addition to the playground, the team built a swing set, a giant Connect 4 board, and a trellis with a bench and cubbies. They also painted the maps and blacktop games, and repainted the lines on the basketball court. They cleared out a garden area, and removed trash and debris from the site.

While the volunteers worked, the children tried – mostly without success – to concentrate in their classes.

“It was tremendously exciting,” Kube said. “The kids were peeking out the windows to watch it going up, and at the end of the day, they were leaning out of the school buses, looking at this new equipment so longingly.”

“They had to wait several days for the concrete to set before they could use their new playground, but since then, it’s been well-used and appreciated,” Kube said.

Ongoing maintenance

Our staff members Renée, Shelley and Chuck

The heavy use the playground will get is one of the things Children Incorporated has pledged to keep up with. With 750 children running across its surfaces every day, the paint won’t hold up forever – and neither will the mulch spread around it.

Children Incorporated will provide funding to repaint and re-mulch the playground as needed – and they may even provide the manpower, too, Kube said.

“We just built it in November, so maintenance is not an issue yet,” she said. “They’ll look at it at the end of the school year and see what needs to be done. We will definitely be providing funding for mulch and maintenance – and, if needed, we’ll be doing the work ourselves.”

Other community groups may put in the physical labor too, Kube said. One church in the area said they couldn’t raise maintenance funds but could provide volunteers to help spread mulch once Children Incorporated purchases it. The paint job may go the same way.

“We want to keep it attractive, and we want to keep it safe,” Kube said.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN Richmond?

You can sponsor a child in Richmond, Virginia by calling our office and speaking with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381 or by emailing us at sponsorship@childrenincorporated.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | January 3, 2017En Español

It’s hard to imagine a lack of food in the nation’s capital — but there is one.

A “food desert” is a place where fresh fruit and vegetables can’t be purchased, and Washington, D.C. is just such a place. Large parts of the city — specifically the poorer — don’t have grocery stores. Instead, they have corner markets where one can purchase snacks and some canned goods, but not nutritious whole foods.

“On average, we have between sixty and 100 families that attend our monthly market,” she said. “Many of our families have a lot of people living in the household, so one limitation of our particular market is that we cannot give out food in accordance to the number of people living in the home.”

“If families have transportation barriers or illnesses, or mobility problems or other barriers to getting out of their neighborhoods, what they’re limited to is these little corner stores,” said Renée Kube, Director of U.S. Programs for Children Incorporated. “For thousands of families in the city, fresh fruits and vegetables just can’t be found.”

Except at school.

Lucy Ellen Moten Elementary School is located in Ward 8 – one of D.C.’s poorest areas. But families there are getting fresh produce each month through the Joyful Market, a partnership program between Children Incorporated and local nonprofit, Martha’s Table.

Free Shopping

Florangel Cuesta-Smith, our volunteer coordinator at Lucy Ellen Moten, said the program serves about 150 families a month in a school of about 430 students.

Once a month, volunteers set up a market of fresh fruit and vegetables inside the school. Families — or the children — can come shop for their own produce, picking out the items they want.

Everything is free, and each family is allotted a certain portion based on the number of people in them. In many cases, parents or caregivers can’t attend, so the children can do the shopping for themselves with help from volunteers.

“Because the school offers a pre-K program, children as young as three often participate on their own,” said Cuesta-Smith.

Students “shop” for fresh produce to take home

“I pre-package the produce for the littlest ones so it’s not too much for them to carry,” she said. “They take it out with them to parent-pickup at the end of the day.”

“While some children do the shopping alone, in other cases, parents or guardians help with the operation,” Kubée said.

“It’s been very appreciated, and it’s also increased parent engagement, because parents are volunteering to come in and do set-up or clean-up,” she said. “That’s a big deal for a school that’s struggling to have a viable PTA.”

“That involvement has had positive repercussions for the school as a whole as well,” Kubée said. Parents have been telling school officials that before, the only interaction they ever had with the school was when their children were in trouble. Now, they’re working with teachers and officials in happier situations, forming bonds between the school and the families it serves.

Learning to Cook

Another reason for parent involvement at the Joyful Market is the guest chef.

Each month, Martha’s Table brings in a guest chef who prepares a healthy snack or meal using the items featured in the market.

Shoppers can try out banana apple smoothies or bean soup, or they can learn how to prepare and cook a butternut squash.

“The kids love that,” said Cuesta-Smith. “And the chef hands out recipes they can take home with them.”

“Allowing kids to try the food first, and letting adults see how easy it is to prepare has been a good way to encourage healthy eating,” Kubée added.

“‘You, too can try eggplant and love it!’ is an idea that resonates if the kids actually get a chance to try it first,” she said.

Portion Control

Nearby Hart Middle School also has a successful Joyful Market program, and coordinator Ashely Lyles, said they’re hoping for more funding to expand its portions.

“On average, we have between sixty and 100 families that attend our monthly market,” she said. “Many of our families have a lot of people living in the household, so one limitation of our particular market is that we cannot give out food in accordance to the number of people living in the home.”

“Currently,” she added, “a family of ten gets the same portions as a family of five, and that’s an issue they could fix with more money as the market grows in popularity. It would be great to be able to provide extra food for the families with lots of folks living in the home,” she said.

But the Joyful Market hasn’t worked everywhere, so Children Incorporated and local volunteer coordinators have branched out with alternative ideas.

“We all know intuitively that children who are hungry when they go to school cannot do their best work while in class,” Kubée said. “Relieving hunger is a vital part of our kids’ ability to develop, grow, learn, and thrive.”

Digging in the Dirt

On the other side of D.C., in Ward 1, the Cardozo Education Campus is a combined middle and high school where Children Incorporated helped create a school garden after the market didn’t work.

One of the problems was that many of the students there are homeless or live in shelters. “Because they can’t cook or prepare food in the shelters, take-home shopping bags full of squash or zucchini didn’t work well for them,” Kubée said.

So volunteers nixed the market, and instead built a school garden.

“When the kids grew their own fresh Roma tomatoes, they were more likely to eat them — especially when they could add basil and oregano that they’ve grown, and put the tomatoes and herbs on a pizza,” she said.

The garden is also being used by the science teachers, so kids get biology lessons from it as well.

“After you try new foods, you and your science teacher can take them apart and dissect them,” she said, noting that they use vegetables to learn about cell structure and functions. “It’s great hands-on learning.”

Across the Country

The school garden is an alternative that Children Incorporated has been using in rural food deserts as well. At the Saint Michaels Association for Special Education in Arizona, the school has built a handicap-accessible garden with paths and plant beds built for easy access by students in wheelchairs.

It’s all part of an overall plan to reduce food deserts and food insecurity nationwide.

“We all know intuitively that children who are hungry when they go to school cannot do their best work while in class,” Kubée said. “Relieving hunger is a vital part of our kids’ ability to develop, grow, learn, and thrive.”

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN Washington, D.C.?

You can sponsor a child in D.C. in one of two ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | December 20, 2016En Español

When the mothers of the CARITAS-Novo Milenio Center presented the community’s children with their signature jumbo-sized birthday cake, they had a lot to celebrate.

This year marked the fifth anniversary of the Grupo Art’Mulher, a group of women who formed a community bakery which sells cookies, breads, handmade pasta — and, of course, cakes!

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Freshly baked cakes by mothers of our sponsored children

Novo Milenio is a poor district outside of Lages, Brazil, a country that simultaneously contains some of the world’s richest culture as well as a disturbingly high level of poverty. The Catholic Church established the CARITAS-Novo Milenio Center to oversee some of the efforts to care for this community at a nuclear-family level, focusing on both child and parent alike.

A priest from the Caritas diocese and a volunteer coordinator keep the place running, with indispensable help from community members.

“The community is very united,” says Andreia Beraldo, International Programs Project Specialist for Children Incorporated. “I could see on my first visit that they’re always working together.” This collaborative spirit is part of the reason Children Incorporated was so interested in getting involved with CARITAS-Novo Milenio in the first place. A willing, creative, and practical community helps spread a program’s reach and deepen its impact.

“The community is very united,” says Andreia Beraldo, International Programs Project Specialist for Children Incorporated. “I could see on my first visit that they’re always working together.”

By early 2016, Children Incorporated had funded a successful tutoring program for the eighty children who attend the center, a vegetable garden project, and (through sponsorships) helped cover the costs of food, clothing, shoes, school supplies, and other necessities.

So when CARITAS-Novo Milenio proposed the idea of a mother-run bakery that would teach business skills and a trade while generating income, Children Incorporated was ready to get on board.

Teach a Parent, Impact a Child

It’s well-known among those who practice social work with Brazil’s children: if you teach skills to parents, you not only benefit their children’s lives, but you also help another generation of Brazilians become more self-sufficient. Of the five projects Children Incorporated supports in Brazil, three of them focus on developing both the parents’ and children’s skills — all with encouraging results.

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The bakery is improving the lives of women economically

But the bakery, which would be called Grupo Art’Mulher (literally, “Women’s Art Group”), would do so much more than just teach these mothers how to bake. The twenty women who became the program’s first participants were taught how to achieve economic solidarity through the manufacturing and sale of baked goods. The plan was to have a teacher instruct the women on baking cookies, breads, and cakes — and how to sell them.

And sell them, they did! Art’Mulher began making a name for itself at the local market, where its cakes, breads, and pasteis were in high demand.

Of that first group of twenty, many did find jobs making food – and they also found themselves returning to participate in center activities.

“Their increased self-esteem was visible,” remembers Maria Aparecida da Fonseca, the center’s volunteer coordinator. “And this is strengthening the Novo Milenio community.” She credits the program and others supported by Children Incorporated at the center for motivating families to tend to their home gardens, make more nutritious food, and even sell some of their produce at farmers’ markets, and increasing their income.

“Their increased self-esteem was visible,” remembers Maria Aparecida da Fonseca, the center’s volunteer coordinator. “And this is strengthening the Novo Milenio community.”

What’s Next for Novo Milenio?

The eight women who currently bake for Art’Mulher will have good news: the community bakery will be funded another year. But CARITAS-Novo Milenio won’t stop there in 2017; their plan is to initiate music and theater courses in a house across the street from the center. The renovation of that house is also in the plan, and the Art’Mulher mothers’ have donated a small percentage of their bakery income to that very project. That extra space would come in handy, giving the center more space to help more children with more activities.

The ladies from Art’Mulher are sharing the recipe for their popular birthday cake for you to try on your next special occasion:

White Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups (215 g) flour

1 1/3 cups (275 g) sugar

1 tbsp + 1 tsp (10 g) baking powder

¼ cup (65 ml) water

6 eggs

1 can dulce de leche

Whipped cream or icing to cover the cake

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a mixer, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, water, and eggs in a bowl for 10 minutes on medium speed.
Pour batter into 8” cake pan.
Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back from the touch – about 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack.
Separate into 2 layers and fill with dulce de leche.
Frost with whipped cream or icing of your choice.

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