Tag Archives: opportunity

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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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN BRAZIL?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | December 13, 2016En Español

For most children, winter is a time of joy as they wait hopefully for snowfall and deep freezes. For those without warm clothes, however, winter is a season of cold and hardship.

That’s a problem volunteers and donors at Children Incorporated have been working to fix for almost 25 years.

Children Incorporated’s Warm Clothing Fund raised $35,000 this year to provide coats, gloves, boots, and other warm clothes to children in need. More than 3,500 children around the United States received items this year, each specifically selected for their own individual needs.

They include children who don’t have sponsors and children whose needs exceed their sponsorship.

“In most cases, we’ve found that the sponsorship funds are stretched to the limit,” said Steve Mitchell, Children Incorporated’s Sponsorship Manager. “Clothes, food, school supplies, and hygiene items – even for our sponsored children, sometimes it’s just not enough. And unfortunately, there aren’t enough sponsors for every child who needs help.”

So where sponsorship leaves off, the Warm Clothing Fund picks up. Any child in need, whether sponsored or not, can get brand-new winter clothing, purchased specifically for them, through the fund.

The fund focuses primarily on the Appalachian Region of Kentucky and West Virginia, the Navajo Reservation in the Midwest, and inner-city areas of urban centers like Detroit, but it includes other communities around the country as well. Children Incorporated also spreads the warmth in its own backyard, providing winter clothing for students in Richmond City Public Schools in Virginia.

“Clothes, food, schools supplies, and hygiene items – even for our sponsored children, sometimes it’s just not enough. And unfortunately, there aren’t enough sponsors for every child who needs help.”

Coming in from the cold

The children’s parents sometimes request help – but usually teachers see the need before anyone even asks. When that happens, the teacher talks to our volunteer coordinator at the school. Volunteer coordinators are school employees, such as guidance counselors or resource coordinators, who work with nonprofits like Children Incorporated to get help for individual children.

“In many cases, the coordinator may meet with the family to talk about the child’s clothing needs,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes the coordinator gets to take the child out shopping to pick out their own items. It’s not always possible, but when they can – talk about making a child’s day!”

In other cases, the coordinator selects and purchases shoes, gloves, a coat or a scarf – sometimes all of them – and gives them to the child. The items are always new, and are individually selected for each child, based on their needs.

New shoes – for the first time

Jefferey Jackson, the coordinator at Blackwell Elementary School in Richmond, told the story of a child who was sent to his office with shoes a size-and-a-half too small. He called Mitchell at Children Incorporated, and Mitchell told him to use Warm Clothing Fund money to buy the boy a new pair of shoes in his size.

“This young man was extremely pleased when presented with his new shoes. He accepted them with a pledge to always keep them tied properly,” Jackson said. “Not long after our exchange, he returned to my office with a letter of gratitude. In this letter, spotted with tears, he confessed that this was the first time that he has had a brand new pair of shoes that were not handed down from another source.”

Zero degrees at the bus stop

In the colder parts of the country, the need becomes even more acute.

Debbie Fluty, assistant coordinator at Sheldon Clark High School in Kentucky, said the Warm Clothing Fund provides boots, coats, and socks for students in life-threatening cold.

“Some have to walk out of mountain hollows to catch the bus because buses cannot get to them. They have to stand in zero degree weather at the bus stops,” she said.

And many parents won’t send their children out into the cold without proper clothes, so when the temperature drops, students don’t come to school at all, said Mary Valenza, coordinator at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School in Richmond.

Children Incorporated works to help as many children as we can by providing warm clothing during cold winter months.

“We know that chronic absences lead to poor grades, and poor grades often result in a student being retained,” she said, noting that having a reliable source for coats, hats, gloves, and scarves has made a difference in attendance.

Problem solvers

“The Warm Clothing Fund has been successfully solving that problem for more than two decades, because it’s the kind of situation that really resonates with Children Incorporated donors,” said Mitchell.

“There’s an immediate remedy,” he said, explaining why the fund has been so successful for so long. “A child is cold – they need a coat. It’s something they can wrap their minds around. They think, ‘I can do this.’”

“They can also see the results for themselves”, he said,” since volunteer coordinators send pictures of children showing off their new winter clothing. And since a child’s coat is affordable for most donors, it’s a clear, easy, commitment-free way they can solve a problem quickly.”

“The volunteer coordinators are the ones who know the children best, and who know what each one needs the most- what we provide just depends on the needs of the children,” Mitchell said. “We’re just here to help as best as we can.”

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How can I donate to the Warm Clothing Fund?

You can donate by calling our office and speaking with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381 or by emailing us at sponsorship@children-inc.org. Also, you can make a donation through our donation portal online.

Ron Carter | December 7, 2016En Español

It’s not every day that a small nonprofit—even one that’s been around as long as Children Incorporated—finds out that they’re receiving a donation of $1.75 million.

Thousands of children will benefit from Mr. Foy’s donation.

I suppose that’s why I remember the day so well. We had been saddened in 2015 to hear of the death of Mr. Glenn Foy, an engineering innovator and adventurous spirit who had passed away at such a young age — just 59 years old — in a private plane accident. I had spoken to him only once, a few months before his death, and remembered him as a kind soul, committed to what we do, and a regular sponsor over the last decade. It wasn’t unusual for Children Incorporated to receive a bequest, although most tend to come from sponsors who have a much longer history with our organization.

Mr. Foy’s law firm informed us that we’d be receiving 28 percent of his estate to help children however we saw fit, which certainly made my eyes widen. It seemed like a large percentage for such a relatively recent donor.

The magnitude of Mr. Foy’s generosity has allowed us to go to new places, accomplish much, and impact the lives of not just children in need, but their families, their communities, and in some cases, generations to come.

But on the day we learned how that 28 percent translated into real dollars — 1.75 million of them to be exact— I was struck truly speechless.

Glenn Foy was an adventure-seeker, a cycling enthusiast, an aviator, a lover of life. His annual contributions impacted the lives of eight children over several years, but he was quietly generous, preferring not to receive attention for his philanthropy. His supportive family, I hope, will indulge me the attention I want to give to him now.

The magnitude of Mr. Foy’s generosity has allowed us to go to new places, accomplish much, and impact the lives of not just children in need, but also their families, their communities, and in some cases, generations to come.

Our Hope In Action Fund is, essentially, money set aside to use in tackling an ever-growing list of programs to support, centers to build or improve, and projects to get off the ground. We chip away at it, sometimes even making great strides; but this year, we turned so much of that hope into impactful, measurable action.

Glenn Foy’s Legacy in Action

Pinagpala Center, Philippines

Because of Mr. Foy’s gift, we were able to construct a two-classroom daycare center in Tagaytay City, Philippines. Mothers in this struggling area now have a safe place to leave their children as they seek employment or go to work. Every day, you can find children learning and playing at Pinagpala Center, which also provides a nourishing feeding program to improve the health of each child.

Marching Band and Classrooms at Juan Apostol, Guatemala

Children in Guatemala will benefit from new musical instruments.

School and community leaders in Guatemala City have come up with a unique way to encourage student participation in school—the Juan Apostol Marching Band. This band’s talents have become known throughout the country, and playing in the band has become the goal for so many students, which, in turn, encourages students to apply themselves academically (you have to show an “A” grade average before you are eligible to participate; Mr. Foy’s gift allowed us to purchase instruments for the band). At the same school, we also built two new classrooms.

Fruit and Vegetable Garden Program, Ethiopia

Multiple generations will benefit from the produce-bearing garden at Kids Hope–Ethiopia. The community surrounding the center is desperate for agricultural knowledge and supplies. Not only will this garden provide food for the children who attend Kids Hope, but it will also serve as a learning experience for the community.

Biofuel Plant, Kenya

This year, we were able to build a biofuel plant at Maria Immaculata school in Nairobi. Biofuel means energy taken from burning the gases emitted from organic matter – in this case, cow manure. It sounds unpalatable, but these enterprising Sisters figured out a way to keep their costs lowered and introduce more sustainable solutions. And we were there to help.

Dandora Medical Clinic, Kenya

The Dandora Community Center holds a special place in our hearts, and renovating their medical clinic helped the center make huge gains in Nairobi. Attendance is booming, which means healthier children and healthier families. Healthy kids spend more time in school, which leads to better-educated generations, which leads to a brighter future for the whole community.

Water Purification Plant, Kenya

At St. Nicholas School in Msamaria, Mr. Foy’s gift allowed us to move forward with plans to repair a water purification plant. The school’s commitment to self-sustainability keeps costs low while teaching children valuable life skills.

Student Attendance Program, Kentucky

Students in Kentucky will benefit from Mr. Foy’s donation.

At Martha Jane Potter Elementary School, one volunteer coordinator hit upon an idea for a motivational program that would help encourage attendance. Until that point, attendance had been sporadic at best, particularly during standardized testing. We funded the program, the experiment worked, and we expect the school to try it again next year.

College/Career Awareness Program, Kentucky

Rural Kentucky has a tough time in their struggle with poverty, and we find a lot of the same problems in our country’s rural poor areas as we do abroad. Children without resources, struggling their best to survive, when just orienting them towards other futures often makes a lasting impact. We helped a coordinator at Carr Creek Elementary School establish a program that exposes children to various careers, takes them on tours of community colleges, and even helps their parents with career readiness.

After-School Program, New Orleans

The Encore Academy wanted a way to increase its students’ academic success and social and emotional well-being, and they found it through homework assistance and enrichment activities including computer coding and expressive writing. We proudly funded this program, which also includes gifts of clothing-and now thirty participants are benefiting from it. Gifts of books for the school library extend the program’s impact to the entire student body.

Disaster Relief, Baton Rouge

We’d planned to work on a project at Friendship Capitol Academy, but when the floods struck this summer, we shifted our focus to disaster relief. Approximately forty children in grades nine through twelve received practical assistance (clothing, food, cleaning supplies, and hygiene items), as well as support, comfort, and motivation to attend school, despite the upheaval of the world that surrounds them.

Kindergarten “Boys Club,” Washington, D.C.

At Lucy Ellen Moten School, a coordinator noticed that kindergarten-aged boys were having trouble adjusting to the routine and the structure of a school day. What’s more, they tended to take their overwhelming feelings out by pushing, hitting, or biting. Early intervention was identified as the key to helping these boys express themselves more healthily.

Making your Own Legacy

Glenn Foy had never seen our Hope In Action Fund list, yet he chose to leave such a substantial amount to an organization he believed in. Why? How could he have known what an impact his gift would make?

We may never know the answer, but I’d guess that it’s because Mr. Foy witnessed the power of much smaller sums. And I’d guess this because I hear it from our sponsors all the time. They love how connected they feel with their sponsored children, and they know they can trust us to address specific and individualized needs for each and every child. It’s that relationship that keeps our donors engaged for lifetimes (there really is a rather extraordinary number of sponsors who have been with us since Children Incorporated began in 1964!).

They love how connected they feel with a child, and they know they can trust us to address specific and individualized needs for that child.

This year, we’ve launched our On the Road series to show the impact of your contributions to the lives of the children we serve around the world. The dispatches are often inspiring; other times, they convey the honest exhaustion and discouragement that come from the burden of poverty. But time and time again, they always find hope.

In this season of gratitude, we urge you to take a few minutes to think about your legacy. Do you have a plan to make what you’ve earned throughout your life count long after you’re gone?

Whether you make arrangements to have the children you sponsor supported until adulthood or whether you’re more interested in donating a lump sum to support our chosen programs the way Glenn Foy did—no gesture goes unnoticed and no effort goes unused.

We approach each new year with hope. In 2016, we were able to turn an unprecedented amount of hope into action. One man’s decision made that possible for children in so many countries around the world. At every level, we’re counting on the continuing generosity of all of our sponsors and donors to keep that momentum going in the years ahead.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD THROUGH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can sponsor a child with 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 sponsorship@children-inc.org, or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | November 30, 2016En Español

Let’s get right to it: We would be nowhere without your support. Sponsors make it possible for Children Incorporated to help hundreds of thousands of children around the globe rise above poverty.

Kids like Abel, the tenth grader that I and Luis Bourdet visited last June in Ethiopia, depend on sponsors for supplies and flourish because they know someone out there cares about them. Abel is in the top five of his class!

Sabrina holding a picture of Abel

We contacted Abel’s longtime sponsor, Sabrina Timperman, about her connection to Children Incorporated and her relationship with this rising star. Timperman is a veterinarian and lives in Manhasset, NY.

Q and A with Children Incorporated

CI: Why did you get involved with Children Incorporated?

ST: When I was a little kid, I remember watching commercials on Saturday mornings about sponsoring a child. I’d always tell my mom I really wanted to sponsor a child, but we never did. Still, the commercials stuck with me. I decided as soon as I was able, I would do it- and I did. I signed up in 2007 when Abel was very young. I always wanted children but never had any myself. Instead, I saw an opportunity to help a child in need.

CI: Did you specify specific characteristics of the child you wanted to sponsor (age, gender, country) or was Abel assigned to you without specifications?

ST: I was assigned Abel at random. I searched online for Children Incorporated and signed right up. I’ve never looked back.

I searched online for Children Incorporated and signed right up. I’ve never looked back.

CI: It’s been almost ten years-what have you learned about Abel?

ST: Abel is 16 and in the tenth grade. He loves math and wants to be an engineer someday. He’s very smart and could go far if given the opportunity. He lives with his sister and mother in a government-owned house in the slums that costs about $35 a month to rent. His mother supports the family by selling small, plastic housewares and dishes on the street.

CI: What do you know about the slum where Abel lives?

ST: Someone in his family is sick, and I know that some of the things that I send are making a big difference. I hope it helps him survive in a world that is very harsh. They don’t have a lot. The money is providing him with food, clothes, books, and school.

CI: Do you communicate with him directly?

Abel’s school photo as a young boy

ST: Yes! He writes letters to me in English. His letters are short, but I cherish them. Abel tells me which sports he likes, like basketball. He has a sister; someone in his family is sick but not sure whom. I’ve always wished we’d had been able to contact each other more. I know he goes to school and studies hard.

CI: What do you wish for Abel?

ST: I have this vision that in 30 years from now when he is an adult, one time before I die, I would love to see him. It is so interesting to be with someone for so long having never met them. I’ve watched him grow up. I have his pictures in my room of him getting bigger and bigger. I hope I have given him a chance at a better life.

CI: What advice would you have for someone who is reading about you and Abel, and is considering sponsorship?

ST: I think that it is extremely rewarding; it is money well spent. I could go buy myself a latte, but this small amount of money is changing someone’s life, and it is the difference between that child eating or not- and we all have to do our part in making others lives better and this is a meaningful way to do that. You walk away going, “I changed someone’s life today, and I helped give them something that they wouldn’t be able to get in another way”. The money is helping to make a difference and that is important even if you don’t ever meet the child. It’s a little money for all of us, but if we put it together, then we can be impactful and make a really big difference. And hopefully, they can be sustainable and more self-sufficient in a way and they can continue to succeed and move forward.

Meet Abel

“Hi, my name is Abel. I am in the tenth grade. My favorite subject in school is physics. My teacher describes me as active, sociable, and an excellent student. I enjoy reading and playing soccer. I live with my mother and sister. I live in a small, old rented room that has no running water or indoor plumbing. When I grow up I want to be an engineer. Sponsorship is important to me because it helps with my school fees and other expenses so that I can attend school regularly without a problem.”

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN ETHIOPIA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | November 22, 2016En Español

In the eight months since we first launched our On the Road series, Luis and I have traveled some 20,000 miles around the globe visiting the families and communities your contributions support.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we thought we’d share some of our favorite food samplings from around the world.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to report on the impact sponsorship has on the children we serve. We’ve met some pretty amazing people along the way, many of whom have welcomed us into their homes to break bread.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we thought we’d share some of our favorite food samplings from around the world.

Salteñas (Bolivia)

If you travel to Bolivia, save room for lunch! Luis and I ate so well with the Sisters while we were there that most days we skipped dinner altogether.

We got to try some of the children’s favorites: majadito (rice cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices, and served with fried eggs and yucca or plantains), mondongo (marinated pork, served with boiled corn and potatoes), and pique macho (cubed beef, sliced hot dogs, and stir-fried vegetables cooked in local spices and served over French-fried potatoes).

And of course, Salteñas!

A Salteña is the Bolivian version of an empanada. Filled with meat, potatoes, peas and more, this delicious pastry is a great mid-morning snack. Deliciosa!

Injera (Ethiopia)

Ethiopian food means injera, a spongy pancake-like flatbread made from teff, wheat, barley, corn, and/or rice flour. A fundamental part of every Ethiopian meal, it is often eaten with meat stews and cooked greens. Luis and I make a habit of trying out the traditional cuisine on each of our trips — and, in Ethiopia, that included visiting a restaurant that offered traditional dancing as well as dinner.

Dishes come served on large platters to share, brimming with lentils, kale, and spicy tomato stew. The flavors are delicious, and better yet, Ethiopians use the injera to scoop up the food — no utensils required!

Tortillas (Mexico)

Luis and I mainly ate tacos while in Mexico. The variety of fresh and flavorful ingredients is astounding. My favorite part of Mexican dishes: they all seem to come with fresh limes for extra flavor, although dishes are usually already full of flavor. Rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa are served with every meal, and tortillas are plentiful, brought to you in a round tortilla warmer that looks like an oven mitt to keep your tortillas warm as you eat your meal.

Sorghum (Kentucky)

Driving through Kentucky, it’s easy to find mainstays like pizza, fried chicken, spaghetti, biscuits and gravy, and chicken and dumplings. Last summer, we had the opportunity to stop by a local farm with one of our volunteer coordinators and meet a farmer who makes sorghum, a sweet syrup akin to molasses. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried sorghum on your biscuits. Yum!

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD THROUGH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | November 2, 2016En Español

The city of Guadalajara has a lot of things going for it — it’s considered the home of mariachi music, the historical area’s plazas and museums are sought-after by tourists, and overall, it’s considered to be the cultural capital of the Americas. With the surrounding areas considered, the population exceeds four million, making it the second most populated area after Mexico City.

In 1986, a priest named Father Ramon Aguirre decided to start a home for children whose parents were serving time in prison. In a large city like Guadalajara, you can’t really avoid pockets of poverty or the crime that comes with it. Father Ramon Aguirre felt that it was important to help siblings stay together while their parents were away — this way, the families could remain families, rather than the children being turned out into the streets, which happened often during that time.

Resources are currently an issue—La Luz is currently only at half capacity. None of their support comes from the government, since none of the kids were brought to the home by the government.

Stability Five Days a Week

La Luz Home is run now by Sister Nellie, who picked us up from the bus station with Allie, a full-time social worker at La Luz. We ate lunch together after we arrived, and the two told us more about the specific situation at the home, which is a little different from the ones we’ve seen so far.

The boys and girls at the home, for one, go to public schools during the week but are cared for by the sisters in the afternoons. All of them go home on the weekends, which is certainly a change from the other schools. Sometimes that means going home to their mother because their father is incarcerated; sometimes that means going to the home of a relative if one or both of the parents are out of the picture (from time to time, both are incarcerated).

Not only does the structure of the school keep the children sticking to a routine, but it also keeps the sisters from having to find the resources to house the children over the weekend. Resources are currently an issue — La Luz is currently at only half-capacity. None of their support comes from the government, since none of the kids were brought to the home by the government.

The sisters find the children through their work within prisons as they help incarcerated individuals find spiritual peace. In doing so, they learn about the prisoners’ children and their current living situations and agree to help out the prisoners’ families.

The children of incarcerated parents are brought here, where dormitories surround a large playground. The dorms are separated by gender, and the 24 children range from age three to thirteen. There’s a psychologist on staff who helps the children with the transition, and Allie, who works closely with the children. Together, those two decide whether or not the child should be reestablished permanently with the family once the parent(s) are out of jail.

The family of some of our sponsored children

These children might be kept in a stable place with their siblings — unusual in itself. But their home lives are the most upsetting of any of the kids we’ve seen so far on this visit. If their environments weren’t poverty-stricken, they were probably abusive, unstable, and inconsistent. Most of the crimes committed in this case are robberies, and the legal system takes a long time to work. No one’s ever sure exactly when they’re going to see their parents again.

But here at La Luz, they don’t have to worry about that, at least not right now during our lunch. The children have had a dance instructor lately, and they perform for us as a way to thank us for visiting. As it’s Friday, their mothers and grandmothers start to arrive to pick them up for the weekend, and I love watching their faces light up as they spot their moms waiting. Some of them are so excited to see their family member that they get distracted and forget to dance.

After the School Week Ends

The next morning, we begin home visits with Sister Nellie. They’re our first since we’ve arrived in Mexico, as the other homes we visited housed children full-time. I’m anxious about what to expect.

Guadalajara is very modern on the surface, but as soon as you turn down a side street, the roads are unpaved, the houses get tiny, and security weakens (the more affluent areas of town have gates to protect against crime). The first home we visit is that of a mother with five children, three of whom stay at home during the week. Their father is incarcerated, and the whole family stays in a portion of their uncle’s home.

We can see into the home through a window. It’s got a dirt floor, a small kitchen — it seems far too small for six people. Sister Nellie knocks on the metal door, but no one answers.

I’m relieved that the grandmother’s house is nice and clean and she seems like an able caretaker, but I’m even more relieved that the children can go to La Luz and have their minds engaged during the week.

Everyone’s confused because the visit had been scheduled in advance. Sister Nellie asks a neighbor, and they suggest checking at a house up the street, as sometimes the kids will go there when the mother has to work cleaning houses. They’re not there, either. It feels so strange to go searching this street for these children, but Sister Nellie isn’t worried. She explains that this kind of thing is pretty normal, in that the children’s routines are anything but. Their lives change from moment to moment.

We find two of the children at their grandmother’s house, watching TV. These are just two of her twenty total grandkids. She rents the house currently, but her daughter intends to find a place for her and the children once the children’s father is out of jail. They’ll likely watch TV all weekend, while the older children wander the nearby streets and the very youngest child sticks close by the mother as she cleans the homes. I’m relieved that the grandmother’s house is nice and clean and she seems like a capable caretaker, but I’m even more relieved that the children can go to La Luz and have their minds engaged during the week.

The next home visit is largely the same situation — five children, a dad in jail, and a TV on. Two other relatives live there as well, bringing the total to eight people, with six sleeping on three couches and one bed in the living room. When we talk to the children, they say they love going to La Luz, and that there’s nothing for them to do when they’re at home, even though we’ve seen how excited the kids are to see their mother.

Hearing that from the kids is bittersweet. We’re so glad that we can be part of a program that is clearly making a difference in the kids’ lives, and it’s so refreshing that they can still see their parents sometimes, but the idea of them sitting in the dark and watching television all weekend is dispiriting.

There’s a light in that darkness, though, beyond the pleasure they get from seeing their parent or guardian. The youngest child in this family, Fernando, gets packages from his Children Incorporated sponsor every month, including clothes, shoes, and toys. He doesn’t write much in school, but he’s gotten very good at drawing and coloring, each month making a special picture for his sponsor.

While finances are always on the minds of the households we visit, La Luz is especially concerned with resources right now. Some support comes from the La Luz Children’s Hospital next door, but much of it comes from Children Incorporated, which helps furnish clothes, school supplies, and food. The home could be housing as many as 48, but the money just isn’t available, despite the clear need in the community.

After lunch, we head back to our hotel as I try to wrap my brain around what life is like for these kids. I’m not sure they’re old enough to really process what it means for their families that one or both of their parents are in jail, or how their lives could really change at any minute. That’s why it’s so nice to see them getting some consistency and support at La Luz, even though it’s only during the week.

I focus on how happy the children were as soon as they saw their mothers’ and grandmothers’ waiting faces. Father Ramon Aguirre was right to try to keep families together, while at the same time giving these kids some structure, with which they seem to thrive.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN MEXICO?

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

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