Tag Archives: opportunity

Shelley Callahan |

In 2017, I brought water filters with me to visit our affiliated sites in India and Sri Lanka, thanks to our partnership with the nonprofit organization, Wine to Water. Wine to Water is based out of Boone, North Carolina, and works to provide clean water solutions to some of the more than 2 billion people globally who lack access to a safe water drinking source. The water filters, which I distributed to our volunteer coordinators along with instructions for use, can last for up to 10 years when maintained properly.

The water filters, which I distributed to our volunteer coordinators along with instructions for use, can last for up to 10 years when maintained properly.

Supporting communities in crisis

I have since stayed in touch with Wine to Water, following their international relief efforts, as well as their work in the United States to help communities in crisis — more recently having sent teams to Ukraine and Jackson, Mississippi in 2022.

When I found out I would be visiting the Philippines in early 2023, I spoke with our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, to see if he thought I should once again request filters from Wine to Water for my trip. He asked our volunteer coordinators on my behalf, and they all agreed that yes, they would love to have water filters at our affiliated sites for the children to use for drinking and handwashing. Knowing I could get everything I needed to set up the filters once I arrived in the Philippines, I didn’t ask many more questions of our coordinators as I otherwise prepared for my departure, adding 20 water filters to my packing list.

The water filter is attached to the container on the counter and the clean water flows down to the container on the ground.

Both Joy at the Fortune Center in Manila and Nilo at the Pinagpala Center in Tagaytay were very excited to receive the filters and learn how they worked — by simply attaching them to a bucket, the filter works on gravity alone, and can filter out 99.999% of bacteria and microbes from unfiltered water, making it safe to drink even from dirty rivers or contaminated water sources. I was delighted that they thought the technology was as interesting as I found it to be, and so easy to use, which made it ideal for distributing to anyone willing to keep the filter clean and away from anything that could damage it.

A need for new filters

When I traveled to Tacloban City to meet with our volunteer coordinator, WimWim, from the Visayans Center, or VFV, I mentioned to her that I had the water filters with me, and she suggested that I bring them to the Santo Nino Center in a few days for our scheduled visit. There, she explained, they had a water tank for collecting water, but the water filters they had been using were getting older, and she was ready to replace them as well as add some additional ones.

When we arrived at the Santo Nino Center to prepare for the daily feeding program, I walked into the small one room building, and my eye was immediately drawn to a water storage container sitting on the kitchen counter. Attached to the container was the same exact water filter that I had brought with me — water filters that WimWim had yet to see because they were still in my book bag that I was wearing.

10 years after Yolanda

I excitedly told WimWim that I thought it was so strange that they had the exact same water filter already — although not an obscure product, still one I was very surprised to see. WimWim casually looked over at the filter, and said, “We received those from Wine to Water in 2013 after the Typhoon when they were here helping with the recovery efforts.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I responded slowly, so as to make sure no detail would be missed. “WimWim, did you know that the water filters I brought are also from Wine to Water?” She looked at me and shook her head, and we both started to laugh. What an amazing coincidence, I thought to myself.

I started asking WimWim a million questions about their work with Wine to Water ten years ago — how did they find out about VFV? Wine to Water had reached out. How many people from Wine to Water came to Tacloban? Two people from the organization visited at two different times in a two-year period. How many years have they been using the water filters? Between 5 and 10 years, depending on the filter. Did Wine to Water help in any other way? Yes, they dug a well, built the rainwater collection tank at the Santo Nino Center and at the Cancumbang Center, and provided enough filters for all three of the VFV centers to have clean water for a decade.

After switching out some of the older water filters with the ones I brought with me, we went about our visit to the center, meeting the children and their parents. When we returned to the VFV office later that day, I noticed two water filters in the kitchen that I had noticed only the day before — the following day, I got to see more filters in use at the Cancumbang Center. Just as I was, WimWim was grateful for the serendipitous nature of what had occurred. Almost exactly 10 years after Wine to Water had been in Tacloban to bring filters to the community, I had returned with new filters without even knowing ahead of time just how much it was needed.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan |

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our May 2023 Impact Report as a way to say “thank you” to all our supporters who make our work possible.

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

YOUR IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD

Just in this past month, our donors have:

Thanks to you, children and their families have received support this past month, often helping them in times of crisis.

– Provided funds for a month’s supply of menstrual hygiene items for 25 girls at the Santa Isabel Ana Seton School in Guatemala

– Provided funds for children at Sparta Elementary School in North Carolina to participate in a field trip to Letterland at Tweetsie Railroad

– Provided funds to purchase backpacks and school supplies for students at Belfry High School in Kentucky

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

– Provided funds to purchase classroom supplies and backpacks for students at Lake View/Desert View Elementary School in Arizona

– Provided funds to purchase meals for a month for 25 students at the Fortune’s Children Center in the Philippines

– Provided funds for eighth graders at Sparta Elementary School to participate in an educational field trip to the Outer Banks

– Provided funds to provide meals for a month for 200 students at the St. John’s Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds to purchase meals for a month for students at Kids Hope Ethiopia in Ethiopia

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

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HOW do I MAKE A DONATION TO CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

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

DONATE

Children Incorporated |

In Africa, children living in poverty often face huge hurdles when it comes to getting an education. Often, particularly in the areas where Children Incorporated works in Africa, attending school requires fees for teacher salaries, uniforms, books, school lunches and even the use of a desk. For families who already struggle to make ends meet, sending children to school is often not an option. Even if parents can afford the school fees, impoverished households often do not allow for study time due to lack of electricity, crowded conditions in the home, or the need for children to work after school to help support their families. Children might not have enough food to eat at home, therefore going to school hungry and ill-prepared for the learning.

Our sponsors and donors provide basic necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, and educational support to children living in poverty.

Shelley Callahan, Children Incorporated’s Director of Development, says, “What I have seen through my work with Children Incorporated, is that in Kenya and Ethiopia, families have a lot of difficulty choosing between sending their children to school and paying for housing and bills, because they can’t afford to do both. Our support is desperately needed to educate youth living in poverty in these countries, and that can be accomplished directly through sponsorship.”

 Facts about Childhood Poverty in Africa

  • The poverty rate in East Africa hovers around 40%, making it difficult for families to afford school fees
  • According to the World Bank, more than one-fifth of primary age children are not attending school
  • Girls are more likely than boys to stay out of school due to household responsibilities, menstruation, or because the family does not think it is important for a girl to be educated

WHAT CHILDREN INCORPORATED DOES TO SUPPORT CHILDREN’S EDUCATION

Children Incorporated provides resources to children in Africa through our sponsorship program because we passionately believe that children everywhere deserve education, hope, and opportunity. Our sponsors and donors provide basic necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, and educational support to children living in poverty. These essentials are vital to a child’s growth and ability to attend school and succeed.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can help a child living in Africa receive an education by becoming a sponsor today. Sponsorship provides an underprivileged child with basic and education-related necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, school supplies, and school tuition payments. This vital support allows impoverished, vulnerable children to develop to their full potential – physically, emotionally, and socially. Sponsors positively impact the lives of the children they sponsor through the simple knowledge that someone cares about their well-being. This gives children in need hope, which is powerful.

Our policy has always been to consider the needs of each sponsored child on an individual basis. We work closely with our volunteer coordinators at our affiliated sites, who are familiar with each individual circumstance and the needs of every child in their care. Our on-site volunteer coordinators use sponsorship donations to purchase basic and education-related items for children in our program, to ensure that they have what they need to do their very best and succeed in school.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD WITH 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 | En Español

After spending the morning with Ester and WimWim, our volunteer coordinators at the Volunteer for the Visayans, it was time to get ready for the monthly distribution of supplies to the children in our program at the first of three affiliated sites in the Philippines I would be visiting during my time in Tacloban.

Located in the neighborhood of Bliss, VFV runs all of its citywide programs out of the same building where families also come to receive basic needs on a monthly basis.

We didn’t spend long traveling to the first site — in fact, all we had to do is walk downstairs from the office to the first floor of the building, and we had arrived! Located in the neighborhood of Bliss, VFV runs all of its citywide programs out of the same building where families also come to receive basic needs on a monthly basis and children come for the afternoon feeding program and tutoring support. The center also serves as the location where the volunteers with VFV come every morning to receive their assignments which include shopping for food, preparing meals, and helping feed the children each week.

Getting ready for distribution

Although the first floor of the center consists of only three small rooms — a front common area, a dining room, and a small kitchen — the space has been used very efficiently. Shelves lined the walls that were stocked with books, clothes, bags of rice, canned goods and other donations from the community. WimWim even showed me drawers filled with school supplies that had been built underneath the stairs to maximize storage, something I found to be so neat and creative.

Monthly distributions at the Bliss Center help ensure children and their families have basic necessities.

As other staff members started to arrive just shortly before 2 pm, the energy on the first floor started to rise quickly. It was obvious everyone was well-trained in the process of the distributions and each person had their own tasks to perform. Ester began opening rice bags and unpacking boxes of soaps and nonperishable food items along folding tables near the front windows of the building. WimWim and another staff member took folding chairs outside and lined them along the narrow sidewalk. A tarp was tethered to the outside of the building, as locals always anticipated the possibility of rain.

Other staff went over spreadsheets that had been prepared with the name of each sponsored child and the list of items they would be receiving — everyone receives the same items and an equal amount each month, but VFV still keeps meticulous records on each individual child.

To increase the feeling of investment in the program for the families involved, it was expected that they bring their own reusable bags for rice, which had been made by VFV staff out of old vinyl and denim, as well as the egg crates they received during the last distribution to be refilled.

WimWim explained the importance of the structure that VFV has established over the many years they had been working in the community. WimWim herself has worked with the organization since 2005 — the same year the center opened in Bliss. She said they have had to learn a lot from trial and error about how to best support the community.

Even though life was tough for many families, struggling day to day to make ends meet, it truly did feel that all of them had found some bliss in this community.

She, having grown up in the area and currently living in the neighborhood herself with her husband and children, was very aware of how many families were living in poverty and really needed the help. But, she explained that, at the same time, she felt that when families don’t feel a connection with the center, then they don’t always remain consistent with participation, and that would cause issues.

The importance of sponsors

Sponsorship, as WimWim described, has always been a valuable means of keeping families involved with the center and making them feel a part of what VFV is doing to help. She said that not only do the sponsors ensure that the children have supplies on a regular basis, but it reminds them that someone cares about them, and that is powerful in showing families that there are ways out of the poverty in which they live. Additionally, thanks to VFV, families in Bliss can make a little extra income by offering to host their volunteers for a few weeks or a month at a time as a part of the center’s immersion program, which really increases their desire to be involved.

About 30 minutes after the staff started setting up, the children and the parents started to arrive, seating themselves outside, waiting patiently to be called into the center one at a time by Ester. I started to see how valuable it was for VFV to have this system in place — with more than 50 children to provide for in one afternoon, it took 2 ½ hours to get everyone their supplies, which would have taken so much longer if not for the process already in place.

Watching this well-oiled machine at work was a delight, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, as parents chatted with one another while waiting their turn, and children played with one another outside the center. Even though life was tough for many families, struggling day to day to make ends meet, it truly did feel that all of them had found some bliss in this community.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Ron Carter |

It is hard to believe that 2023 is the 20th anniversary of my time at Children Incorporated – ten of which I have been blessed to lead the organization as our CEO and President.

I would love to ask that you consider helping me reach a goal of getting 20 children sponsored to celebrate 20 years of my time with Children Incorporated.

During my time with this incredible organization, I have been very blessed to work with some absolutely inspiring people and to be afforded many wonderful opportunities for personal growth. Children Incorporated has changed a lot over these last twenty years, and it continues to morph and rearrange as we adapt to the changing trends and interests of our wonderful and generous donors.

I am grateful beyond measure to work in a setting like Children Incorporated. I am surrounded by people whose passion is to change and better the lives of children and young adults, and I am personally seeing the good that we are able to do each and every day. I believe that we each have a responsibility to try and make our world a bit better.

To mark my time here, I would love to ask that you consider helping me reach a goal of getting 20 children sponsored to celebrate 20 years of my time with Children Incorporated.

I am truly thankful for Children Incorporated, and I thank each of you for your part in its continuing success!

From the heart,

Ronald H. Carter

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Our volunteer coordinator, WimWim, picked me up early the morning after I arrived in Tacloban to take me to the Volunteer for the Visayans main office, located a short distance from the downtown area in a neighborhood called Bliss.

Before I knew it, we made one last turn and arrived at the VFV office, which faced a large basketball court and playground for the children in the community, surrounded by two story, modest concrete block homes.

When we arrived, we parked along the cobblestone road, right next to a few small shops selling candy, snacks and household items. Across the street was a large entry way with Volunteer for the Visayans written across it, where a few of the locals stood chatting, smiling and waving to WimWim as we made our way past them to enter the neighborhood.

Although the VFV sign was posted on the main entrance of Bliss, the office isn’t located close to the road. As we walked narrow sidewalks with small homes on each side, turning left and right and left again, I realized I would easily get lost here if I weren’t following WimWim, as the walkways started to look the same and my sense of direction dissipated.

But, before I knew it, we made one last turn and arrived at the VFV office, which faced a large basketball court and playground for the children in the community, surrounded by two story, modest concrete block homes.

I followed WimWim inside the building, and we made our way up to the second floor where she had prepared a presentation for me about the work of VFV in Tacloban to explain how she and other VFV employees were implementing our sponsorship program, which provides for more than 150 children living in poverty all around the city and countryside.

ABOUT VFV

VFV has a long history in Tacloban, going back to the 1990s, when, according to their website, “U.S. volunteers from Jacksonville University, Florida, led by Troy Peden, traveled to the Philippines in order to volunteer on a project known as Building Hope, which was the original precursor to Volunteer for the Visayans. The volunteers participated in a number of community development and social welfare projects, including the renovation and repair of Sagkahan National High School which had been damaged by a recent typhoon.”

VFV runs a very successful volunteer program in which nearly 200 volunteers from all over the world come to the center each year, live with host families, and help support the center’s efforts in the community.

“During their visits, Peden and his volunteers set foundations for the future by working closely with the Tacloban City Social Welfare and Development Office, building trust and creating a model which would serve as VFV’s underlying structure for years to come.”

“The volunteers continued to return on their own each year, and in 2004 were instrumental in establishing Volunteer for the Visayans as a non-profit organization. With support from the GoAbroad Foundation, Troy Peden provided a gateway of financial support which slowly enabled VFV to develop the resources needed to become a successful on-ground NGO. With every year that passed, VFV strived to reach out and improve the lives of communities and individuals in a manner that was responsible and sustainable; this led to a number of projects developing under VFV’s core programs.”

Volunteers from around the world

WimWim (left) is pictured with another VFV staff member. They are showing me how they keep the records of each sponsored child organized in the VFV office.

As I watched the slide show that WimWim had created to explain the work of VFV, I found myself enthralled with the organization and just how much they were doing for children and families — in large part thanks to our donors. In addition to supporting children with basic needs, they also implemented weekly feeding programs, offered tutoring sessions and computer classes for students, arranged medical care support, and helped students apply for higher education upon graduation.

Furthermore, VFV runs a very successful volunteer program in which nearly 200 volunteers from all over the world come to the center each year, live with host families, and help support the center’s efforts in the community. As WimWim explained, the volunteers are responsible for all the shopping for the supplies for the children, all the food preparation and clean up for the feeding programs, and help tutor and play games with the kids as well.

After hearing about this amazing organization, and all the work they were doing in Tacloban, I couldn’t wait to spend the next four days visiting the three affiliated sites we support in conjunction with VFV – the Visayans Community Center at Bliss, the Santo Nino Center, and the Cancumbang Center. And now that I had heard more about how they operated, I could see why VFV is able to support so many children in need.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD