Tag Archives: sponsor children

Shelley Callahan | September 1, 2016En Español

Eastern Kentucky is a hotbed of hand-me-downs. We do a lot of work in the region, and this time, we’re here to drop off school supplies and check on the children as they begin the new school year. The thing I’ve noticed most is that children here have nothing new – unless it’s something we just handed them.

When you’re handing out school supplies to children whose parents couldn’t provide them, there are a lot of difficult moments, as well as poignant ones. As they come to the resource centers to collect their things, it’s the children’s clothing that jumps out from a distance. Pants are too short, shoes are too tight, hems are frayed and holes are apparent – they’re wearing clothes they’ve outgrown that have clearly been handed down one too many times already.

Finding style on a budget of $0

But they’re trying hard. Children with too-short jeans and missing buttons have obviously spent time and effort styling their hair just right, and they’ve got all the mannerisms and body language of their peers on TV. They’re doing their best to be normal, cool and style-conscious even when there’s no one at home to help them do it.

But all of that cool falls apart in the face of a new backpack.

The three sisters

At one of our affiliate elementary schools, volunteer coordinator, Kim, introduced us to three sisters who live with their father. Becky and Amber are 10-year-old twins, and Jordan is 8 years old. Their father hadn’t provided any school supplies, so Kim showed them to her supply closet, which she’s stocked with items from Children Incorporated and a few local donors.

Becky trying to decide which bookbag she wants to take

Inside the closet, the girls were overwhelmed. It’s not that there was so much — it’s that there was anything at all. The sisters had clearly never been given the chance to pick out something for themselves — ever.

Amber and Jordan managed it fairly well — they viewed the selection and honed in on the backpacks they wanted.

Becky, however, was a different matter. She kept staring, picking up one and then another, paralyzed by having any options at all. Eventually, we had to encourage her to choose so she could get back to class, and she finally walked out with her favorite.

For days, I’ve been picturing her face, staring in stupefaction and trying to comprehend the message: “You have a choice. You can pick the one you want. And it’s new – not someone else’s reject. You can pick out the brand-new backpack that you like the best.”

What an amazing and terrifying thought for a 10-year-old who’s never been told anything of the sort before. And what a heartbreaking and yet touching moment to witness – at the age of 10, she’s offered the chance to pick something and it’s a brand-new something. It’s taken 10 years for that to happen.

Something old, something new

That’s a moment we ended up witnessing over and over again on this trip, watching the faces of children being presented with new shoes, new backpacks, new magic markers – and often even a choice in which ones they wanted.

In many towns where we work, Children Incorporated isn’t the only major benefactor. But in eastern Kentucky, we are. Children Incorporated has donated $125,000 to 150,000 in supplies to each school here since we started, and for most of these children, the only new items they’ll ever see come from our sponsors.

“You have a choice. You can pick the one you want. And it’s new – not someone else’s reject. You can pick out the brand-new backpack that you like the best.”

And that doesn’t cover all of them. Our volunteer coordinators estimate that 80 to 90 percent of students at each school could qualify for help. But there isn’t enough help to go around, so every year we have children like Amber, Becky and Jordan who are getting support for the very first time.

We’ve seen a lot of moments when children first realized they were being gifted something brand new. But it’s Becky who stands out in my mind. She’s had that backpack for more than a week, and I have no doubt it’s the best thing she’s ever been given — not just the backpack, but also the freedom of choice.

What’s in your backpack?

It’s not the backpack – it’s the ownership, the agency and the knowledge that you’re good enough for something of your own and not just what no one else wants.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

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

Shelley Callahan | August 25, 2016En Español

“Back to school” is a phrase that, to many of us, conjures up images of shopping for a new pair of jeans or a new backpack, and getting as much as we can out of the last days of summer. To retailers, it means a jump in consumer spending on clothes and supplies.

But for the 15 million children living in poverty in the United States, the phrase “back to school” is just another reminder of how challenging it is to have their basic needs met.

But for the 15 million children living in poverty in the United States, the phrase “back to school” is just another reminder of how challenging it is to have their basic needs met. Children Incorporated’s Director of U.S. Programs, Renee Kube, knows these challenges all too well. She and her team are about to leave for Eastern Kentucky to deliver school supplies to a number of communities there, something she’s done more times than she can remember during her 20-year tenure in this position.

In the past 10 years, the cost of school supplies and extracurricular activities has gone up 88% for elementary schools, 81% for middle schools, and 68% for high schools, according to a report by Communities in Schools in partnership with Huntington Bank. In Eastern Kentucky, where poverty spreads as coal mines continue to close, this uptick has turned a difficult situation into an almost impossible one.

“What if you don’t have that warm coat that you need to wait for the school bus,” says Renée. “Or if you don’t have the shoes you need because you’re sharing them with your brother, and it’s his turn to go to school that day. If you don’t have the supplies you need, then you’re not as apt to do your homework or classwork. These are real, significant, actual barriers.”

A little can do so much

Though backpacks, paper, pencils, glue sticks, crayons, colored pencils, weather-appropriate clothing and shoes don’t seem like much, these items play a huge part in supporting a generation’s future. “They promote attendance and build self-esteem,” says Renée. “Kids who are in our program are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our communities.”

An amount as small as $25 would go a long way towards getting a child the supplies they need. The volunteer coordinators have made it their mission to be as savvy at stretching a dollar as they possibly can. And the reaction from the kids is something Renée wishes every donor could see personally.

“I love what I do,” she remarks with much enthusiasm. “The highlight is definitely going out to the communities and meeting the kids.” From younger students who want to know everything about their sponsors to teenagers who take a little while to open up about their hopes and dreams, Renée can see so easily how these children are affected, just by knowing somebody cares for their future.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | July 28, 2016En Español

Just when everything feels hopeless, one person can change your entire perspective.

For me, it was Sister Martha in Kenya.

Luis with Sister Jane

Sister Martha and Sister Jane are Children Incorporated volunteer coordinators who run Maria Immaculata School in Nairobi, Kenya. The school hosts almost 400 students from toddlers to teenagers and more than 300 of them board there because they are orphans. Children Incorporated sponsors about 100 of these students, providing school supplies, food, medicine and uniforms.

I met Sister Jane and Sister Martha on Wednesday morning when they picked us up to tour the school. Sister Jane is in her 30s and has been at the school for about two years. Sister Martha is about 20 years older and has been there since 2004, a few years after the Catholic Church bought the land and opened the school.

All of the volunteer coordinators who work with Children Incorporated are in sync with the needs of their children but Martha and Jane have taken it to a whole new level. For every project they mentioned, they had documentation, details and a plan.

One of those plans involved a biofuel stove.

Burning manure for fuel

At Maria Immaculata, the food for 400 children, plus the staff and volunteers, is cooked over an open wood-burning stove. More than 400 people, three meals a day — that’s a lot of wood, a lot of smoke and a lot of work.

Looking at the smoke-filled kitchen, the physical labor it takes to cut that much wood and the huge amount of space needed to store it all, Martha and Jane came up with an idea.

And then a detailed plan: By purchasing a biofuel system, the nuns and staff could turn manure from the school’s livestock into fuel.

And then a detailed plan.

By purchasing a biofuel system, the nuns and staff could turn manure from the school’s livestock into fuel.

It wasn’t just that they’d had a smart and creative idea — it was that they had figured out the finances, the logistics and how to make it work.

Professional grant writers in America could take lessons from these Kenyan nuns. With their biofuel system approved and funded, they turned to their next project — an outdoor cafeteria.

A seat at the table

Right now, the children go to the kitchen to get food, take it back to their classrooms to eat, and then return the dishes to the kitchen. There just isn’t anywhere else for them to take their meals.

Sister Martha and Sister Jane have been working to get funds for a covered eating space outside the kitchen — essentially a picnic shelter for meals. Just as with the biofuel system, they’ve approached it with creativity and incredible detail.

Sister Martha outside of the school’s office

But it turns out that Sister Jane is going to finish that project on her own.

She was leaving nothing to chance for her students as she handed over the reins of the school.

We spent the entire day on Wednesday with the two nuns, touring the school and doing home visits in the city. At the end of the day, we had a long meeting to discuss the school’s needs and plans.

It was only then that Sister Martha dropped the news — she was leaving the school.

She was being transferred to a new job running another school in a different city and Jane would be taking over her job at Maria Immaculata.

Immediately.

Moving on up

We didn’t realize how immediately until the ride home. After the meeting, both sisters rode with us back to our hotel and only then did we realize that their next stop was the bus station, where Sister Martha was departing for her new home and her new job.

She had delayed her departure by days or weeks to meet with us, show us around, give us the entire tour and make sure we felt comfortable with the situation and with Sister Jane before she left.

That dedication — and the way she and Sister Jane demonstrated their seamless transition – buoyed my hope for the children of Nairobi. If Sister Martha and Sister Jane are lifting these 400 students out, then maybe in schools all over the city, other equally-committed and creative volunteers are doing the same.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENYA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | July 28, 2016En Español

The average American doesn’t have to think much about how he will provide an education to his children. Our public school system provides many of our children with an education courtesy of tax dollars, and we’ve grown to take it for granted. In Kenya, however, school is a privilege, not a right. If you can pay to send your children to school, they go. If not, then they’re almost certainly looking at a bleak future of poverty.

Msamaria is a community center for street children in the Karen and Kibera area of Nairobi, Kenya. Its primary school, St. Nicholas School, educates both boarding and day students, and Children Incorporated supports 21 of those students.

Msamaria is a community center for street children in the Karen and Kibera area of Nairobi, Kenya. Its primary school, St. Nicholas School, educates both boarding and day students, and Children Incorporated supports 21 of those students.

On our first day in Nairobi, we plan to visit Msamaria, and St. Nicholas’s director, Naomi, picks us up at our hotel. Msamaria is only about five kilometers away, but the ever-present Nairobi gridlock makes it seem much farther. When we arrive, I’m immediately struck by how beautiful and well-kept the property is. I learn that it was bought by the Anglican church in 1986 from an American who had built her home on the grounds— a home that’s still used for board meetings and other events. Each building on the compound is graceful, with nice tile floors and surrounded by lush greenery. It’s very clear from the first that Naomi and her staff make every possible effort to keep their program running smoothly. Considering the slums that we’ve already toured, this is a 180-degree turn for Nairobi street kids.

We meet our social worker, Caroline, who works closely with sponsored children, along with the headteacher, Phantes. They talk to us about St. Nicholas’s formal education (kindergarten through eighth grade) — admission is application-based, giving concerned community members an opportunity to recommend children from the Kibera slum. Caroline reviews the applications and makes home visits to get to know the children better. Some are orphaned, some are abandoned and all are struggling to survive. These are absolutely the most desperate children I’ve encountered on our trip.

For that reason, St. Nicholas School has found a way to eliminate fees and break down barriers for Nairobi’s poorest and loneliest children.

With a self-sustainability program unlike any I’ve seen in Kenya thus far, St. Nicholas supports its students by selling bottled water. Naomi, who is one of the sweetest, toughest, and most hard-working people I’ve ever met in my life, took out a loan to start a bottled water factory. They pump water directly from the property, using a borehole and a motorized water pump, and the $2,000 they make per month goes towards paying the staff, supporting the programs, and feeding the children.

If that weren’t impressive enough, Naomi tells us about the school’s agricultural program, which grows maize, carrots, and tomatoes. Selling some of those vegetables along with milk from cows on the property (and consuming the rest), the school is able to supplement its income and stay the course on its commitment to a no-fee structure.

Our favorite part of each visit is, of course, getting to meet the children themselves. Two Children Incorporated sponsored children speak to us excitedly about soccer and school. Both are orphans, both have grown up at Msamaria, and both were very interested in sending greetings and thanks to their sponsors.

It feels good to see sponsor support at work here at Msamaria. We’ve provided mosquito nets, items for personal hygiene, school supplies, and food. When students age out of St. Nicholas and begin attending a local high school, they will need funding to continue their studies. The more children we are able to get into schools like St. Nicholas, the more opportunity they have for an education and a chance at rising above poverty.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENYA?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | July 20, 2016En Español

It’s Sunday, and the students of the Materi School for Girls are still in uniform, singing songs in the shade or studying in the grass. Everyone seems to be resting, even the cows and pigs that the school raises for milk and meat, and even the large soccer field nearby.

When Brother John Konzka founded the Materi School in a village called Taraka, he envisioned a place where young Kenyan girls could access the world outside their household spheres.

These young women are often far from home, only seeing their families on breaks (or, for the very lucky, on weekends). When Brother John Konzka founded the Materi School in a village called Taraka, he envisioned a place where young Kenyan girls could access the world outside their household spheres. As an American missionary and teacher in Kenya, he’d seen firsthand the leadership roles women were taking within their families and knew that with more opportunities for female education would come more opportunities for Kenyan families.

Carrying on Brother John’s Vision

Luis worked with Brother John until the latter’s passing in 2014, but I can only rely on his legacy to get to know him. Since his death, there have been a number of changes, and this is our first visit since those changes have taken place. The Materi School has closed its middle school, since a good high school is highly valued in Kenya and can sustain itself on school fees. Brother John had been an excellent fundraiser and organizer, and due to his tireless efforts, the campus is enormous with a spacious landscape and many buildings. But now, the situation is less solid, and we’re here to see how we can help.

We meet Sebastian, the school’s director and principal, who fills us in. There are 1,000 young women living on the property full-time. They see their families about three times a year at the end of each term. Nursery-age girls also come to Materi, but they return to their nearby homes each day. Children Incorporated supports the smaller students, as well as students who attend the local primary schools, and we help with the fees for high school students.

Meet the Families

One of those students, Vero, lets us come with her on a trip to visit her mother. We pile into a truck with Vero, the driver Jambo, and Harriet and Anne, Materi employees and our tour guides for the day. It’s a bumpy ride to Vero’s house, which is only a few kilometers away. Recent flooding has caused huge ditches on either side of the road, making driving tough, and we’re relieved to arrive. Even though Vero lives much closer than many of her classmates, the conditions of the roads and the availability of transportation makes her visits home few and far between. Her mother embraces her tightly, and Luis and I are very touched.

The house has packed dirt floors, which Vero’s mother is having trouble keeping from turning into mud, which could seriously affect the house’s structure. She lives there with Vero’s sister and an aunt. There’s more family nearby, with small cousins roaming the property.

But as always, I’m struck by the kindness and hospitality of everyone we meet.

Our next stop is the house of Skeeter and Salome, two girls who are close in age but not sisters (Salome is Skeeter’s aunt). They live with Skeeter’s grandmother, who is Salome’s mother, and the two girls walk the 40 minutes to school together each day. Anne shows me evidence of other ways that Children Incorporated students benefit—their houses tend to have more necessities like mosquito nets and bedding. Because at school they’ve learned how to take care of themselves and their houses, they tend to bring that sense of order back home, keeping their houses neater and more organized than some of their neighbors’.

Before we finish our voyage, we walk down a narrow path through a cornfield to the home of a primary school student and her family. Her mother has a large goiter on her neck that’s giving her trouble with eating and talking, and the family doesn’t have enough money for even the simple surgery it would take to remove it.

In many ways, this trip has been more difficult for me because of the deteriorated circumstances of so many of these children. But as always, I’m struck by the kindness and hospitality of everyone we meet. While we struggle to make sense of what feels like a hopeless battle against poverty, the students, families, and staff at Materi School for Girls continue to keep their heads up and their minds active.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENYA?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | July 7, 2016En Español

School lets out every day at 4 o’clock at Dandora Community Center, but the kids tend to hang around until long after 6.

Luis pointed it out to me when we returned to the school after visiting the Dandora slum — children milled about on the property, still playing games with one another, even though school had been over for quite some time.

Sheltering the most vulnerable

Dandora provides meals, healthcare, and an education for children in Kenya.

About 400 children attend school at the Dandora Community Center. The school serves children from primary all the way to high school, but not everyone can afford education. The cost of education is high in Kenya, and even higher if children are in need of boarding because they have no home. Forty-five children board here, all orphans with no family at all, making them among the most vulnerable in the city.

Since social services don’t exist on a government level, the administrators at schools such as St. John’s and Dandora take it upon themselves to seek out these youths. It makes you wonder what life must be like for the children who aren’t found in the slums, who wander the streets lost and alone, with no guidance in life.

It’s not hard to imagine why the children linger. Their homes, if they have them, are in the slums. It’s very dark and crowded, and there is little to do as the day turns to night. Staying at school is not only appealing, but it’s also the best option. At school, your friends are there to make you laugh, and your teachers motivate you. It’s a safe place to escape the crushing weight and real physical danger of the slums. I wouldn’t run home after school either.

Healthcare for everyone

Luis and I are at the Dandora Community Center to check out recent renovations to the clinic that Children Incorporated funded back in March. The clinic has been under renovation ever since, so the children and the community have not had access to it, but it will be up and running soon. Getting the doors open again is important because the children have nowhere else to go for the treatment of colds, stomach issues, or wounds. Left untreated, very common illnesses could cause major complications or even death. In the slums, there are no other options for treatment — the few clinics like this one are the only way anyone will ever get medical help.

And it’s not just minor ailments and injuries — Kenyans have to worry about diseases, like dengue and malaria, that most Westerners never have to think about at home. It is a major public health problem in this region — and it is scary to think about.

It’s the only place they can get help — and get away from the weight of poverty and hopelessness.

Simple items like mosquito nets can make the difference between getting an education or fighting for your life. Children who are healthy can go to school — if they can afford it. Those who are stricken with malaria or dengue simply lie on cots and hope just to survive.

Those nets keep the mosquitoes — and thus the diseases — at bay, but they are hard to come by in the slum. Each year, Children Incorporated sends funds to Dandora to provide mosquito nets. They have a major impact at a minor cost; each net costs less than $10. Our goal is to purchase 1,200 of them this year.

Filling in the cracks

Throughout the day as we visit the Dandora Center, we speak with James Ngura, our volunteer coordinator, about the challenges he faces. James explains to us that his biggest obstacle is the workload — keeping up the finances and raising more funds at the same time is a major undertaking. I am not surprised to hear this — James and the staff at Dandora work tirelessly to grow their programs — especially those services provided at the clinic.

As we enter the clinic, it’s easy to see how hard they’ve been working. The building is beautiful. It looks almost new with a fresh coat of paint and new tiles on the floors. I’m reminded of the renovations at the Montero school we visited in Bolivia. The upgrades aren’t just cosmetic — they make it possible for our volunteer partners to help more children. If funding continues, the renovations at Dandora will allow James and his team to double the number of patients the clinic can see in the next year.

The clinic building and Dandora as a whole are almost a respite site for the children here. It’s the only place they can get help — and get away from the weight of poverty and hopelessness. And while the team is working to fix the cracks in the clinic walls, they’re also working to fix the cracks in children’s lives. It’s a long and difficult process, but even before it’s complete, the results are becoming clear.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENYA?

SPONSOR A CHILD