Tag Archives: sponsor

Shelley Callahan | March 1, 2020En Español

When our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, and I first arrived in Medellín, Colombia, I noticed a striking difference from our visit to the capital city of Bogotá. Unlike many other cities that I have visited in South America, Medellín’s level of poverty and destitution was present even in the most well-off areas of town. As we drove from the airport to downtown Medellín, I was surprised to see homeless people living on the streets — even in affluent neighborhoods. This was something I didn’t often see in developing countries.

Centro Primavera offers courses to mothers so they can graduate from high school and training so they can gain the skills they need to obtain employment.

We arrived in the early evening and planned to meet with our volunteer coordinator, Piedad, and her assistant, Manuela, outside of the San Pedro neighborhood, where our affiliated project, Centro Primavera, is located.

We arrived at a small, downtown Medellín restaurant where we joined Piedad and Manuela, who were already waiting for us. Piedad explained that she has been with Centro Primavera for 25 years. The organization operates in one of the tougher neighborhoods in the city — where drug use and crime are prevalent, and many impoverished women are forced to work in prostitution to make money to support their children.

Piedad is pictured outside of Centro Primavera with a few of our sponsored children.

Piedad’s primary goal is to help get these young women and mothers off the street. Centro Primavera offers them courses so they can graduate from high school and training so they can gain the skills they need to obtain employment. Other programs at the Center are geared towards providing the children of these mothers a place to receive tutoring support and play inside, away from the violence and drug abuse that is rampant in their neighborhood.

A place for mothers and children

The next day, we met Piedad at Centro Primavera in the early morning. She took us on a tour of the facility, which serves children both as a daycare center and an afterschool enrichment center. Children ranging from infancy to eighteen receive nutritious food and medical care.

The older children enjoy arts and crafts, dance classes and games in one of the many recreation rooms available for their use. The Center also has a full library on the first floor, a kitchen on the second floor and private offices where women and children receive psychological support.

Stories of My Neighborhood

“Relatos de mi Barrio” was created by Centro Primavera staff members to help the community understand the Center’s mission.

After taking the tour of the buildings, Luis and I had the chance to sit down with some of the mothers and hear more about the programs that Centro Primavera offers. The Center focuses on four programs: the first is skills training in such areas as cosmetology, computers, baking and leatherwork. The second is prevention of abuse and women’s rights education. The third focuses on sustainability and finding resources for the institution to continue with its work.

The fourth program is called “Memory and Identity,” which works to provide information about the San Pedro neighborhood to the local community and authorities so that there can be a plan of action as to how to handle issues that arise. Piedad shared with us a book that she wrote called “Relatos de mi Barrio,” which tells the history of San Pedro and how Centro Primavera has had a positive impact on the community over the years.

It was apparent to both Luis and me that Piedad works hard for the mothers and the children at the Center. She is incredibly grateful for the Children Incorporated sponsorship program which offers basic needs to kids and gives them a sense of encouragement and pride from their sponsors. She would love to get more children enrolled in our program – at the time of our visit, more than twenty children were available for sponsorship.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Colombia?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | February 22, 2020En Español

Situated in the northwestern corner of South America, Colombia is rich in natural beauty, comprising rugged Andean mountains, lowland plains, sprawling Amazon rainforest and coastline on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Its modern history begins at the end of the fifteenth century, when Christopher Columbus and the first Spanish explorers arrived in the region, subsequently establishing the area’s first successful Spanish settlement in 1508. Spanish colonization continued for over 400 years until the mid-nineteenth century when Colombia gained its independence and established itself as South America’s first constitutional government.

However, political instability in the mid-to-late twentieth century led to the uprising of guerilla groups, sparking violence throughout the country. Tragically, children were often the victims of terrible inhumanities and social injustices. Kidnappings, human trafficking, recruitment as soldiers into paramilitary groups and forcible participation in drug-trafficking rings became common realities for vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

With civil unrest a part of Colombia’s past since 2016, the country is safer than it once was, yet many families struggle living in poverty. Thankfully, our affiliated project, the Rondon Center in Bogotá, offers mothers of our sponsored children an opportunity to earn money at the Center’s garment factory, Creaciones Miquelina, while also providing basic needs to the children, thanks to our sponsorship program.

Seeing Bogotá for the first time

Sponsored children receive bags of food to take home regularly.

Our trip to visit the Rondon Center was my first to the city of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital. Traveling with Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, our plan was to meet our volunteer coordinator, Sister Diana, at the Rondon Center, and then visit a few homes before taking a tour of Creaciones Miquelina.

We arrived in Colombia on a Sunday, and traffic was light as we drove through the city making our way to the Center. I found the outskirts of Bogotá to be surprisingly modern, with shopping malls, high-rise apartment buildings and large green spaces for locals to exercise and walk their dogs.

Once we got further into the city, Bogotá began to feel familiar to other South American cities I have visited — with one big exception. Colonial-era architecture and spacious plazas were abundant, yet they had been covered with either graffiti or large, colorful murals. The lines between vandalism and artistic expression were blurred, as it seemed as though every building was painted in some manner. I couldn’t determine in many instances which paintings were planned and which were done illegally, but I felt that they added to Bogotá’s charm as a visually striking city.

Getting to know the Rondon Center

Named after the Rondon neighborhood in which it resides, the Rondon Center is home to a group of Sisters who run Creaciones Miquelina.

When we pulled through the Center’s front gates, I first noticed how nice the grounds were kept. Flower gardens with benches and fountains were found both outside and inside the Center, connected by paths that made for a serene setting.

As we got out of the car, Sister Diana greeted us warmly and quickly motioned for us to come upstairs with her. Our sponsored children and their mothers were waiting for us — they had planned a presentation to welcome us to Colombia.

When we entered a large recreation room on the second floor, the children were sitting quietly in plastic chairs next to their mothers, patiently awaiting our arrival.

Luis and I sat down, and then the children took turns performing skits. The stories the children told through their acting were ones of danger — drugs, kidnapping and prostitution. The subject matter seemed rather mature considering how young some of the children were, but I quickly realized that in Colombia, they were lessons that needed to be taught at the youngest of ages.

The realities that children face living in impoverished neighborhoods are harsh, and the Sisters at the Rondon Center want to make sure children understand their self-worth so they don’t end up down a dark path later in life — a dark path that many of their mothers had to work hard to get away from.

After the presentations, the Sisters handed out bags of food for the children to take home thanks to donations from their sponsors. They excitedly looked through the bags, holding up boxes of cereal and dry spaghetti, olive oil and flour. Luis and I chatted with some of the mothers for a few brief moments before the group eagerly departed so they could return to their Sunday afternoon family activities.

Working from home

After the children and their mothers left, Sister Diana took Luis and me to visit a few homes of our sponsored children. Like in many places in Latin America, poor families tend to live up in the hills, away from the city and the services that are offered to wealthier residents. Often times, it is the only place they can afford to have a little piece of land for themselves, even if it means their children are miles away from schools or community centers.

One of the homes we visited was of a little boy in our program who lives with his single mother and two sisters. Their small living room was occupied by a sofa, chair, two sewing machines and a tall shelf full of spools of thread and folded fabric.

As we stood talking, the boy’s mother explained that she started working in the garment factory at the Rondon Center and saved enough money to buy her own machines. Now, the company she works for delivers the fabric to her and comes to pick up the finished pieces each week when she has completed them.

The realities that children face living in impoverished neighborhoods are harsh, and the Sisters at the Rondon Center want to make sure children understand their self-worth so they don’t end up down a dark path later in life — a dark path that many of their mothers had to work hard to get away from.

She told us that over the years she has earned enough money to add an extension to her house while also getting to be home with her children in the afternoon and evenings. She proudly showed us some of the shirts she created and beamed when she told us that her son was one of the top students in his class.

Creaciones Miquelina

The next morning, Luis and I returned to the Rondon Center where Sister Diana offered Luis and me a tour of the Creaciones Miquelina. Established in 1977 by a Colombian nun named Esther Castaño Mejia, Creaciones Miquelina started with just a few sewing machines to offer help to women rescued from the streets. The workshop began by providing training so women could apply for jobs in other factories. Today, Creaciones Miquelina has grown to employ and train hundreds of women each year to work in their factory while providing daily meals to their children.

As we toured the factory, Sister Diana showed us where the garments were cut, where the designs for clothes were created and where the administration offices were located. Windows from the second floor overlooked the factory where roughly a hundred women were busy at work.

The entire operation was impressive, and knowing these women otherwise would have had no chance at learning skills they needed to take care of their families made our visit to the Miquelina that much more special.

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN COLOMBIA?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | February 19, 2020

Throughout the year, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, communicates with our affiliated projects in 20 countries around the world about the needs of children, their families, and the communities in which they live. In working closely with roughly 150 individual volunteer coordinators, Luis is continuously updated about the thousands of children we support through our sponsorship program – and how our projects could use additional support.

We want to highlight some of the needs of these projects, which we consider opportunities for our donors and sponsors to contribute beyond our sponsorship program.

We want to highlight some of the needs of these projects, which we consider opportunities for our donors and sponsors to contribute beyond our sponsorship program.

Special funds to help children in need

– Children Incorporated supports six feeding programs around the world which provide students with adequate meals throughout the day. We are looking for support to sustain these programs which will provide for hundreds of children in 2020.

– We provide mosquito nets to children and their families in India, Kenya, and Sri Lanka which protect from mosquito-borne illnesses. For just $10, you can purchase a mosquito net that can keep a child healthy so they can attend school.

– Shoes and socks are such a significant need for children living in poverty. Our Shoes and Socks Fund provides hundreds of shoes to children in our programs all over the world so they can attend school appropriately dressed.

We provide children with mosquito nets to protect them against mosquito-borne illnesses.

– Offering children after-school tutoring is often essential to their success in school. We support tutoring programs at selected sites so they can receive the help they need to perform well academically.

– Our skills training programs give children a chance to learn skills for their future, which can help them obtain jobs upon graduation. Our Skills Training Programs Fund provides support in the areas of computer science, cooking, sewing, and cosmetology.

– Our Higher Education Fund helps children attend college and universities once they have graduated from our sponsorship program. Many of our Higher Education Fund beneficiaries have returned to their communities as teachers, nurses, social workers, accountants, architects, counselors, and speech therapists.

Opportunities to support children in various countries

India: In 2020, we would like to install water purification systems at our affiliated projects in Dornakal and Guntur, fund improvements and renovations at the new Kothagudem Home, and make improvements to the facilities and dormitories at the Lou Ann Long Girls’ Hostel.

Chile: In Chile, we would like to support the funding of a roof cover at Maipu School in Santiago to protect children from harsh weather.

Guatemala: In Guatemala, we would like to provide funding for a feeding program at our affiliated project, Santa Isabel Ana Seton,

El Salvador: In 2020, we would like to establish a skills training program at Maria Reyna Home in El Salvador and implement a skills training program in computer repair at Marillac School.

Philippines: In the Philippines, we would like to continue to support nutritional programs at the Fortune’s Children at Parang and the Pinagpala Children’s Center.

Skills training programs, like this one in Bolivia, help children to be prepared for future jobs after graduation.

Ethiopia: In Ethiopia, we would like to support our nutritional program at our affiliated project, Kids Hope Ethiopia.

Kenya: In Kenya, we would like to continue to support nutritional programs at our affiliated projects, St. John’s Community Center and the Dandora Community Center, continue to provide mosquito nets to our affiliated projects, and provide shoes to sponsored children.

Bolivia: In Bolivia, we would like to establish skills training programs at Santa Rosa School, fund the repair of the school La Inmaculada, and fund skills training programs at Cristo Rey Mission and the Padilla School.

Honduras: In Honduras, we would like to provide support for our Higher Education Fund for students at the Maria Reyna Home.

Lebanon: In Lebanon, we would like to provide shoes for children at our three affiliated projects.

***

How can I support Children Incorporated’s special projects?

You can support our special projects 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 donate to the particular special fund you are interested in supporting.

Shelley Callahan | February 19, 2020

We are pleased to share with you our 2020 Spring Newsletter. Thank you for support children in need around the world!

Our Beds and Linens Fund is More Important Than Ever

Children living in poverty go without so much in life — including a comfortable place to sleep in their own homes.

“Our Bed and Linen Fund allows us to purchase new mattresses, bed frames, sheets, blankets and pillows for children so they can get a good night’s sleep and be ready for the school day.”

– Renée Kube

“During my travels to visit our affiliated projects, especially this past year, I have heard more and more stories from our volunteer coordinators who conduct home visits in which they have discovered children who have either no beds at all or too few beds. As a result, two to four or more siblings are sleeping together on one, old, worn mattress,” said Children Incorporated Director of Development, Renée Kube.

“Our Bed and Linen Fund allows us to purchase new mattresses, bed frames, sheets, blankets and pillows for children so they can get a good night’s sleep and be ready for the school day. We are endlessly grateful for any contributions to this invaluable fund that helps us better support children in our program.”

If you would like to find out more about our Beds and Linens Fund, or make a contribution, please contact us today!

New Shoes for a Special Child in Arizona

Joseph*, like many of our sponsored children, is being raised by his grandmother.

Joseph with his new shoes

Joseph and his siblings live in Arizona and were abandoned by their mother after their father died.

Suddenly, Joseph’s paternal grandmother found herself raising children again with no income and no means to support them. She can scarcely provide food and shelter for her grandkids, and she has virtually no money to keep them clothed properly. Thankfully, Joseph has a caring sponsor who provides him with the items he needs as he rapidly grows into a young man.

Recently, our volunteer coordinator at Joseph’s school called him into her office to present him with brand new shoes, along with other items he needed. Joseph is young and plays hard, and his old shoes were badly worn. Joseph was ecstatic, and proudly stood for a photo of him with his new shoes.

We are able to provide new shoes for children thanks to our sponsors and donors to our Shoes and Socks Fund. If you would like to make a donation to our Shoes and Socks Fund, contact Children Incorporated today.

*Name changed to protect the child.

Apartments for Graduates in Honduras

The living area of new apartments for students in Honduras

Once sponsored children graduate from high school and move onto higher education, they often continue to live with their families until they can complete university or vocational training.

Unfortunately, for some students, like those at our affiliated project, the Maria Reyna Home in Honduras, this is not an option. Coming from very poor families, and facing issues such as abuse, gangs, and drugs in the neighborhoods where they lived, these children cannot return home because it isn’t safe.

Thankfully, because of contributions to our Hope in Action Fund, Children Incorporated was able to support the construction of apartments at the Maria Reyna Home so that those students attending college or university will have safe housing until they can find steady employment that will allow them to live on their own.

Thank You for Giving So Many Children a Reason to Celebrate Christmas!

This past holiday season, we received hundreds of pictures from our affiliated projects of children around the world enjoying Christmas parties and receiving gifts, thanks to their sponsors. Thank you so much for everything you do for children in need during the holidays and all year long!

Brand New Items for Children in Paraguay

For many children living in poverty, having a sponsor is their only means of receiving basic necessities such as food, clothing and educational assistance. Some may never receive brand new items such as blankets and shoes without the support of a caring sponsor.

Thanks to you, children, such as the girls from Hogar Medalla Milagrosa in Paraguay, and others around the world are being provided for in ways in which their parents cannot. We are incredibly grateful for your support to make sure children experience the joy of receiving items that are new and just for them.

In Bolivia, Students are Learning Skills for the Future

One of the ways in which we support children beyond our sponsorship program is through our Skills Training Programs, which are implemented at many of our projects around the world. Thanks to these programs, students are given the opportunity to learn skills to help them obtain employment after they graduate, so that they can help support their families right out of high school and eventually become financially independent.

We received pictures of students at our affiliated project, the Santa Rosa School in Bolivia, participating in a Gastronomy Skills Training Course, thanks to support from Children Incorporated. These students are learning skills they can use at home or use to gain employment upon graduation.

Protecting Children from Harsh Weather in El Salvador

Thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund, Children Incorporated was able to provide funding for a roof cover over the playground at our affiliated project, Escuela Santa Luisa in El Salvador. The cover will protect children from rain and heat as well as offer a place for activities and assemblies for parents and students.

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER

Shelley Callahan | February 17, 2020En Español

In 1895, the Santiago Day School in Chile was founded as a school for girls who came from impoverished — and often neglectful and abusive — families.

Today, this Children Incorporated affiliated project continues to serve both girls and boys and their families who reside in downtown Santiago — 30% of whom are living below the poverty line.

Thanks to their sponsors, sponsored students receive food, school supplies and school uniforms. For those children whose families cannot afford to pay the school’s tuition fee, sponsorship funds cover those costs as well.

Managed by the Catholic order of nuns the Daughters of Saint Joseph, the school’s caring staff, which includes our volunteer coordinator Sister Claudia, works diligently to provide for some of the poorest children in Chile. Thanks to their sponsors, sponsored students receive food, school supplies and school uniforms. For those children whose families cannot afford to pay the school’s tuition fee, sponsorship funds cover those costs as well.

Additionally, both sponsored and unsponsored children benefit from the Santiago Day School’s sound academic program and its arts, music and recreational activities. Core academic subjects, including English, are offered for kindergarten through twelfth grades. In the afternoons, girls are taught sewing, crafts, flower arranging, and plant care and have time to play games and participate in sports.

Meeting Judit

While visiting the Santiago Day School, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet and International Projects Specialist, Kristen Walthall, met with Sister Claudia and had a chance to tour the school and attend an awards ceremony.

“During our visit, we had the pleasure of witnessing students receive awards presented by the administration for following the school’s moral standards as well as supporting other students in their efforts for better achievement,” said Luis.

After the ceremony, Sister Claudia took Luis and Kristen to visit the beautiful home of Judit*, the mother of two formerly sponsored children, Juana and Carmen.

The Santiago Day School serves children living in poverty in Chile.

While meeting with Judit, Luis and Kristen learned that her home had been purchased for her by Juana, her eldest daughter, who is now 25 years old. The house was immaculately kept, and it was apparent that Judit was very proud of her home and happy to have Luis and Kristen as her guests.

Judit explained that Juana was sponsored by the same Children Incorporated sponsor through primary and secondary school. Both Judit and Juana felt that Juana’s sponsor made a significant impact in her life — which allowed her to study mine engineering at the University of Santiago in Chile once she graduated.

Much to be proud of

Today, Juana holds the title of Mining Engineer, and she is currently residing in Seattle, Washington, where she is studying English at a local university.

Judit told Luis and Kristen stories about how the entire family would gather to read letters from Juana’s and Carmen’s sponsors.

Yet, as Judit explained, it wasn’t just Juana who was benefiting from her years of having a Children Incorporated sponsor. Beaming with pride, Judit also spoke with Luis and Kristen about her youngest daughter, Carmen, who is now nineteen years old.

Carmen was sponsored through the Children Incorporated program from 2005 to 2018. Like her older sister, Carmen had the same sponsor all through her childhood until she completed high school. Carmen is currently studying information engineering, also at the University of Santiago in Chile. Judit felt that without her sponsor, Carmen might have never finished high school, much less have gone on to college.

Connecting with their sponsors

As she continued to reminisce about her daughters’ experiences in our sponsorship program, Judit told Luis and Kristen stories about how the entire family would gather to read letters from Juana’s and Carmen’s sponsors. They felt so close and connected to their sponsors through letter writing that the names of their sponsors’ pets became household names in their home.

For fun, they talked as a family about what their sponsors’ pets might be doing, and over the years, they enjoyed waiting with anxious anticipation for letters in the mail for more stories about those pets, and their sponsors, and how they were doing in their lives.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Chile?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD IN CHILE

Shelley Callahan | February 9, 2020En Español

Our affiliated project, the Maipu Center, is located on the outskirts of Chile’s capital city, Santiago. Santiago lies nestled between the towering Andes Mountains to the east and a smaller, coastal range to the west. Nearly five million people — more than a third of the country’s population — reside here, many of which are underprivileged Chilean families.

Concentrated in the city’s southern and northwestern regions, the slums of Santiago are home to impoverished children who are forced to live in makeshift dwellings or deficient public housing. Many of their parents work in the service industry or for small businesses, making low-wages with very little chance for upward mobility.

Helping families in need

The Maipu Center supports children from impoverished families in Chile.

The Maipu Center was founded over 80 years ago by a Roman Catholic congregation of women, the Daughters of St. Joseph. Today, 70% of students at the Center are from families living below the Chilean poverty line. Without the support of the Maipu Center, or their Children Incorporated sponsors, these children would not have the chance to receive a quality education, which is the key to helping them break the cycle of poverty in which they live.

Functioning as a private school and community center, the Maipu Center is a spacious, well-kept complex of buildings comprised of classrooms, a kitchen, a dining hall, a church and a community room for activities. Students receive two nutritious meals a day. In addition to standard academic courses, children also take dance and aerobics classes.

Improved academics and new energy

During a visit to the Maipu Center, Children Incorporated Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, and International Projects Specialist, Kristen Walthall, were excited to find that the school academics have improved over the years — thanks to the support of a recently hired energetic principal and new, young teachers who are bringing more knowledge of technology and modern methods of education to the school.

“The school’s new principal has renovated all practices and academics in the school, implementing a new information technology department, as well as music and arts departments,” explained Luis.

Thanks to their sponsors, children are not only receiving help while in school but outside of school as well. With the children’s basic needs met, their parents don’t have to worry as much about affording these necessary items.

“Sponsored children are benefiting greatly from these changes, and according to the principal, they are doing better academically because of the school’s new programs and the enthusiasm of the staff.”

On top of receiving a great deal of support from the Maipu Center administration, children enrolled in our program also benefit from their sponsors. Sponsorship funds are used to help cover school fees; to provide school supplies, book bags and daily snacks; as well as to purchase clothing.

Thanks to their sponsors, children are not only receiving help while in school but outside of school as well. With the children’s basic needs met, their parents don’t have to worry as much about affording these necessary items.

Still more To accomplish in the future

Although an academically progressive school, the principal expressed to Luis that he still struggles to find local funding for operating costs. Still, he wasn’t going to let it get in the way of him giving children every opportunity they deserved to succeed.

Before Luis left, the principal talked about his desire to remodel some of the classrooms, as well as cover the playground area with a roof so it can be used during the hot summer and cold winter months for outdoor activities.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Chile?

SPONSOR A CHILD