On the 2nd Day of Christmas My Sponsor Gave to Me...

Two Leather Shoes

I love shoes, and I have a closet full of them to prove it. I bet if I really wanted to I could wear a different pair each day for a month. Winter boots, tennis shoes, leather Mary Jane heels, pointy-toed stilettos, Grecian-style sandals. My choices are endless.

Sponsored children love shoes too. But they usually only have a pair or two. And if it weren’t for their sponsors and Children International, they might not own any at all.

When we drive through impoverished neighborhoods, we often spot children running around barefoot, exposed to the rocky, dirt terrain of their neighborhoods. When you think about the fact that it’s not unusual to find raw sewage in these areas, it’s enough to make you cringe. It’s easy to understand how children can pick up parasites, which can lead to a host of health problems.

Then we visit Children International’s community centers and watch children being fitted for new shoes – a gift for their birthday, Christmas or Easter. These shoes are often sturdy leather footwear or athletic shoes that can be worn for school activities or at home. They are designed to stand up against wear and tear and offer their feet vital protection.

Luz Fandiño from Barranquilla, Colombia tries on her new shoes.

I’m the first to admit that I take basic necessities like shoes for granted. But since I started sponsoring a child a few years ago, I’ve learned to appreciate everything I have, including my dozens of shoes.

Each morning as I select my pair of shoes for the day, I think of my sponsored child and am grateful he has shoes from Children International. Sponsorship benefits give him – and all the other children in our program – a foot up in the fight against poverty.

Posted on behalf of Erin Anderson.

Meet Lenard, From Manila, Philippines

"When I received my first shoes from my sponsor, I was very happy. My mama chose it for me but I knew that it was from my sponsor. I wore it to school and I was very proud that I had a pair of new shoes.” – Lenard, age 8

Photo by Joel Abelinde, from Children International's agency in Manila, Philippines.

Easter? In January?

Tomorrow we’re supposed to get 1-4” of snow here in Kansas City…although the less optimistic have it at 4-7”. Either way, it’s cold!

This is not exactly the type of weather that brings to mind balmy spring days, sunny picnics and bright Easter dresses. So you might be a bit surprised when you receive a letter in a few days from Jim Cook, our CEO, asking you to help us provide Easter presents for our sponsored children. But the fact is, an effort as massive as providing gifts for over 320,000 children takes a lot of time, so we start really early.

We won’t be handing out chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks. Instead, we’ve had our field personnel work with the children’s parents to determine the things they need most. In most cases, those turn out to be shoes, uniforms or school supplies. Not exactly something you’d find in most Easter baskets, but these are things that can make the difference between a child being able to stay in school or having to stay home because he or she doesn’t have the required materials or clothing.

In the next few weeks you’ll hear us talk a lot more about Easter on our website. In fact, right now it’s featured front and center on our homepage. Please take a minute to check it out…and if you can help us out with a contribution toward the expense of providing these gifts, of course we’ll appreciate it. But more than that, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you made a real difference in some of the world’s most promising young lives.

Photo: Noreimis, from Barranquilla, Colombia, is all smiles over her new Easter shoes!

Photo by Patricia Calderón

Easter Shoes

Posted on behalf of Arlene De Vera, Manila, Philippines

For over a year now I have been the communications coordinator for Children International-Manila, and I have seen poverty in many shapes and forms, and to different depths and extent. Our agency assists over 23,000 needy children. I get a lot of opportunities to interact with them and learn about their triumphs and challenges, and each time the experience either leaves a familiar dull pain in my heart or I rejoice with them.

As I entered Rio’s home last week I didn’t feel the usual impact. Rio Beltran is a 34-year-old volunteer area leader helping the agency operate its largest center in Quezon City (near Manila) and a father of two sponsored children, Lovely Sophia, 7, and Richelle Joy, 8. They live on a meager allowance, which Rio receives from the government as barangay tanod (village watcher) and for doing errands for their neighbors.

As he graciously welcomed us, I got disoriented and was unsure of where he was leading us. Were we in a covered entrance or in the house already? It was 10:00 a.m., yet it was very dark inside because they don’t have electricity. He opened a window, the only one they have, and slowly I was able to see the whole place.

The old house is literally bare; it’s clean, but it looks – and reeks – like a pigpen. The smell could be coming from a canal just feet away from their door that serves as their convenient multi-purpose washing area where they brush their teeth and bathe. Aside from a dilapidated cabinet where their kitchen utensils and other things precious to them are kept, and a rundown, wooden bed in their bedroom (which can be entered only by going in sideways through a very narrow opening), the family has nothing else.

This picture was stuck in my head even after we joined other sponsored children and youth at SM Mall, where they do their Easter Gift shopping. My heart aches for these two children and I couldn’t imagine how they are able to live under such pitiful condition.

When Lovely Sophia happily showed to her father a pair of black boots, it was like showing the best find in the whole world! “The Lord has been so good! I just got a new pair of shoes and I could even buy slippers to replace my old pair!” I got goose bumps upon hearing these words. For a child who watches TV from someone else’s window (that is often closed upon learning that she is there), drinks from salvaged cups of instant noodles, and is only able to taste a good meal on her birthdays because she visits her godmother who cooks for her, it was a concrete demonstration of unfaltering faith not many people could muster.

It was the first time the two children received material benefits from Children International, so I asked Rio how it was accompanying the kids to shop. There was a lull and when I looked at him, he was holding back his tears but could not hide his emotions. “I was like on air seeing that joy in their eyes which I realized I had not seen since their mother passed away almost four years ago. I’m thankful that what I couldn’t provide for my children is generously given to them by people we don’t even know!” said Rio in between sobs. He got one of each of his daughters’ slippers and showed them to me. “These slippers should have long been discarded but I repair them every now and then so my children will have something to use. I’m so happy that finally they will wear new ones!”

I froze when I realized how a pair of new shoes and slippers could make such a difference, while Mabel, an officemate who was with me to help cover the Easter Gift distribution, couldn’t hold back her tears.


There are nights that I think about Lovely Sophia and Richelle Joy. I imagine them lying on their wooden bed which squeaks whenever they move while their father wonders how to make ends meet the next day. I sigh in relief thinking that although sponsorship cannot not provide everything this family needs (they are grateful just to have a bowl of rice and salt), it could very well take away the fear of a father that his children might not have a chance to finish school.

So, if you ask me about the significance of Easter to the children we help…? It’s about raising hope for Lovely Sophia, Richelle Joy and the 23,000 other children and youth they represent. And I thank all of you for making this possible.

Arlene De Vera is the communications coordinator for Children International's agency in Manila, Philippines.