Building Bridges

When Belkis tripped and fell while she was playing, it should have been a case of getting up, brushing off the dirt and going on with the fun. But when she began to scream in agony, onlookers knew something was very wrong.

That was four years ago, when she was only four years old. A trip to the hospital revealed that she had broken her leg…but it also revealed the reason why. A benign cyst had weakened the bone so it snapped under pressure.


I met this brave little girl as she lay in the hospital awaiting surgery. Then, we didn’t know what the outlook was for her recovery. But when I visited Colombia a few weeks ago, I met a smiling young lady who now runs and plays like any other child.

It was gratitude for the help her daughter received from Children International and her sponsor in this crisis that inspired her mother, Ada María, to become a CI volunteer. Life isn’t easy for this single mom, who was abandoned by her husband shortly after Belkis had her surgery. In fact, her makeshift wooden home collapsed last winter, and they’ve been living in a single room while they wait to rebuild it.

Belkis is not finished with her ordeal. She’s already had surgery for another bone cyst, and she’s scheduled for yet another. Her condition is genetic.

But Ada María is not complaining. She is excited about the sponsorship program and about Belkis’ future. Because of all the help she received in the hospital, Belkis dreams of going to college and becoming a doctor…and Ada María dreams that her daughter will get her wish.

“Education is the bridge between our current reality and my daughter’s future,” asserts Ada María.

And here at Children International, with the help of our family of sponsors – we’re in the business of building bridges.

Returning to Chile

Posted on behalf of Andrea Waters

This is my third trip to Chile in my 20 plus years at Children International. The first time I visited, the country was just beginning to find its way after so many years under the rule of Pinochet.

Today Chile has a burgeoning middle class enjoying better employment opportunities allowing them the income to purchase newer, larger homes. You see the new housing divisions popping up everywhere. Yet there are still so many suffering in older neighborhoods and squatter areas.

For those with less education and lacking skills, work can be difficult to find, or seasonal at best.

Even though it is spring here, the cooler mornings bring out the children in sweaters, colorful hats and their distinctive rosy round cheeks.

I love that the families we encounter, although quite poor, still have a resourceful and wonderful spirit.

On Tuesday we met Waldo, a proud grandfather who used to build homes. That is, until a recent health crisis left him partially disabled.

His wife, Maria, does laundry for others. During our visit she was finishing up laundry for a soccer team! Bright yellow jerseys were hung neatly in two rows. Between their two meager incomes, they support their family. Their daughter, Soledad, volunteers for Children International – usually helping the children write letters and helping clean the community center. They all work hard to support their family unit, all centered around little Jennifer, a precocious sponsored 5-year-old.


Our group is headed back out to visit more communities and children today. We will have more to share with you tomorrow.

Celebrating Father's Day

One of the rewards of working for Children International is realizing how lucky I’ve been in my life. As Father’s Day approaches, I know I was blessed to have had a wonderful dad. He passed away in 1991, so I know the struggle of not having a father present. It’s not uncommon for children in our program to have an absentee father. Or worse, the father may be around but may be abusive, alcoholic, or unable to provide any support, financial or emotional – all of these problems compounded by living in extreme poverty.

But change is in the air. In the last couple of years, I’ve noticed more fathers in many communities actively participating in their children’s lives. They accompany the children to the community centers for events and distributions and participate in educational programs that focus on helping them become a better spouse and father. And in return, they are stepping up in their role as parent and many are giving back in their own communities.

While it’s unusual for fathers to volunteer because they are generally working to support their families, Carlos Loera Huizar from Guadalajara, Mexico, is breaking the traditional gender roles that prevail in Latin America.

Here is an excerpt from an eNews story. Click the link to read the story in its entirety:

Carlos helps support the family financially by earning money refereeing and coaching soccer teams on the weekends. He’s also a dedicated volunteer for Children International, notifying families when their sponsored children need to visit our community center to pick up a letter or gift or visit the doctor or dentist.

As a volunteer father, Carlos especially enjoys delivering letters to families informing them that their child has a sponsor and will begin receiving sponsorship benefits.

“I’m filled with happiness when I see how a person’s face changes when they hear that they have a sponsor and that they are going to be able to go to the doctor and have school supplies,” he explains.

Thanks to all of our sponsored children’s fathers, and to our own…and have a Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

There is no doubt about it, mothers are special. While spending time with my own mom on Mother’s Day, I was thinking about all the moms in our program who unselfishly give their time volunteering. We have thousands of volunteers around the world and without them our program wouldn’t work nearly as well.

Most are women like Mayra Bohórquez. Mayra lives in Guayaquil, Ecuador. With training that she received at her local community center, she learned how to prepare nutritious food with very little money. And now she teaches other moms in the community -- especially those with malnourished children -- how to cook dishes that are inexpensive and healthy.


“If the children don’t like carrots, I show the moms how to make a carrot cake that the children will eat for sure,” Mayra explains.

Mayra’s other volunteer duties include measuring children for their shoe size during gift distributions. But her heart is obviously in her cooking, a job she clearly loves.

“I enjoy sharing my knowledge with family and friends,” Mayra said.

Thanks to all of the moms just like Mayra who help to make our program special!

Hope Through Housing: Part 2 of 3

Posted on behalf of Tom Owens

Sponsorship provides the platform that allows CI to work in other areas of importance to the children and their families, such as housing. The community knows us and trusts us for our long-term commitment. Established networks like our volunteers and partnerships with local organizations are all part of our built-in capacity to do housing on a large scale.

Helping those who help themselves: Children International partners with prospective homeowners, who provide the labor to build their own homes.

Hope reborn: the “Renacer” (Rebirth) housing project in Honduras.

We began a formal housing effort at Children International in Honduras in 1999 following Hurricane Mitch. During the three years after Mitch we built nearly 700 houses for Honduran families, most of them with children sponsored through Children International.

Better than before: secure housing emerges after the floodwaters in India.

Other disasters have moved us to provide urgently needed assistance for shelter in other countries. CI built more that 500 houses in India in 2001-2002 following destructive floods and cyclones. We built still another 72 houses for families in Quezon City, Philippines, that lost their homes in a fire.

Our next challenge is once again in the Philippines, where a series of four brutal typhoons caused widespread destruction last year. Over 300,000 homes in the region around the cities of Legaspi and Tabaco were demolished and about the same number were partially damaged. We are currently securing land and seeking funding that will allow us to mount a response to this dire situation.

Through all these projects CI has maintained the principal of “building back better than before.” The idea has always been to help the families create something of lasting value. That’s why we ensure that we use the best quality materials available at the best price and used tested construction techniques to strengthen the homes against severe weather. We also take simple, inexpensive measures – such as good cross ventilation – to make the houses more comfortable in hot climates.

Our Home Improvement Loan Program grew out of these new construction projects and has helped hundreds of families make incremental improvements to their homes. Again, the beneficiaries provide the unskilled labor for the improvements, develop construction skills and take a genuine pride in their homes.

Tom Owens is the Director of Grants for Children International. Check back tomorrow for part 3 of this 3-part post on Children International’s efforts to improve housing for sponsored children around the world.

Youth Wins the Gold!

A Presidential honor is top of the list of accomplishments for Vakeyia, a sponsored child through Children International, a Kansas City-based nonprofit child sponsorship organization.

Vakeyia, an 18-year-old high school senior, has been awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award for her community service work in Little Rock, Arkansas. The prestigious award was created as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service.

Vakeyia sees her service to others as a way to a better life. " I have learned that the more you help people, the better you feel inside. 'Be the change you wish for the world,' is the quote that best describes what I have learned. I will take the knowledge that I have acquired and try to change the world for the best."

Some of Vakeyia's other accomplishments include:

• Class of 2007 Valedictorian
• President of her agency's Youth Council
• Delegate representing her agency at Children International's 2006 International Youth Conference
• 4-year scholarship to Hendrix College in Arkansas.

But the odds were not always on Vakeyia's side, as she is one of six children raised by her single father. Vakeyia could have fallen victim to violence and drug activity in her neighborhood, but with her father's steadfast support and the help of after-school mentoring through Children International, Vakeyia has kept her focus on one day working in the field of forensics.

James R. Cook, president and CEO of Children International, says, "We are so proud of Vakeyia's accomplishments. She is proof that sponsorship makes a real impact in the life of a disadvantaged child. Knowing Vakeyia, she will be successful in any career she chooses."

Posted on behalf of Dolores Kitchin from Children International in Kansas City, MO.

To Colombia…And Beyond

Well, the Children International team is back from Colombia after 10 action-packed days on the ground. I hope you enjoyed tagging along with them as they visited sponsored children and reported on the difference your support is making in Barranquilla and Cartagena.

If this is your first time visiting our blog, please check out the posts below and in the archive to read about what the team saw and experienced in Colombia.

Our Children International team for Colombia included Jennifer, Scott, Andrea, Erin and David. They’ll be sharing more photos and experiences from their trip in the near future. For now, though, I asked each of them to summarize the trip in a few words…

Erin: “What stood out the most during our trip to Colombia is the dedication of the local agency staff. When we visited sponsored communities, smiles, handshakes and hugs were frequently exchanged between the families in our program and Children International employees. It was obvious to me that working for Children International is much more than just a job for our local colleagues - just as it is for me.”

Jennifer: “My Spanish is sketchy at best. Simple phrases and lots of gestures generally convey my message. However with Maria, language was no barrier with us becoming fast friends. I’ll always remember her sweet smile and kind eyes as she plopped herself down next to me on a step and stuck by my side for the afternoon. With only her grandmother to watch over her as she grows, I’m excited for the opportunities sponsorship will offer her and all that she will achieve in the future. Children like Maria are why I work for Children International.”

David: “I saw that Children International really does bring out the very best in the volunteer mothers and the youth…the workshops give them a sense of self-worth and give them the power to help their own communities.”

Scott: "In Chubal, a dusty, isolated slum outside of Barranquilla, I was overwhelmed with the reaction our agency van elicited from the children. As we pulled off the highway and into the powder-fine dirt, a large group charged toward us, screaming and leaping into the air, their smiles an irresistible welcome mat. Our driver, Victor, said this is a common reaction because families think of our staff as their friends.”

Andrea: “I am always struck by the inner strength mothers have in dire and uncertain circumstances. They bear a heavy load, yet put on a brave face for their children and do the very best they can with practically nothing. They often lean on their faith and the hope that their children will have better lives. Sponsorship gives them hope.

And of course I still love the fact that no matter where I go, children are children and can find delight in the smallest of things…like looking at a tiny digital image of themselves on the back of my camera.”

What’s next?
We really hope you have enjoyed the posts and photos from our team’s Colombia trip. In just a couple of weeks we’ll have another team on the ground, this time in Honduras. We’d like to hear from you – what types of things would you like us to update you on while we’re there? Please drop us a comment or an email and let us know!