Democracy in Action

It’s hard to change the channel these days without stumbling across the latest polls, commercials or the latest “he said, she said” banter of politics. While it’s easy to take for granted the power of democracy, it’s still a goal that many world citizens still fight and die for today. And for the youth of Children International, it all begins with casting their first ballot.

At Children International, we feel our youth are the rising stars of tomorrow. That's why we concentrate on developing them as leaders and instilling in them the skills they will need to make a difference in their communities. One way we do this is by teaching the power of democracy.

In November, Youth Council elections were held in Cartegena, Colombia. Each of our 18 agencies has a youth council that is comprised of sponsored youth. The council is responsible for determining the direction of youth programs in each of their sponsorship areas. Council members are also nominated and two delegates are democratically elected to attend the International Youth Conference.

By engaging in the democratic process to elect their leaders, and then deciding the direction of their efforts as a team, they learn a great deal about leadership, a commitment to ideals and shared effort. In this way, youth council members become an inspiration. They provide positive role models for younger children and they strive to educate and help others.

To us, these enthusiastic youth are the world best and brightest hope for tomorrow.

Photos by Marelvis Campo, Children International Communication Coordinator in Cartegena, Colombia.

Press Control+P For Progress

Posted on behalf of Deron Denton

Amid the click-clack of keyboards and the persistent hum of a large air conditioning window unit straining in the Honduran midday heat, children are putting computers to good use.

We are in the neighborhood of Asentamientos Humanos, on the outer reaches of San Pedro Sula. This new computer learning center, made possible through Children International’s youth program, has been up and running for about one week.

Youth leaders who are democratically chosen by their peers determine how to spend a given amount of funds to benefit their community. The youth program was developed to support and empower youth, encouraging them to hone leadership skills and implement ways to improve their surroundings. The youth leaders in Asentamientos Humanos decided to spend their allotment of funds on this lab, which consists of 10 computers.

In addition to the myriad of services that every Children International community center provides, this one is now offering all youth in the community an opportunity to develop vital skills; specifically, how to use a computer and navigate the Internet.

“It’s one way to keep youth away from gangs…to help them build stability in their own life and for their families,” says a mature 16-year-old Joel Arita, one of the youth who helped start the program.

What Joel and the rest of the youth leaders know is that familiarity with computers is as fundamental to success in today’s world as is reading and writing…practically indispensable for anyone trying to find decent employment, much less trying to break free from poverty.

A part-time instructor was hired to provide formal training to sponsored youth in the mornings. In the afternoons, the computer lab becomes a cyber-café, open to all in the community for a nominal fee. Sponsored youth pay half-price. The money goes back into the lab for maintenance and other needs.

Joel and another youth program member, Alberto Rivas, are assisting and supervising younger sponsored children. On the afternoon of our visit, they are visibly proud of the project and their role in creating it.

“It’s nice to be able to help kids learn how to use computers and discover the Internet,” says Alberto.

Joel recounts how he had helped a sponsored youth a day or two earlier: “A boy of about 12 came in who had never been on a computer or used the Internet before, and I taught him. It’s very gratifying,” he says.

Since this computer center is the only one in the entire community, it looks like Joel, Alberto and the rest of the youth leaders can look forward to a successful – and fulfilling – adventure. It is likely to pay off, in more ways than one, for years to come.

This story originally appeared in the October 2005 edition of Children International's eNews under the title, "Youth Program Creates Cyber-Café." To view our archive of eNews stories, click here.

Photo by Jennifer Spaw.

Investing in Tomorrow

If you’ve been acquainted with Children International for very long, you are most likely aware that our work targets areas where people live in extreme poverty. Our primary focus is uniting individual sponsors with individual children, and using this network of support to provide access to essential services such as health and dental care, educational assistance and nutritional rehabilitation to the more than 320,000 children we serve.

But we also have more far-reaching goals. Eventually, we’d like to do such a good job of helping reduce and eliminate poverty that we put ourselves out of a job.

With the degree of poverty that exists in the world, that’s not likely; but we can make a real difference. And that’s why we take our youth program so seriously. We feel we have the most outstanding youth program in existence – bar none. Our staff around the world is pouring its efforts into providing quality training in values formation, vocational education, career counseling and leadership for our young people…and it’s paying off.

One year ago we brought two youth delegates from each agency with a mature youth program to our International Youth Conference in Kansas City. These delegates were democratically elected by their peers to attend the conference – with the expectation that they would then return to their home countries and share their new-found skills in leadership, teambuilding and participation with the thousands of other young people who make up our youth program around the world. And from the reports we’re receiving, they’re doing a great job of living up to that expectation.

While they were here in Kansas City, the delegates got together and made a recording. The remarkable thing is that at least three or four languages were represented in the group, and only about half of the group could communicate with each other in a common language. But that didn’t stop these outstanding kids! Click on the video below to see and hear them sing the Conference’s theme song, “Sing It to the Mountains.”

Bridging the Generation Gap

Nowadays, it seems generations are moving farther and farther apart. While people of different ages have always struggled to communicate, the technology explosion of the past couple of decades – with the advent of text messaging, email and cell phones – has created languages of its own and has made it even more difficult for children and their elders to find common ground.

But a group of sponsored youth in Guatemala is proving that not everyone has yielded to the dividing influence of the generation gap. These young people recently visited a retirement home, spending time with its elderly residents and making them feel special.

Javier Cárcamo, communications coordinator for our Rural Guatemala agency, dropped me the following note about the activity:

“…A group of our sponsored youth organized a lovely social activity to benefit another group of needy and forgotten people: the elderly people in a retirement home called Cabecitas de Algodón (“Little Cottonheads”).

“This retirement home is very old and is suffering from economic limitations that have threatened in recent years to force it to close. It is maintained solely by donations from generous people who live in the city of Antigua Guatemala (meaning "Old Guatemala") and by some private businesses. The unique thing about this retirement home is that most of its residents are elderly people who were rescued from abandonment, were picked up from garbage dumps, were homeless or have been abused.


“Motivated by their role as leaders, the young people of Service Area 2 in San Lorenzo El Cubo and and Ciudad Vieja decided to hold a grocery drive for these elderly people, and they organized a visit to take them a little joy.


“Our director supported this initiative, and we provided them everything they needed to hold their activity, which included two plays and a dance presentation. Each elderly person received a small gift, and they also raffled off small gifts that were appropriate for them.


“The activity lasted more than four hours, during which they livened up the party with marimba music. The youth danced with the elderly people, who were very happy. Some of the sponsored girls gave manicures to the elderly ladies who were sick and couldn’t move, and everyone enjoyed a bit of cake and refreshments.


“Something beautiful…when the activities were over and the residents were pretty tired, each youth chose a person and dedicated themselves to listening to them. The elderly people told their stories and the young people enjoyed them.


“The young people named this initiative ‘Youth Working Together for a Smile,” and they plan to do the same thing in other retirement homes, orphanages and special care facilities.”


Three cheers for some great young people who have proven that the generation gap isn’t so wide after all!

Photos by youth photographer Manuel Xoyón, from Children International’s agency in Rural Guatemala.

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.