On the 10th Day of Christmas My Sponsor Gave to Me…

Ten Boards for Building

In my last blog post I poked fun at my mom’s compulsion to decorate every last inch of our house for Christmas. Last week, we were all together at my parent’s house and someone brought up the posting. Everybody got a kick out of it – but the one who enjoyed it the most was mom. Of course she tried to say “I’m not as bad as all that,” but it was hard when all around us the house was shedding tinfoil like some great Yuletide dog.

We had gathered to observe our yearly tradition of decorating the tree. When I think back over all those years of Christmas, that day was always one of the highlights. Mom would put on her Sinatra Christmas album, and my dad would call out every few minutes asking us to smile for his camera. As a result, we have hundreds of pictures of me and my siblings hanging decorations, flashing our most cheesy looks of wonder and joy at the camera. We thought it was hilarious. Dad disagreed.

This year, my niece and nephew took our place under the tree. As we sat and watched them, my dad revealed a disturbing family secret. It seems that, late at night after us kids had finished hanging the tree; mom would sneak down and carefully remove all the decorations, re-hanging them in a way that was more aesthetically pleasing. She denied this of course, but even this year, as 6-year old Kaden put a clump of decorations on the same two branches, I saw an uncomfortable twitch in her eye. I wondered how long she would wait after we were gone to make it right.

As much as I enjoy poking fun at my parents’ Christmas idiosyncrasies – I wouldn’t miss it for the world. For years I lived in different states, but I never missed Christmas at home. I remember driving from the airport, recognizing that familiar sickly glow over the distant horizon, and feeling a rush of sublime anticipation. I was going home! If there’s a better feeling, I don’t know what it is.

This year it occurs to me how lucky I was to have a home to return to. A home that protected us from the elements. A home we could decorate for the holidays beyond all bounds of normalcy. What an important part of growing up! When I was young I knew kids who lived in mansions, but as much as I admired their swimming pools and “rumpus rooms”, I wouldn’t have traded our home for a million comic books. It was ours. Some instinctual part of me knew that, and was proud.

When I got older, I had the chance to meet people without homes. It’s always tragic – but the children affected me the most. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up never knowing where you were going to sleep at night. To have nowhere to go to escape the world and just be safe.

That’s why I’m so proud that some of our sponsors have helped their children’s families build homes. The impact it has on the child and their family is immeasurable. The home will guard them for generations to come. Everyone in the family will have the physical and psychological advantage of knowing they have a safe haven. Each of them will feel a little extra pride knowing they have a place to call their own.

What a wonderful gift. What wonderful sponsors we have! Maybe it’s something we should all consider doing some day. If that’s not possible, we should all take a few minutes this holiday season to recognize how lucky we are to have homes. Those of us who have never been homeless are truly blessed. May we all stay that way for many years to come. Merry Christmas!

Posted on behalf of Garrett Kenyon.

Talk About Changing Lives...

I wish I could see his face.

When René hears what’s getting ready to happen, there’s no telling how he and his family will react.

A couple of days ago, Sarah posted about the tragic loss of René’s dad, and how the family has struggled since they lost him. What is just amazing is what has happened in these two short days.

Less than an hour after Sarah posted his story, René had a sponsor! But the story doesn’t end there. Several of you began to contact us, asking how you could help. Within a few hours enough had been donated to pay off the family’s property – a debt they really had no hope of catching up with because of the interest.

Others donated as well. I’m excited to report that we are only about $200 away from being able to place René and his family in a new house with a concrete floor!

We’re not talking anything fancy – it will be a simple structure with tin walls and roof…but if you saw the photo of what they’re living in now, you’ll understand that anything is a drastic improvement for them!

So a great big thanks to all of you for your generosity. And if you’d like to help us reach our goal of $200 dollars more, any amount you can contribute will be greatly appreciated. Just drop us a note at blog@children.org and we’ll put you in touch with someone who can help you with your donation.

And of course we’ll be posting some photos of René and his family when they get the news!

Before and After: Feels like Home

You may remember reading about Jim Cook’s trip to India in his March blogs. Visiting sponsored child Shuva Khanra and his family was just one of several important stops along the way.

Strong storms during the monsoon season had damaged many homes, including Shuva’s. Knowing the instability of their home, Nilima, Shuva’s mother, kept her guard up and instructed her children to sleep under their bed on one particularly stormy night. Rain poured in and the very wall that the children slept next to collapsed. Thanks to their mother’s foresight the children were unharmed, but their home was a wreck. The family was forced to construct a temporary shelter to live in.

Not long after, they received wonderful news - Children International would build them a new home thanks to a donation from Gastinger Walker Harden Architects- and best of all, Nilima would no longer have to worry about her children’s safety.

Jim Cook visited the happy family halfway through the construction.

In April this family’s dreams came true when they were finally able to move into their new stable home thanks to the caring donors.

Photos and reporting assistance by Nivedita Moitra, Communications Coordinator in India.

One Down, Seven to Go!

Mithu Dinda peers through a massive crack in the wall of her flood-damaged home in India.

BREAKING NEWS…

Thanks to the generosity of our blog readers, in just two days we have received enough donations to cover the repairs to the first of the eight homes that were critically damaged by flooding in India!

As you may recall from my first blog from a couple of days ago, the government in the state of West Bengal, India, has stated that around 400,000 people have been affected by the flooding, and that some 40,000 homes have been either damaged or destroyed. I also mentioned that it is very difficult to obtain land to build new houses, so the most viable option is to repair and rebuild the homes using much more durable materials.

Our goal is $4800, which will allow us to repair the eight homes identified to us by our agency staff as being in the most critical need of repairs. The individual cost breakdown is $500-600 per home. And in the past couple of days, our readers have already contributed $550!

So we’re off to a great start. I realize that our blog readers make up a limited – but growing – group, so I’d like to ask you to help in a couple of ways:

1. If you haven’t already contributed toward helping put a roof back over the heads of these families, please consider doing so. You may give any way you prefer: by phone at 1(800) 888-3089, by check (mail to Children International, PO Box 219055, Kansas City, MO 64121) or via our website, www.children.org.

Regardless of which method you choose, it is very important that you email us at blog@children.org to let us know the amount of your donation and that it is intended for the India flooding victims. Be sure to include your account number.

2. How about helping us spread the word? Use the little envelope icon at the bottom of this post (and of the original posts from a couple of days ago) to forward it to your friends and family. Let them know you’re participating in helping repair these families’ homes. Perhaps they’d like to help as well!

You don’t have to do it alone…helping these families in India would make a great project for a class, a group of coworkers or a church group.

Thanks a MILLION for your help! I’ll keep you updated as more donations come in and work begins on the repairs.

More Help Needed in India

The very first thing I want to say is “thanks.”

I wrote yesterday about the victims of the flooding in India in hopes that we’d be able to raise some funds to help them, and you didn’t disappoint me. Some of you responded right away – and we appreciate that!

Today I received a report that damages are more extensive than we first thought. In addition to the two families I wrote about yesterday, at least 6 more children and their families have been severely affected.

So our goal just jumped from $1200 to $4800 ($600 per home x 8 families).

Besides asking our blog readers to help, we’ve also kicked off an initiative here in the office. Our Children International employees are raising money in different ways – some of them quite creative! (Stay tuned…we might be sharing more about this on the blog.)

Wouldn’t it be exciting to put these families into safe, dry houses without lengthy delays? Of course, we as an organization are committed to their wellbeing, so we will make sure they’re taken care of. But I know our sponsors want every possible ounce of our regular sponsorship donations to go to the programs that are so desperately needed to make children’s lives better. So if we can raise these funds as a separate project, much good will have been done.

If you’d like to donate, please email us at blog@children.org. You may donate any way you’d like, but it’s VERY important you specify that your donation is to help the needy families in India that you read about in the blog. So if you donate through the Children International website, it’s still important that you email us at blog@children.org and let us know that you gave, and how much. If you send a check, be sure to include “For Needy Families in India – Blog” on the memo line.

The report I received is so recent that I don’t yet have photos of the specific homes that were affected, but below are some general photos of the flooding.

We’ll keep you posted as to how much we’ve raised as the donations come in.

Thanks again!

Photos by Nivedita Moitra, from our agency in Calcutta, India.
Note: Click on each picture for a larger image.

Families in India Need Your Help Now

No country is guaranteed safety when nature’s fury strikes, be it through volcanoes, hurricanes, typhoons, tornados or earthquakes. So loss of property and even life is a sad – and often recurring – reality in many countries. It hurts worst of all when natural disasters strike developing countries whose people are already struggling to survive.

Many of our readers have been among the first to volunteer to help when we’ve reported on critical situations. That’s why I’m sharing information about a very urgent need.

Recent heavy rains in the area of Calcutta, India, have wrought their yearly havoc. According to government estimates, around 400,000 people in the state of West Bengal have been affected, with some 40,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Predictably, some of those affected are sponsored children and their families.

Many poor families live in homes made of nothing but mud and bamboo, so when heavy rains come the structures are simply unable to hold up. Because of the difficulties surrounding obtaining title to land, Children International’s policy in the region is to help families repair their homes with better materials so they will be more durable in the face of the constant reality of the area’s heavy tropical rains.

Although a number of sponsored families’ homes have been damaged to varying degrees, the local staff has presented us two cases they feel are most critical. These involve damages to the homes of sponsored youths Rakhi Maishal (left) and Kunal Moisal (right).

The bad news is that the families of these sponsored young people are desperately poor and are unable to afford the needed repairs to their homes. The good news is that we can help.


The amount needed per family is relatively small, but it’s beyond the scope of what regular sponsorship contributions can cover. We are committed to helping these families, but any additional assistance we might receive would be greatly appreciated. At a mere $600 per family, I don’t think it will be hard to make a difference.


Will you help us put these two families under a safe, dry roof? If you’d like to contribute part or all of the $600 needed for each family, please contact us at blog@children.org. We’ll put you in touch with our Sponsor Services staff, and they’ll help you complete your donation quickly and easily.

If you can lend a hand, thanks in advance for your help. Otherwise, simply keep these families in your thoughts and rest assured we’ll do everything we can to get them back on their feet again.

Brick by Brick

Watch one family's struggle in Ecuador to earn a living.

Don't forget that there are more videos and slideshows available on our website at www.children.org!

Hope Through Housing: Part 3 of 3

Posted on behalf of Tom Owens

The notion of creating value through housing is an important one, especially when you consider that close to one billion people around the world live in inadequate housing. Substandard houses are unsafe, unhealthy and dangerous. Living in them is a constant worry, especially with children in the house. These are hardly places where families can prosper.

And besides impacting their health, security and peace of mind, a new or improved home is often the only asset of any value that many poor, working families have. A lot of these families have small-scale businesses that are based in their homes, so a good roof, for example, can help keep materials and inventory dry. The house is a foundation for the family to improve their future.

As one grateful housing recipient exclaimed, “¡Siempre soñaba con tener mi casita de material, pero ustedes ahora me han hecho este sueño una realidad!” (“I always dreamed of having a well-built house and now you have made this dream come true for me!”)

As much as I have seen this scene repeated over the years, it still never ceases to impress me. It reminds me how easy it is to take for granted our comfortable daily lives – a dry roof, running water, a warm house in the winter, electrical outlets in every room. It’s a dream that remains beyond the reach of so many. And it’s where Children International can make a huge difference in the lives of others.

Tom Owens is the Director of Grants for Children International.

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.

Hope Through Housing: Part 1 of 3

Posted on behalf of Tom Owens

“¡Gracias! ¡Que Dios les bendiga! Jamás pudiéramos tener una casa digna sin la ayuda de ustedes.”

“Thank you and God bless you! We never could have had a decent house without your help.”

These are the words of appreciation that I heard over and over at the inauguration of Children International’s housing project at Villa Esperanza (Village of Hope), just outside Barranquilla, Colombia.

It was hotter than blazes that day last October when I was on hand to officially turn over the keys to houses that Children International helped 250 families build in Villa Esperanza. I wondered why there was so much sweat rolling down my back while all of the local people appeared so cool and comfortable under the shade of the canopy.

A really good deed: Tom Owens hands over the title to a new home

As we handed over the titles to the houses to each family representative I also had a chance to reflect on what Children International’s work means to so many thousands of people around the world. I first visited Villa Esperanza in 1997 when it was a new squatter settlement. Forced from their rural homes by political violence, hundreds of families arrived in Villa Esperanza in the late 90’s. Eventually the government granted them title to their land, but their houses were of decrepit materials, makeshift construction and mostly dirt floors. Children International brought sponsorship to Villa Esperanza and began to create a community volunteer network to help run the programs.

Building houses – and community – in Villa Esperanza

A few years ago we were able to access funding to begin house construction. Our network of volunteers was key here in mobilizing the community. We used a self-help approach were each beneficiary contributed the unskilled labor, the “sweat equity”, for the construction. We also organized the community into groups of 4-5 families each, sort of a solidarity approach, where everyone in the group helps build other group members’ houses on a rotating basis. It turned out to be a cost-effective way to build houses, and also had the positive effect of creating mutual respect and civic pride within the community.

Safety, shelter and hope: New homes and brighter futures in Villa Esperanza

I can’t say enough about the staff of our local agency in this project. They applied all their years of knowledge and experience to many long hours of organizing and implementing this program. It took away from their evenings and weekends, but they did it happily out of dedication and a deep sense of commitment to the people of the community.

Tom Owens is the Director of Grants for Children International. Check back tomorrow for part 2 of this 3-part post on Children International’s efforts to improve housing for sponsored children around the world.

Exercises for the Heart

Posted on behalf of Javier Cárcamo, Rural Guatemala

1. First, get up and walk ten paces. Stop.


2. Take another ten paces and sit down.


3. Now think of the hundreds of children around the world who are unable to do this – not necessarily because of any physical disability, but because the place where they live is so small it is impossible to take ten consecutive steps.

This is how Juana del Carmen Rodríguez Valle, a girl who in the humblest of conditions shared a small bamboo room with her mother, her grandparents and her sister, spent the first five years of her life.

Because her grandparents are elderly and her father deserted the family, the things Juana and her family needed to improve their living conditions were simply out of reach. As a result, they were forced to live in a flimsy structure on a steep, nearly inaccessible hillside.

In the midst of this landscape (a harsh and dusty forest trail surrounded by coffee plantations) and facing into the imposing winds descending from Mount Alotenango, was Juanita, imprisoned by the borders of the tiny lot where she and her family lived as though on an island. It was painful to witness.

But life began anew for Juanita and her family when their generous sponsor, upon learning about their situation, decided to build them a home. Her grandfather offered his plot of land from which, little by little, a solid structure slowly rose above the bushes.

Now Juanita’s eyes sparkle with happiness as she peeks out the window and runs in and out of her new house, where she has plenty of space to play hide-and-seek with her sister. And the days when her mother would tell her, “Don’t go too far because you might fall into a ravine!” are over now.


Juanita’s grandmother sums up the family’s happiness. “She is an angel, a child who is good to everyone. She always helps me gather wood, and we all love her very much. She has been a blessing to this family since she was born, and her sponsor, by helping her, is also helping us.”

Javier Cárcamo is the communications coordinator for Children International's agency in Rural Guatemala.

In the Field with the CI Team

I'm happy to report I've survived whatever it was that got me last night!

Despite the grueling pace (13 hours in the field Wednesday and equally long days on Thursday and Friday), spirits are high as we continue to meet sponsored children and their families and witness firsthand how their lives are improving with the help of their sponsors and our agency staff. Let me share with you a brief photo tour of some of our activities in the field:

Since the age of 9, Digna has worked selling sand dredged from the river. Now she is partially disabled from a stroke, but she still supervises as her sons carry on the work. They dive to the river bed and scoop up sand in 5-gallon buckets, loading it into a skiff until the gunwales are barely above water. Bailing furiously, they pole down the river and use shovels to unload the boat, creating a pile on the bank. They repeat this process until they have enough sand to make a truckload, which they then hope to be able to sell.

The work is grueling, but Digna is thankful she can work with her children every day. She worries about the influences they would face if she had to leave them on their own in order to earn a living.

Two of Digna's sons carry a boatload of sand down the river.

Digna and her sons pose by the river with Damon (second from right) and Kelly (far right).

Chips, anyone? Frying and selling banana chips is just one of many creative ways poor families work to survive.

When her home was completely buried in mud by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Delmis and her neighbors dug down and salvaged the front and back doors. Shortly thereafter, Children International built her a new home. In this picture with her grandchildren, Delmis stands next to one of the doors that was recovered and now guards the entrance to her house.

You may recall reading in Journeys about a young man named Darwin (see photo in our post from Wednesday) who received a life-changing surgery thanks to the concern of our sponsors. Dr. Mariela, our agency physician, was deeply concerned about the long-term emotional effects of his condition. Now, though, Darwin's surgery and subsequent complete recovery have turned him into a confident young man with a hopeful future.

"Please tell my sponsor thanks!" That's the message Christian, Darwin's little brother, wanted Greg to be sure to give his sponsor - Children International employee David.

Not exactly cutting-edge technology.but this earth stove is all one family - and thousands like them - has for cooking.

Radioing the control tower. Children International is all about broadening the horizons of desperately poor children. Who knows? After a few more years of encouragement and support with education and other essential benefits, one of these young men just might be your pilot when you fly down to visit your sponsored child in Honduras!

Posted on behalf of Kelly, Greg and Damon who are hopefully experiencing less delays as they travel back to Kansas City today. My deepest thanks for all their hard work this week in Honduras!

Typhoon Durian Update

I had a chance the other day to chat with Vicki Medrano, our regional director for Asia, regarding our ongoing efforts in the Philippines to help the survivors of Typhoon Durian. As you may recall, this was the natural disaster that brought incredible death and destruction to an area where many of our sponsored children live.

It’s hard to convey with mere words or even photos the suffering that people living in the area around Tabaco and Legazpi, in Albay province, endured as the typhoon raged through the countryside. But the outpouring of support from our sponsors left no doubt about how much you care.

The situation remains grim for many displaced families, thousands of whom remain sheltered in schoolhouses – which they must vacate early each morning so children can attend classes. They wait in the sweltering heat under the meager shelter of thin plastic tents until they can re-occupy the only slightly more comfortable classrooms at the end of the day.

This typhoon survivor was photographed by Anthony Lorcha, a Children International staff member who lost his own home to Typhoon Durian.

Children International is working closely with local government officials and our donors to provide sturdy, typhoon-resistant homes for many of these survivors. Thanks to your contributions and other funds released by the Board of Directors of Children International, much can and will be done to help.

If you’d like to know more about the tragedy in the Philippines and how our sponsors are helping, go to http://www.children.org/ and click on the “Typhoon Durian Relief” button under “Latest News and Features.”

I think you’ll be impressed by what you learn!