An Unexpected Visitor

You may know by now that in preparation for Halloween, we asked all of our Communications Coordinators to send us scary tales from their countries. Our Communications Coordinator in Quezon City, Philippines, Margaret Tadeja-Cruz didn’t have a story to share, but she did send us two very interesting photos.

Margaret tells us that a couple of months ago she went to one of Children International's community centers in Quezon City to take photos of Rovelyn, a young sponsored girl who dances. It was about 7 o’clock at night and there was no one around except the guard and two other people who were sitting down outside. The community center was closed, and the children you see inside the community center in the second picture are actually statues. She began snapping pictures of Rovelyn standing in front of the door of the center, and she ended up capturing something she cannot explain...



Who’s the girl standing behind Rovelyn in the first picture? (Click the photos to enlarge.) Was it just someone walking by that Margaret didn’t notice or is the community center haunted? You be the judge.

Kidding Around

Whether rich or poor, urban or rural, kids know how to have a good time. Take a look at some of the fun moments caught on camera by our Communications Coordinators.


Alejandro in Barranquilla, Colombia enjoys an afternoon of kite-flying.


Look out below! Children in Legazpi, Philippines take a little break from school to play on the slide.


Drumming up some fun in Lusaka, Zambia.


One blue bucket makes one cool hat for this boy in Rural Guatemala.



What better way to spend the day than with your friends at the beach in the Dominican Republic?

Photos from top to bottom by Patricia Calderón, Anthony Lorcha, Clementina Chapusha, Javier Cárcamo and Erenia Mesa.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...about Sponsorship

I have fond childhood memories of sitting down with my family, the Trapp family, and watching the The Sound of Music together. Listening to Julie Andrews happily singing “My Favorite Things,” we couldn’t help but join in too. “Silver-white winters that melt into spring, these are few of my favorite things...” It’s a catchy tune.

Sponsorship is no doubt one of my favorite things too. Now, I know I’m a little biased since I work for Children International, but I’m also a sponsor. I sponsor a little boy in Mexico, and a group of my coworkers and I sponsor a young lady in Rural Guatemala. While I’m not going to sing about it, I thought I would take a moment today to share just a few of my favorite things about sponsorship:

-Letters from my sponsored child. I love getting mail, and if it comes from my sponsored kiddos, all the better.

- The pictures of course. I always get a kick out of their toothy grins (or seeing how many teeth they’ve lost since the last photo.)

-Knowing that I’m helping a needy child.

If you’d like to share your favorite things about sponsorship, we’d love to hear from you. Open a thread on our Google Groups page and tell us your story.

You asked for it...

Posted on behalf of Sarah Trapp

We love hearing from our sponsors and donors; and when we do, many times they tell us that they wished they could see more pictures from their child’s country. So today we’ve decided to give the people what they want: more photos!

Every month we ask our Communication Coordinators in eleven different countries to send us some of their favorite photos they’ve taken. With so many submissions, it’s impossible for us to use all of these fab photos…but we certainly appreciate their hard work and love to put some of their best efforts in the spotlight.

This time we’ll be sharing some of the latest and greatest from the Philippines. Enjoy!

Man, the teacher assigned a lot of homework this time! Heavy backpacks are no match for clever kids in Tabaco. (Photo by Sarah Velasco)

Thirteen year old Raymond helps to support his family by selling bananas and other foods on the street after school. With the help of sponsorship, Raymond is in high school and hopes to one day support his family with a professional career. (Photo by Joel Abelinde)

Yummy! These sponsored boys and girls in Quezon City enjoy their Saturday meal provided by one of Children International’s feeding programs for malnourished children.
(Photo by CJ Tarroja)

King of the...tricycle? One man’s junk makes a perfect playground for these children in Legaspi. (Photo by Anthony Lorcha)

Rochelle stands in front of her home in Manila. (Photo by Joel Abelinde)

Meet Victor, from Chile

At 6 years old, Victor's outlook on sponsorship is simple:

"I like to have my photo taken. It's my favorite part!"

But you probably already guessed that, didn't you?

Photo by Priscila O'Shee, the communications coordinator for our agency in Valparaíso, Chile.