Great News on Awilda!

For those of you who have been following Awilda's story, I want to share a heart-warming report. A few days go, we received the following information from our agency in Santiago:

Thanks to the wide-spectrum antibiotics from our clinic that our doctors prescribed, the culture on Awilda came back negative. No pathogenic microorganisms were found. It only showed that she once had an infection, and that she once had osteomyelitis.

"Few children reach this stage -- most have to undergo amputation... We hope she will continue like this," said Dr. Vargas as she excitedly gave us the good news.

At this time, Awilda will take other medications for 5 days. They are treating her foot daily, and will do so over the period of one month. Afterwards, she will undergo an evaluation by an orthopedic doctor to determine what next steps should be taken. They will buy her some special inserts for her shoe to minimize irritation to the foot (they are getting estimates for them now).

Awilda is very close to the hearts of the Children International team that visited her in May, to the Santiago agency and to others here at the home office in Kansas City -- and of course to her sponsor. And, as evidenced by the generous donations and expressions of concern we have received, it's also clear she's gotten close to the hearts of our readers!

This is a remarkable case where saving Awilda's foot and eradicating her osteomyelitis (something doctors were saying was virtually impossible when we were there) is, I believe, directly attributable to the scrutiny and attention this case received from Children International and all of you, our friends on the blog.

So...KUDOS!!!

Beyond the Cake and Candles...

From Arlene DeVera, our Communications Coordinator in Manila, Philippines


Ten-year-old Nelnel belongs to a big family. He has six siblings and is the third among them. His father earns a living by driving a pedicab. It’s a bicycle with a covered cart which is the common mode of transportation in poor urban areas, where streets are narrow and can ideally only accommodate three passengers. His dad is the family’s sole provider who earns about US$4 per day. There are days though that he goes home with no money because his pedicab needs repair or authorities do not allow them to use certain routes.

Nelnel’s mother shared that she has never bought her son new clothes. They rely on relatives’ generosity for her children’s clothes. Her greatest challenge, aside from looking after seven children all by herself, is how to stretch the family’s budget to allow them three meals a day. Both Nelnel and his mother were deeply touched by the generous donations that allowed him to receive a birthday gift through Children International.

Nelnel said, “It’s hard to describe the feelings. I did not know how it is receiving a birthday gift. Money always determines whether I get to celebrate my birthday extra-ordinarily or just one of those days. If we have money, my mom cooks pansit but if we don’t have, my mom and dad just say happy birthday! (Pansit is a noodle dish sautéed with carrots, cabbage and soy sauce traditionally prepared during birthdays to signify long and healthy life.)


It’s great to receive new clothes for my birthday! It makes me feel good and special. Now I knew the feeling of wearing a new pair of pants and shirt which I myself picked and really like. It makes you feel like a movie star. I could now confidently attend events in school in my best attire. Before, it felt embarrassing to attend important school activities in my uniform. Some children in school looked at me and made me feel odd as they wondered why I was in uniform.”

Cyril, Nelnel’s mother said, “I am so grateful to my child’s sponsor for helping us out. My child gets to experience the joy of shopping for new clothes. He fills in the gaps that I’d love to do but could not afford to provide. Seeing Nelnel as he excitedly went from one clothes rack to another was a joy in itself! I am sorry that I can not provide for him this kind of experience but I’m glad that his sponsor generously gives. When Nelnel grows up, it would be nice that there are moments like this which could make him smile while looking back.”

Thanks to our generous sponsors who give children like Nelnel a chance to experience the joy of a receiving a birthday gift...sometimes the only birthday gift they will receive.

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.”

In The Tondo

If you are a reader of Journeys, Children International’s magazine about sponsorship and the changes it is making around the world, no doubt you’re familiar with Scott Cotter. Scott is a long-time writer for Children International and has traveled around the world covering the work we do and the children and families we serve. One of Scott’s most notable pieces in recent issues dealt with the plight of families living in the Bagbag cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

On that same trip, Scott visited a neighborhood called The Tondo. The impact it made on him will forever remain etched in his mind…and heart. In a slideshow he put together shortly after his return, Scott narrates what it felt like to stand in this community where overcrowding, disease and poverty compete with hope…a hope that, in some cases, only sponsorship provides.

Cramped quarters: Scott sits on the floor of a tiny home in The Tondo as he conducts an interview.

Click here to visit Children International’s video and slideshow archive, where you may select “Life on the Line” and experience The Tondo with Scott as he shares his thoughts in a compelling slideshow.

Meet Sumana from India

“I want to be a nurse when I grow up and look after people in my village. That way I do not have to leave my village, which I love very much.”


Photos by Nivedita Moitra, our communications coordinator in Calcutta (Kolkata), India.

Creating Independence

Today, all across the United States, flags are flying, bands are playing and fireworks are noisily celebrating the day our country declared itself free and independent. Thanks to the sacrifices – sometimes even of their own blood – our forefathers made, we enjoy the freedom to live, work and worship according to our own consciences.

But millions around the world still live under the iron fist of a pervasive, cruel tyrant…known as poverty. Each day is another test of endurance…another struggle to just stay alive.

But thanks to the kindness and generosity of people like you – our Children International sponsors – progress is being made. Destinies are being changed and the victims of poverty are being shown a more hopeful future…one life at a time.

Sponsorship is far more than simply handing out material goods. An integral part of sponsorship is teaching children and families to become self-sufficient. Through basic benefits like health and dental care, educational assistance, nutritional support, vocational training and micro-enterprise loans to deserving children and their families, the Children International sponsorship program is bringing change to individual families and, in some cases, entire communities.

Watch the video below to see how the power of sponsorship helped one family get the upper hand in their own private battle against poverty.

Netting A Profit

By Deron Denton



The full moon sinks over the horizon as six men leave shore. Like an unseen fog, the smell of saltwater and fish hangs in the humid air. The mighty Ganges River bleeds into the Indian Ocean just south of here. All signs indicate it will be a good day for fishing: the sky and the waters are calm and clear.

Life is not easy on this small Indian island of Maipith, in the Bay of Bengal. The poverty here is rampant and ruthless. Opportunities to overcome it are scarce. Many heads of households struggle as daily laborers…considering it a good day when they earn enough to feed their children a second meal.

For years, the ineffectual grind of bare subsistence was a daily fact for six fathers and their families. And although the sponsorship program made life better for their children, it appeared dire poverty would be a reality for the rest of their lives.

Tossing the Net

Today – thanks to the generosity of a sponsor’s donation – these men are leaving shore as self-employed fishermen in a boat they jointly own. Their catches and the ensuing profits are also equally distributed. As a result of the families’ improved standards of living, their children also stand a better chance of breaking through the barriers of poverty.

Jaime “Jay” Rubin, a long-time Children International sponsor, funded this unique community project. The fishing boat gift is just one example of how proactive his philanthropic spirit is: Jay has funded numerous community projects in the past.

Ratan Bairagi, one of Jay’s six sponsored children, is the son of a fisherman. Last year, Jay inquired with Eric Newman, from Children International’s Sponsor Services department, if there were any community projects that needed funding in Ratan’s neighborhood.

The six fathers had all been fishermen in the past, but none owned a boat. Ratan’s father, Bholanath, explained, “Sometimes I would go out on the river in other people’s boats to help with the fishing. But my earnings would be very low.” So, he continues, when the staff asked “whether I had any special need which I could also share with others, I voted for a boat and net.”

The other parents enthusiastically agreed this would be the most productive and economical use of community funding. When the proposal was submitted for the sponsor’s approval, Jay readily endorsed and financed the project.

Since receiving the boat and fishing net in December 2004, six families – a total of 29 persons – have seen their household incomes nearly double. It was a compassionate donation of about $1,500…not a terribly large sum to many, but a life-altering gift to those who received it.

Reeling It In

With the sun setting over the bay, the men are exhausted and sore…but content. It has been a good day for fishing. Though they’ve had larger catches, they have also had smaller ones. Such is life as a fisherman. And it is a life these men and their families are grateful to be living.

“Feeding a big family is always very hard,” said Bholanath, “but now I feel lighter and happier.”

Returning to shore in their motorized boat, a small yellow sign catches the light of the sun. The sign serves as a reminder of how this dream became real: Painted in the color of ocean blue, Jaime Rubin’s name glows brightly.