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.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

It’s that time again – soon this month’s eNews will be in your inbox!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Ciro, Bennett and Bernira the past couple of days. In this version of eNews you’ll learn even more about how Bennett has used sponsorship to impact the lives of Ciro and his sister (although Bennett is quick to say that he’s probably the one who’s been impacted the most!).

You’ll also meet a young girl who exemplifies the spirit of giving. Ferlenny is finally experiencing the joy of sponsorship for herself…after unselfishly helping others enjoy its benefits.

The spotlight is warm for Lynyrd Paras. But this rising star in the Philippines is quick to point to the poverty and pain of his youth – and the way out he found through sponsorship – as the source of inspiration for his paintings.

We hope you’ll like what you read. If you do, why not come back and drop us a comment?

If you don’t currently subscribe to eNews but would like to receive it, signing up is as simple as visiting our website!

In the Hope of Changing a Few More Lives - Part 2

This is a continuation of sponsor Bennett Scher's observations about his visit to his sponsored children in the Dominican Republic and about sponsorship in general.


Do you plan to continue your involvement in Ciro's life even though he's already graduated from our program? If so, what do you hope to see him accomplish?
Ciro is now a young man. I sponsored him for 7 years, and I have sent him to vocational school so he can hopefully get a better job and move up from there. I'm providing an item, the motor scooter, something that costs about 1/2 of the total annual family income and that he could never afford himself, as a tool for earning more income, and helping the family. Hopefully I've given his life a jumpstart and he will be able to make his way.

At this point, my main focus is his sister, Bernira, who is only 14, is a great student, and has a lot of potential. There is a chance that I might be able to send her to college as well, which only costs about $1000 a year in the Dominican Republic. I’ve donated for English classes, which she is taking, and if she expresses interest, the college thing is a viable option. I'm committed to staying with her as long as she is in the program, and longer, if she opts for continuing her education. Of course, if the family or Ciro are in dire need of something, I will do my best to help them with my own money or with other drives like the motorcycle fundraiser.


Tell me a little bit about your band…I own, lead, and play guitar in a 9-piece dance band called NIGHTSONG. We play exclusively at high-end corporate events and private functions, mainly in the larger hotels/facilities in the Greater Washington DC/Baltimore area. Hopefully one day we will be able to perform at a Children International fundraiser if the need ever arises!

Would you recommend sponsorship to others?
Yes, I would recommend it to anyone. The cost is minimal – less than 75 cents a day – so it’s a no-brainer. I've seen the way the organization works from the inside out. That $22 a month buys so much more than you could imagine...shoes, backpacks, school supplies, regular dental and medical checkups, access to a community center, library, and even if a child's sponsor stops sponsoring them, they stay in the program. You can write the children, visit them, send extra gifts that go directly to them, and so much more.

To sum up, I'd say that the program exceeded my expectations greatly, and the experience of visiting the children has been the most rewarding thing I've ever done. As much of a gift as it is for them to be helped by me, it's at least as much or more of a gift to me to be able to help them! I've already got a few friends interested in getting involved, and intend to share my story with everyone I meet, in the hope of changing a few more lives!

In the Hope of Changing a Few More Lives - Part 1

I hope you enjoyed Erin Fitzgerald’s video, Children at Work, that’s currently featured on our website. (Haven’t seen it yet? Click here to check it out!)

Bennett Scher is a long-time Children International sponsor – to be exact, the sponsor of Ciro, the young man who is featured in the video. I was with Bennett a few months ago in the Dominican Republic, and he graciously agreed to answer a few questions for me. I thought I’d share them with you…


How long were you Ciro's sponsor? What led you to sponsor him in the first place?
About 7 years, and I can't remember if it was a TV ad, or an email, or some type of Internet ad. People always ask me this, and unfortunately, I can't recall. I do remember what led me to sponsor his sister, and that was simply when I met her, I knew within a few minutes that I wanted to sponsor her too.

What was your impression when you walked into Ciro's home for the first time?
It was similar to how I imagined it in its size and construction. A wood house with a metal roof. I wasn't surprised since I had done a lot of reading and was as prepared as I could have been. It was different in that I was impressed with how nicely they had it fixed up inside, with little decorations, furniture, a small TV, and a very homey feel. I was impressed with how little they had, yet how much pride they had in their home.

Did visiting Ciro's home make him more real and more human to you?
Yes, of course it did. I saw how he lived, how little he grew up with, and how grateful they are for so little. It was a wake-up call for me since we have so much here and always seem to focus on what we don't have. I got to look him in the face and hear him speak, and see how humble and shy he is, and see how hard it must be for him to relate to me and for him to comprehend how I would come all the way down there just to visit him.

What led you to start a project to buy Ciro a motorcycle, and how is the project coming along?
On the second visit in October of this year, I found out that Ciro had major transportation issues, with getting to and from his job. He had to ride a beat up bicycle (which he said was very difficult to pedal) to and from work, at least 45 minutes each way, before starting his long day on the banana farm. He said that some nights when he got home from work, he was so tired that he would just fall into bed without even eating dinner.

I was upset to hear this because I had thought that he had a little motorcycle which I had seen on the first visit, but apparently that was his dad’s and wasn’t always available. I immediately asked Franklin (a Children International employee) how much a decent used motorcycle would cost, and we eventually came up with a goal of $725. I mentioned that I wished I could buy it for him but it was a lot for me, in addition to my other contributions. He suggested that I try to raise the money, and I said “I don’t think I can.” But then he contributed $75 to get me started. I hadn’t thought of it like that…and I said, “Well, I can give $50.”

By the end of that day, back at my hotel in Santiago, I had raised almost $300. Some was from two strangers that I had just met, who thought it was a wonderful idea and offered to help without me even asking, as well as another sponsor, etc. Within a couple of weeks, when I was back home, I had met my goal thanks to the help of good friends here in the U.S.

When I returned to the Dominican Republic two weeks later, I was able to tell Ciro that he would be receiving a call from a C.I. representative shortly, to go out and buy him the transportation he so desperately needs!!! He will be able to get to and from jobs and school now more easily and with more self esteem, as well as be able to help his family with chores and also perhaps with getting other family members to work too!


This photo turned out a bit blurry, but it captures a once-in-a-lifetime moment...Bennett had just broken the news to Ciro that he would be getting a motorcycle -- and had given him a toy bike to represent what was coming!

Check back tomorrow for the rest of Bennett's observations on sponsorship and his visit to the Dominican Republic.

Measuring Hope: Children International's 2007 Annual Report is Here

Posted on behalf of Jim Cook


Greetings, CI Bloggers!

I hope your new year is off to a great start and that you’re enjoying the blog entries and comments from sponsors and our well-traveled CI staff! The really nice part of this is that all of you are participating in making the world a better place…and for the sponsored children you’re helping, a world that is a little easier and much more hopeful!

Before we get too far into the new year, we’re announcing the publication of our annual report from last year. It’s available by clicking here (or by visiting www.children.org/report.asp). In the report you can see what you and the rest of the sponsorship family have done over the past year…and it’s considerable!

So enjoy the report and then join us for another fun, satisfying year helping children and reading the interesting blog posts that uniquely document that experience!

Jim Cook is the president and CEO of Children International.

Behind the Scenes: Meet the Writer and...Go Bananas!

Posted on behalf of Erin Fitzgerald

Ever wonder where your bananas are grown?

Find out more beginning Tuesday, February 5, on Children International’s website, where we’ll feature a short video about Ciro, a sponsorship graduate who is working on a banana farm to help support his family.

Like most people, I never gave a second thought about the origin of my bananas. But in May, I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic to meet some of the families in our sponsorship program. I had the privilege of visiting Ciro, who sadly dropped out of school early to help support his family. Fortunately, a generous donation from his sponsor is now allowing him to continue his education.

We visited Ciro on the job at a banana farm to watch him in action. Working quickly and methodically, he boxed up bananas and prepared them to be exported so people like you and me can enjoy them.

And if you’re anything like me, the monotony of boxing up fruit might just drive you…bananas. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

But poor families are just grateful to have any type of employment that brings in money. They work in labor-intensive jobs, doing whatever it takes to keep their families afloat.

Next time you peel open a banana, think of the hard-working folks who cut them down and boxed them up so you could enjoy a delicious snack. And in the meantime, check out the video of Ciro, called “Children at Work” starting Tuesday, February 5. Feel free to come back and post your comments.

Erin is a staff writer for Children International. Her video about Ciro will be posted on our website, www.children.org, on Tuesday. Don't miss it!

Photo by Jennifer Spaw

The Sad Reality

Our mission as a humanitarian organization is to help lift children out of poverty by meeting their basic needs through sponsorship. However, you might be surprised to learn that we have children who have been waiting for two years or more just to get into the sponsorship program. In business-world lingo, we have more product (children) than we do buyers (sponsors).

This has happened for a couple of reasons: Just two years ago, we were experiencing rapid growth only to be hit by a sudden shift in the economy. Children we were going to move into the program quickly have been placed on the waiting list where they’ve now remained for far longer than we could imagine or want. And while we would like to move them up the list, we first have to honor our commitment to the children who, for one reason or another, lose their sponsors. Because, once a child officially enters the sponsorship program they continue to receive benefits…whether they have a contributing sponsor or not.

The blog gives us a way to provide you with insider and extra information on sponsorship and what goes on behind the scenes. This is a particularly hard situation for us to wrestle with. It just kills us to know there are so many children who are so close to receiving the life changing help they need, yet they desperately wait.

So we’re going to introduce a few of these children to you over the next several weeks. If you were already thinking about sponsoring another child, maybe one of these will appeal to you or even someone you know. If you’re already maxed out, and many of us are, feel free to give us your thoughts or ideas.

And now we’d like to introduce you to Amilkar, from Rural Guatemala. He’s 4-years-old and will turn 5 in May. Click on the family record to read more about him. Can you help find him a sponsor? If so, email us at blog@children.org. We’ll personally handle the arrangements and make sure he starts receiving benefits immediately.


I know we ask a lot from you, but I hope you, or someone you know, can help.