Archive for July, 2008
Reading their way out of poverty
In El Trompillo, Venezuela, a barrio north of Barquisimeto, a small group of young children has escaped the hot, dusty streets of their neighborhood to sit on the cool, cement floor of the CFCA office and hear Maria read a story about a goblin, “El Duende.”
Maria reads slowly and stops periodically to show them the pictures. The story is short. She finishes in several minutes. When she is through, she asks the children to use their imaginations and write their own story about a goblin.
Maria, 17, a CFCA scholarship student and sponsored member, helps out with the El Trompillo reading group every Saturday morning. The group was initiated by another scholarship student, Rodrigo, 19, to help the young students improve their reading skills. The reading group fulfills Rodrigo’s and Maria’s service requirement for their scholarships, and it provides a valuable benefit to the community.
“I think it’s important for students to develop their reading skills,” Rodrigo said. “If you can read well, then you will succeed in school.”
One young student, Yerlianny, 9, proudly displays the story she has written along with a drawing of her goblin.
Here is Yerlianny’s story:
The Goblin (El Duende)
“The goblin lives in a house. He is very loving. It is a marvelous house. He likes to play kickball. He won a large medal and a large beautiful cup. The medal is silver and the cup is silver and gold.”
Read more about the El Trompillo reading group and the scholarship students of Venezuela in our August Update newsletter.
July 31, 2008 at 12:03 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Her parents bought her shoes…
Bart and Annie Winter are volunteering with CFCA for a year in Ocotepeque, Honduras. They arrived in Honduras just a few weeks ago, and will be sharing their experiences with us throughout the year.
There are many significant moments in every life. In the life of a sponsored elderly woman named Doña Delia, those moments include her marriage, the births and deaths of her children, and, also of importance, the fact that as a child, her parents bought her shoes.
The following is a glimpse into the life of one member of the CFCA family here in Ocotepeque.
Doña Delia poses for a picture near the project offices.
On Monday, Miriam (the project coordinator) invited us to visit one of the sponsored elderly who has been ill. Her name is María Delia, but she goes by Doña Delia. She is 74 years old and lives in a tiny (6×6 ft) house, which consists of a dirt floor, four mud walls and a patchwork tin roof. She has no electricity, running water or latrine.
On the way to her house, Miriam tells us that Doña Delia has quite a personality. She’s known for wearing pants under her dresses and her favorite hat is similar to one that a drum major might wear to lead a parade. Later, upon reviewing Doña Delia’s file, we also learn that she likes to wear makeup so that she looks nice for the people she meets. It is clear that she is a strong, spunky individual despite her age and the circumstances of her life.
Doña Delia was born in 1934, to her parents, Francisca and Arturo. As a little girl, she helped provide for her family by making cigars and quesadillas to sell on the streets. She was never able to attend school, so she never learned to read or write. She remembers that her parents bought her a pair of shoes – a significant point of pride because, at that time, most children went barefoot. At the age of 14, Doña Delia married her boyfriend, Merejildo. She went on to give birth to 14 children, 8 of whom died either at birth or as babies. When she was 40, her husband died, and after a time, she began to go with Rafael Antonio. Since then, they have lived in a poor neighborhood within the city limits of Ocotepeque.
Tucked into the corner of an overgrown lot in this forgotten neighborhood sits Doña Delia’s house. Smoke from her small adobe oven pours out from the 6 inch gap between her walls and her roof. Upon entering her humble home, the first thing that strikes you is the heat. The second thing that strikes you is Doña Delia, lying upon her bed in a red sweatshirt and sweatpants, with a matching handkerchief tied around her hair. Despite the heat, she is covered in a wool blanket. Her face is soft, like worn leather, but her eyes are alert and she is quick to smile at the sight of Miriam, or la profesora, as everyone here calls her. (more…)
Givers’ high
It’s like a runner’s high, except it keeps on giving as long as you do! And now it’s laboratory tested.
Researchers have concluded that “giving unto others” produces a strong dose of happiness for the giver. According to a study published in March by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Harvard Business School, there is scientific proof that financial generosity makes a person happier. The reward comes to donors large and small. From large Bill Gates-sized contributions to the normal working person’s offering, it’s not in the size of the donation, but in the act of giving. The UBC press release HERE explains it in greater detail.
The study states that people experience the same kind of physical endorphin rush from making charitable donations as runners get when they’re “in the zone.”
So, in scientific terms, giving a one-time donation is like a jolt of joy, and sponsoring a child or aging person is like a happiness marathon.
ADDED BENEFIT: Learning from those we sponsor
A sponsor told us that his family helps support Vanessa who is interested in science and lives in the Guatemala rainforest. They find spiritual enrichment through sharing their lives with Vanessa and her family. But also, they’ve learned more about nature from Vanessa’s letters and have become more conscious about recycling and being caretakers of the environment.
July 23, 2008 at 3:16 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Bob’s report: Visit to Honduras
Mission Awareness Trip
June 21-28, 2008
On the first day of the trip, a huge number of families waited for us with fireworks, flags and live mariachi music. Max participation of children, scholars, staff, parents, sponsors—among them talented singers, dancers and poets.
CFCA scholars in Ocotepeque, under the direction of staff member Juan Ramon Santos, have formed a very talented dance troupe.
Sewing business thrives
An inspiring testimony was offered on the Monday morning of the mission awareness trip. Dona Albertina and her three children, Lester, Manuel and Tanya, spoke of the challenges of living with a husband and father afflicted with a drinking problem. Albertina learned to be a seamstress through courses offered at CFCA. She now has a growing sewing business operating out of their home. She and the children attribute their more dignified living to the encouragement and help they receive from their sponsors and the CFCA community. Lester graduates this year with a degree in business. Tanya and Manuel are doing very well in 7th and 9th grade.
Sponsors had meaningful experiences with the families they visited, and they listened to powerful personal testimonies. Just in Ocotepeque, 12 new children and one aging person were sponsored on this trip. In addition, this enthusiastic group has requested 74 folders of children and aging people who are waiting to be sponsored. May God bless their efforts.
We were privileged to hear the testimony of the Osorio family. Both mom and dad work hard and produce a modest income for the family of seven. After thethe birth of their first girl, Gabriela, now 16, they were blessed with four more children, Jose, Cristian, Oscar and Eduardo. Luis, the father, is a gentle man made of iron. He makes a modest income hauling firewood from the forest using only a leather forehead strap (mecapal) and ropes. Martha markets door-to-door the fine aluminum bread pans she makes at home.
July 16, 2008 at 1:53 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 7 comments
CFCA’s newest mothers group
In CFCA’s Hyderabad Project in India, the mothers of sponsored children are encouraged to come together in small self-help groups where they share their concerns, help one another and make small loans to the members of the group.
The mothers typically use these loans to start a small business, pay for higher education or pay for a medical emergency. The loans start small and grow along with the size of the loan pool and the individual member’s ability to repay.
Tuesday I visited the newest sponsored mothers group. Each of these 15 women has a child who has recently been sponsored in the Hyderabad project, and the mothers were applying to start a mothers group.
Starting a mothers group means that the mothers commit to following CFCA’s accounting standards and financial transparency procedures for all loans. The mothers must also save a small amount in their account each month, and CFCA matches each member’s savings. The mothers’ savings and CFCA match create the loan pool for the small loans. Then, when a mother’s child graduates or leaves the program, she is entitled to the portion she has contributed and the CFCA match.
A proud new member of a CFCA mothers group
The meeting began with Rosy and Sukshmana, two CFCA Hyderabad staff members, asking the mothers why they wanted to start a sponsored mothers group. The mothers explained that they had seen the benefits that the other sponsored mothers had gained from being in a small group. They wanted to be able to start or grow their own small businesses and eventually send their children to university.
Bob’s report: Visit to Colombia
Mission Awareness Trip
June 2008
This is our fourth Mission Awareness Trip to this country. Medellin is hosting for the next few days a meeting of the OAS—Organization of American States. Security forces abound.
In Colombia since 1983
Ten years later (1993), Jerry Tolle and Transito Hernandez traveled from Cartagena to Medellin to inaugurate Project Antioquia. As of May 2008, the CFCA presence in the five projects in Colombia looks like this:
Children sponsored 16,160
Aging sponsored 1,668
Vocations sponsored 168
Waiting list-Colombia 1,837
Day One in Medellin
Coordinator Transito Hernandez gave us a very fine overview of Project Antioquia. The sponsored children offer the world smiles, beauty and grace in the harshness of the high neighbors of Medellin.
This project has shown us good solid programs for sponsored children, but also impressive are the programs for mothers:
1. Alphabetization, elementary and junior high equivalency—facilitated mainly by scholars and volunteers.
2. Good training by professional and dedicated teachers in livelihood projects, with over 90 percent of sponsored mothers participating. These mothers currently produce school uniforms for 32 schools.
3. Beauty shops, bakeries for all kinds of breads and cakes–also for schools and special events.
4. Dance program for mothers.
Day Two
We visited subproject PN in La Pintada, surrounded by mountains 48 miles south of Medellin in the valley of the Cauca River. The Cauca is at flood stage as I write and 41 of our 237 sponsored families have been forced to leave their homes. Sisters serving here speak of the reality of this town of 10,000 including child labor, child abuse, pregnancies in the early teens, lack of employment opportunity, very little environmental planning and intra-family violence.
The hope quotient
The CFCA presence in La Pintada has grown little by little, with the sponsorship of boys and girls who before hung out on the street without much incentive to go to school. We now have 237 children in the program attending school and six scholars in higher education. The elderly also have a good program. Because of the CFCA sponsorship program in La Pintada, 140 elderly and 225 children enjoy a nutritious lunch every school day.
July 2, 2008 at 1:24 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
