CFCA scholarship students serve their communities
CFCA scholar Julio, 15, cultivates beets to fulfill his community service commitment. He works about eight hours a week on his garden in Guatemala. He clears land, plants seeds, tends the plants, and harvests his crops to sell and help pay some of his educational expenses.
Last week we blogged about the CFCA Scholarship Program, focusing on our project in Guatemala.
Today’s blog post explores the community service component, which is one of the program’s most important aspects.
Scholarship students provide valuable service hours to CFCA projects and serve as positive role models and mentors for younger children. Read more
April 18, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
‘CFCA is the way of God to show his love to me’
The CFCA project in Legazpi, Philippines, recently sent us success stories from young adults who were sponsored through CFCA. Here’s one from Lea, who is hoping to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
“God is wonderful; he never gets tired of loving us.”
This is the saying that I will never forget. Because I knew and have proved that this saying is very true.
And did you know who taught me that? My sponsor.
Yes! I am one of the sponsored members of Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.
This foundation is the root of who I am now, and what I will be in the future.
Before I became a member of CFCA at the age of 8, I belonged to a poor family. I always heard my father and mother talk about money.
Because I am the oldest daughter in the family, I experienced many difficulties in life. Sometimes, I needed to give what I had to my youngest sister and brothers, even though in the end I am the one will have nothing.
Our home was very far from the town. It was very hard to walk half a mile to school every day, and when it rained, the road became so muddy.
I cannot help laughing when I remember that I always fell down, and I went home with a muddy bath! Read more
April 17, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Celebrating Mass: Sponsored friends in Colombia
What are Mass customs and traditions around the world? In this blog post, CFCA explores how sponsored children, youth and aging friends who practice the Catholic faith in Colombia celebrate Mass. Thanks to Harrison Garcia Ruiz, our communications liaison in Colombia, for contributing to this article.
Leidy, a child sponsored through CFCA, and her mother pray at Mass in Colombia.
The majority of the families in the CFCA Hope for a Family program in Colombia are Catholic, and they participate actively during Mass.
Boys and girls attend Mass with their families, and they sit down and they listen to God’s Word and the priest’s reflection. The Mass usually lasts for an hour, sometimes 90 minutes.
Leidy is a child sponsored through CFCA for three years. She likes to attend the Mass with her mother, father and little brother Daniel.
“We attend the Mass on Sundays, and we sit down and listen to the priest,” she said. “My favorite part of the Mass is during the sign of peace because we shake hands and we hug each other. It is a happy moment.
“Also, I like the music during the Eucharist. My favorite song is ‘Glory Hallelujah.’ It is a happy song. …
“I pray with my mother and my family, and we pray to God for our needs and I pray to do well at school. I like to talk with God, and I ask God for our health.” Read more
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April 16, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 2 comments
Costa Rica trip shows sponsored child’s renewed hope
Susan, Alan and Chuck on a mission awareness trip in Costa Rica.
Charles and Susan Proesel are longtime CFCA sponsors and volunteers. They have six sponsored friends and travel on mission awareness trips to visit them.
Here’s a wonderful testimony from Susan that illustrates the beauty of the friendships that have formed between the Proesels and one of their sponsored children, Alan, in Costa Rica.
In March, we were finally on our way to our long-awaited CFCA mission awareness trip to Costa Rica, “the land of eternal spring.”
This trip would be to meet our sponsored child Alan and his family. We were looking forward to a breath of spring after our long Midwest winter, but what we found was certainly not what we expected.
Costa Rica is a land of many climates, and the western part of the country that we traveled to was parched and hot as a result of the usual dry season. Read more
April 12, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Backgrounder on birth certificates for sponsored children
Millicent worked hard to acquire birth certificates for her children Robert, left, and Ben, right, both sponsored through CFCA.
What’s in a name? Depending on where you live, it can mean a whole lot of difference, especially when it comes to government documents such as birth certificates.
Many sponsored children, aging friends and their family members in our Kisumu, Meru and Nairobi projects in Kenya do not have birth certificates.
The reasons for this vary. Sometimes parents cannot afford to deliver their children in hospitals.
Because there’s no one to notify the government when births occur at home, many of these children end up without a birth certificate.
A birth certificate is a copy of an official government document that proves you exist. It gives you an identity and validates your importance to society.
It can be difficult, if not impossible, for those without birth certificates to gain formal employment, open bank accounts and own property.
CFCA has undertaken an initiative to help families obtain official birth certificates. Through this initiative, we’re taking steps to empower them to take control of their futures and create a positive self-identity.
Read more about how Kenyans are obtaining birth certificates despite tremendous obstacles.
April 11, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
With your help, we’ve sent $1 billion in overseas support
Eliakim, left, and his sponsor, Rebecca Shaneyfelt. Rebecca visited Eliakim on a CFCA mission awareness trip to Kenya in February 2012.
Great news, everyone! As of April 2012, we’ve sent $1 billion to the field in support of our programs to help sponsored children and aging friends around the world.
(Read our news report here: CFCA reaches milestone in supporting families)
We’re deeply humbled and grateful for the support of everyone in our community for making this possible.
As stewards of the money you, our sponsors and donors, entrust to us, we’ll continue our commitment of sending the highest reasonable amount of available resources directly toward program support.
We also will continue to honor our co-founders’ commitment to put the needs of those living in poverty first.
CFCA President and Co-founder Bob Hentzen put it this way at a CFCA board meeting:
“We want to promote a new view of globalization, one in which we put into international motion a true sharing of the resources of God’s creation. We want the resources and goods of this earth to favor unity, not separation. In our preferential option, we favor the poor.”
Because of their perseverance and the support from more than 628,000 sponsors who have “walked” with us, we’re the organization that we are today. We’re excited to see where the next 30 years will take us.
As always, thank you so much for your support!
April 10, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 2 comments
CFCA scholarships keep dream of education alive
Sponsorship through the Hope for a Family program helps cover costs associated with education, but when children reach secondary school, the cost to stay in school may exceed what sponsorship provides.
CFCA scholarships help fill this gap.
Jose Manuel Bajan Buch, left, leads CFCA's education outreach in the Hermano Pedro project in Guatemala.
Since 2001, the CFCA Scholarship Program has awarded more than $22 million to deserving youth and young adults attending secondary schools, technical schools and university programs.
The scholarship program in Guatemala began in 1997 and supports more scholarship students than in any other country where CFCA works.
It operates similar to scholarship programs in other CFCA projects.
Here’s an interview with Jose Manuel Bajan Buch, who leads CFCA’s education outreach in the Hermano Pedro project in Guatemala.
Jose Manuel works with an education coordinator in each of the project’s nine regions. The local coordinators are responsible for administering the scholarship program in their communities.
Who is eligible for a CFCA scholarship?
Students in middle school and beyond, at least 15 years old. They must have limited economic resources, a commitment to improving their conditions, a desire to continue their education, leadership qualities and a desire to serve their community.
How does a student apply for a scholarship? See the answer
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April 9, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Growing in grace and peace on trip to Costa Rica
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“Bob’s notes” are reports from CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who regularly accompanies mission awareness trip participants. You can see Bob’s full update on his Facebook page.
Heartfelt greetings from this beautiful country.
We are excited to share these days with sponsored friends, their families, sponsors and staff — inspiring people on a very real journey.
The CFCA community in Costa Rica has made us feel very much at home. “We would like to live this mission awareness trip with a profound spirit of gratitude to the Lord of life.”
Note: Photo credits go to CFCA staff members in our project in San Jose.
In Costa Rica, we are honored to be able to work with over 7,000 families. Another 500 families have applied to belong to CFCA.
Costa Rica is considered a paradise for ecotourism. We are fortunate to experience many beautiful parts, but we also experience dramatic contrasts.
This trip is a real experience of pilgrimage, which implies joy, sadness, tiredness, pain and hope. Read more
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April 7, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
‘Blessing wrapped in a challenge’: Sponsor visits the Philippines
By Steve Taylor, CFCA sponsor
In 2007 my wife, Jayne, and I began sponsoring Khain, then age 10. We enjoy a wonderful relationship through the letters we exchange on a regular basis.
Khain, Steve Taylor and Anjo on the CFCA mission awareness trip to the Philippines in January 2012.
I can honestly say I’ve never been so pleased about a reprimand. We loved that she looked forward to the letters, even enough to ask for them.
This gentle reprimand strengthened our relationship and made us think about Khain’s maturity and our interest in her future. We wanted to focus on her long-term future.
To match Khain’s maturity, Jayne and I transitioned our letters from general news to asking more about her goals and ambitions.
In addition to encouraging her to do well in school, we also determined we could help her with college or technical training costs after high school.
We decided the best way to communicate our offer was face to face during the 2012 CFCA mission awareness trip to the Philippines.
Now here’s the challenge. The day prior to visiting Khain and her family at their home, I was informed Khain had left home and dropped out of school for a month while only 14.
Fortunately, she returned home and is back in school. Now the long-term vision for college changes to ensuring she finishes high school. Read more
April 6, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Couple visit sponsored friend in Kenya, connect across cultures
Fred and Scheryn Pratt have sponsored nine children over the years with CFCA. One of them, Newton, is pursuing an education in art with the help of CFCA and the Pratts, who contribute to his art school fees in addition to sponsorship.
Here is an excerpt of a conversation our correspondent Natasha Sims recently had with Scheryn about their sponsorship experience.
Newton and Scheryn Pratt on a 2010 mission awareness trip to Kenya. The Pratts have sponsored Newton for six years
I heard you got to visit Newton’s home and school. What was that like?
It was very eye opening. He goes to the Buru Buru Art Institute, and it’s a college.
It’s very nice with a lawn and grounds and nice buildings, and we toured the school. And that was just like a typical college, but small – not big like in the U.S.
Well, his home is in a very poor slum. It is one small room for three people: his older brother, his mother and himself.
It’s crowded in the sense that there’s so little space and there’s very little furniture.
When I say one room, I mean 12×12 or 8×8, so it’s small. It’s on the third floor of an apartment building.
There was one light bulb hanging from the ceiling, but the power had been turned off so they had no electricity. The neighborhood is full of trash – you know, nothing growing, just mud and dirt. Read more of Scheryn’s interview
April 5, 2012 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 5 comments
