Sep 28 2012

First-generation student goes to college

Posted on September 28, 2012 by admin

CFCA sponsored youth Alfred.

Alfred is a sponsored youth from Bhagalpur, India, who is the first person from his village to attend college. Alfred is also a CFCA scholarship student, which helps cover other costs related to his education. Alfred sat down with Sreekanth, our communications liaison in India, to tell us about the academic and social challenges heís experienced as a college freshman.

Are you a first-generation college student? If so, how were you given this opportunity to attend college? Why did you decide to attend?

My father studied up to the ninth grade. He understands the value of education and encouraged me to study. Even though my college is very far away, he tried every opportunity to pay the fees and enroll me in school.

I am the first person to attend college from my village.

The hotel management and catering technology degree is a three-year diploma, and it is very expensive.

Though it is expensive, I preferred it because of CFCA’s sponsorship and scholarship support. I paid part of my college fees with CFCA’s help through sponsorship support and my CFCA scholarship. I was able to take out a bank loan for the remaining costs. Read more

Share this post:

Aug 20 2012

Going back to school: Mothers of sponsored children

Posted on August 20, 2012 by admin

It’s never too late to learn!

That’s one lesson that mothers of sponsored children taught Diego Felipe Coj Guarchaj, a CFCA staff member in Guatemala who has worked with CFCA for 13 years.

CFCA scholars and mothers go to school in Guatemala

Mothers of sponsored children in Guatemala are going back to school with the help of CFCA scholarships.

It began in 2007, when CFCA staffers started a literacy program in the town of Nahuala for mothers who wanted to learn how to read and write.

CFCA scholars taught the mothers as part of their community service project.

In 2008 more mothers wanted to learn, so the CFCA office in Nahuala contacted Guatemala’s national committee for literacy, a government-run institution that helps people finish their primary education.

In 2011 more than 75 mothers graduated from primary school with that literacy program.

Several of these mothers expressed a desire to continue their education, so the CFCA office encouraged them to apply for CFCA scholarships.

In 2012, Diego said 23 mothers and two fathers are now CFCA scholars. Classes include natural science, social studies, math, computers and writing.

“Twenty-three of the students are in seventh grade, one is in eighth grade, and one mother is in her first year of high school,” Diego said.

(Related link: Read more about the value of education for sponsored children in Guatemala.)

In a country where only 15.6 percent of the female population is educated to at least a secondary level of schooling (think junior high), according to the Human Development Index, the mothers’ achievements show their perseverance despite tremendous challenges. Read more

Share this post:

Jun 8 2012

Sponsorship helps families afford school, part 2

Posted on June 8, 2012 by admin

Last week we blogged about Rachel in Kenya, who received a school uniform through money saved from sponsorship benefits.

Providing children with the required uniform, books and supplies does not guarantee they will learn. The quality of the school has a significant impact on the child’s education.

Manjula lives in the Rasulpura slum in Hyderabad, India, with her two children. Her 12-year-old daughter, Aarthi, is sponsored through CFCA’s Hope for a Family program. Manjula earns about $60 a month as a maid.

Aarthi with her mother, Manjula, and her brother, Sai, outside their home in Hyderabad, India.

She has switched Aarthi to a different school twice because of overcrowded classrooms. One class of Aarthi’s had 60 schoolchildren.

“It became very difficult for the children to follow the class,” Manjula said. “There was no personal attention towards the children.”

Manjula uses Aarthi’s sponsorship funds to help pay the higher school fees at Aarthi’s current school.

“It is a better school in our locality,” Manjula said. “Each class is in a separate room. Benches are there. Teachers are also good.”

Like CFCA projects in Kenya, the Hyderabad project deposits sponsorship funds into a child account. Parents decide how to use the funds with oversight from their CFCA social worker.

CFCA sponsorship can impact other siblings in the family, too. Because Aarthi is sponsored, Manjula belongs to a CFCA mothers group. She borrowed money from her group’s collective savings program to send her son to school.

Share this post:

May 29 2012

Sponsorship helps families afford school, part 1

Posted on May 29, 2012 by admin

Because education is so effective in helping families build a path out of poverty, the Hope for a Family program places a high priority on the education benefit.

Children and youth who are of school age are eligible for CFCA sponsorship as long as they are in school.

Rachel, CFCA sponsored child in Kenya, with her new school uniform

Rachel, sponsored as a child through CFCA, has a new school uniform provided by money saved from her sponsorship account.

Parents in the CFCA program accept this requirement and work hard to keep their children in school. They are committed to helping their children reach their educational goals.

“Many parents of sponsored children didn’t have the opportunity to complete their own education,” said Dan Pearson, CFCA director of international programs. “They want their kids to have more choices and better opportunities that come with a more complete education.”

However, the greatest barrier to education for families in the CFCA program is the cost. That includes direct costs, such as tuition, books and supplies.

It also includes the hidden cost of lost family income when a teenager continues in school instead of working full time.

The families CFCA serves live on very narrow margins. Costs such as bus fare or uniforms can have a very large impact on their lives.

“Sponsorship widens those margins and gives families a little more breathing space, which allows them to keep their kids in school longer,” Pearson said.

During the next few weeks, we’ll present several examples of how sponsorship empowers families to support their children’s education. Today we take a closer look at Kenya. Read more

Share this post:

May 15 2012

Graduation season and the importance of a good ‘goodbye’

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

School and college graduations are taking place around the United States this time of year!

Now is a great time to help youth reflect on the need to take proper leave of those who have enriched their lives as they move on to the next chapter in their lives.

Larry Livingston, CFCA director of church relations, has created a simple exercise to help young people recognize and more deeply appreciate the important relationships in their lives.

This exercise can be used to complement a classroom lesson or parish youth gathering, or be part of an end-of-the-year group retreat.

Download the activity.

Related links

Share this post:

Mar 29 2012

Diego in Colombia gets his bicycle

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin

Earlier this month we featured Diego, a sponsored child who walked 80 minutes to school in Colombia ñ and that was just one way!

Our CFCA colleagues in Bogota ñ Harrison Garcia Ruiz, our communications liaison, and Judith Bautista, project coordinator ñ worked on getting a bicycle for Diego so he wouldn’t have to walk such a great distance.

Harrison was there as Diego went with his mother to pick out a new bike. These pictures, along with quotes from Diego, tell the whole story beautifully.

In Diego’s words

Having a bicycle to me was a very difficult dream to reach. My family does not have the resources to buy a bicycle for me.

One day CFCA staff members came to my house to interview me and to ask me about my life and how I get my education.

I told them about the long distance that I have to walk to get to school.

My mother told me later that CFCA staffers called her, and she told me that the CFCA office wanted to buy a bike to me so I could have a better situation in life.

I could not believe it at first, but I thank God for having that visit from CFCA’s staff and to be able to tell them my story, and in this way I could go to choose my bike with my mother. Read more and see the pictures

Share this post:

Tag Archives: school

Graduation season and the importance of a good ‘goodbye’

Contact us

CFCA Navigation

Charity ratings

Stay connected