Jun 29 2012

How sponsorship helped change an orphan’s life

Posted on June 29, 2012 by admin

Rosemary is from Uganda and was orphaned at age 6.

After her parents passed away, she went to live with her uncle and his seven children.

“Coming from a humble background, my parents meant everything to me,î Rosemary said. ìAfter their death, it meant an end to everything, the good dresses and meals on Christmas, etc. The death of both my parents left me in shambles and my whole life was engulfed in misery.”

With the high cost of attending school, Rosemary had no hope that she would ever receive an education.

But when CFCA welcomed Rosemary into the program, her life completely changed.

Read the full story about Rosemary in Uganda.

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Jun 19 2012

My journey: A CFCA scholar’s story

Posted on June 19, 2012 by admin

The CFCA project in Legazpi, Philippines, recently sent us success stories from young adults who were sponsored through CFCA.

Here’s one from Jeanelle, who is training to be a registered nurse after many challenges along the way. Congratulations, Jeanelle!

My life started to change when I was in fourth grade.

My mother had an interview and home visit from the CFCA staff. At that time I started to receive support and benefits from CFCA.

I received a complete set of school supplies, school uniforms, school shoes, groceries, utensils, a bath towel and much more.

When Sir Ed, my sponsor, wrote his first letter to me, I was really excited to read its contents.

One morning, our staff brought good news to us. Sir Ed decided to visit us. We prepared some delicious foods and souvenirs for him.

When Sir Ed arrived, he told us that he wanted an additional sponsored child from our family and chose my sister, Judith Mae.

When it comes to CFCA activities, thanksgiving Mass, recollection, goal orientation related activities and livelihood trainings, my family always made ourselves available.

My mother was chosen as parent leader and CASARO (CFCA Community Adjoins to Strengthen Aging & Children-Sponsorsí Relationship Organization) officer. Read more

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Jun 9 2012

Trip to Colombia: ‘An honor to be a sponsor for your children’

Posted on June 9, 2012 by admin

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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.

From my recent report from Medellin and Cartagena, please allow me to offer a little general information about CFCA in Colombia:

From the northern border with Venezuela to the southern border with Ecuador, we’ve walked every kilometer of Colombia, this wonderful country.

(Editor’s note: This is a reference to Walk2gether, the nearly 8,000-mile solidarity walk that Bob and CFCA staffers undertook through 12 Latin American countries. The walk lasted from December 2009 to June 2011.)

I remain deeply grateful for all the blessings, prayers and solidarity.

Colombia is a big piece of the Lord’s creation. In size it is number 4 in Latin America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru.

Colombia is special to me and to my family. I first landed here in 1960 as a Christian Brother missionary teacher.

I was assigned to Colegio La Salle, Cartagena. I have many wonderful memories of my students and fellow teachers at La Salle.

Since Cristina and I sponsored the first CFCA child, Florelia Delgado (Bogota project), CFCA-Colombia has grown to include 19,349 children and 2,179 elderly friends.

In addition, we currently have over 1,000 Colombian children on our waiting list for sponsorship. Project Bogota serves some 6,500 families in both urban and rural areas.

Before the sponsors arrived

Cristina and I enjoyed an inspiring day at the CFCA Center in Bogota on the Friday before the sponsors’ arrival. Read more

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May 25 2012

Colombian mother to sponsors: ‘You represent hope for our families’

Posted on May 25, 2012 by admin

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“Bob’s notes” are reports from CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who regularly accompanies mission awareness trip participants. You can see Bobís full update on his Facebook page.

From the northern border with Venezuela to the southern border with Ecuador, we’ve walked every kilometer of Colombia, this wonderful country.

I remain deeply grateful for all the blessings, prayers and solidarity.

CFCA in Colombia

Colombia is special to me and to my family. I first landed here in 1960 as a Christian Brother missionary teacher.

I was assigned to Colegio La Salle, Cartagena. I have many wonderful memories of my students and fellow teachers at La Salle.

Since Cristina and I sponsored the first CFCA child, Florelia Delgado (in the CFCA project in Bogota), CFCA in Colombia has grown to include 19,349 children and 2,179 elderly friends.

In addition, we currently have 1,552 Colombian children on our waiting list for sponsorship.

Our CFCA family in Colombia includes five major projects (Antioquia, Bogota, Cartagena, Cali and Quibdo).

All staff members at our Antioquia project (together with a few spouses and babies) were on hand to welcome the sponsors at the CFCA central office in Medellin. Read more

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May 14 2012

Enveloped in the love of Guatemalan sponsored children, families

Posted on May 14, 2012 by admin

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“Bob’s notes” are reports from CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who regularly accompanies mission awareness trip participants. You can see Bobís full update on his Facebook page.

The sinsonte birds are singing their hearts out, welcoming the early rains. They also welcome 35 CFCA sponsors, their hearts ready to learn and to share.

Excited children, elderly and families lift their hearts in prayers of gratitude for their sponsors.

In nine different regions across Guatemala, a dedicated CFCA staff serves an estimated 89,000 children and elderly. More than 500 families wait in hope to belong to CFCA.

God knows this is sacred ground, made so by the sacrifice of countless martyrs and the daily sacrifices of humble, hard-working people.

We are here to listen. May we see much more than poverty. May we see firsthand the realities of our families.

May we remain open to learn about their heroic efforts to walk that path out of poverty, hand in hand with our sponsors.

Remembering the martyrs

We remember in a special way the testimony and martyrdom of Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi 14 years ago: April 26, 1998.

Our attendance at Holy Mass at the Cathedral de la Asuncion Guatemala City draws our attention immediately to the thousands of names, mostly indigenous, etched for years into the massive pillars surrounding this historical structure, etched for life into our hearts. Read more

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Apr 12 2012

Costa Rica trip shows sponsored child’s renewed hope

Posted on April 12, 2012 by admin

CFCA sponsors visit sponsored child in Costa Rica

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

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