Photo Friday: Our top 5 ‘Colourful Clothes’ photos!

Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world. 

An outfit is a form of self-expression, and at our sponsor sites in Haiti, many children and adults are rocking some colourful garb. Our top 5 ‘Colourful Clothes’ photos are a celebration of the beautiful cultures that influence style around the world. 

#5: School Uniform Style

Who says school uniforms can’t be fashionable? The bright green uniforms of these girls at our St. Dominique site are beautiful and, dare we say, even trendy. When it comes to fashion, they’re in a class(room) of their own. 

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Kindness Goes a Long Way in Haiti

You never quite know where a dash of kindness will lead. Sometimes it means hope for someone struggling, an extra bit of income, or a new friend. For the students attending the Sant Ti moun Byenvini school near our Haiti North site, it meant full bellies and a whole lot of relief. 

In early 2021, Haiti struggled with political upheaval and a contracting economy, all while still dealing with the devastating effects of COVID-19. The pandemic meant the country closed its borders, which cut off food supplies from the Dominican Republic and other international suppliers. Groceries became limited and expensive.  

Parents even had trouble accessing materials for their small businesses, such as chicken feed. Very quickly, their only source of income was cut off. 

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How Can Special Money Make a Difference?

Chalice donors know sponsorship makes an impact on children every day around the world. But what some might not know is there are other ways to support your sponsored child. Around here, we call it ‘special money.’  

That’s when a sponsor chooses to donate extra money to their sponsored child, elder or family. But does this really help?  

Well, a simple donation of special money was all it took to change Harrison’s life.  

This grade-10 student from our Serenje sponsor site in Zambia lives with his mother, a small-scale farmer, in a house made of mud bricks and held down by building blocks. In the rainy seasons, it leaks.  

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 ‘Harvest Season’ photos!

Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

Fall has just begun, and for many in Canada, that means apple-picking season! And gourd season, and pumpkin season…in short, it’s harvest season.

Across the globe, many of our sites harvest at this time of year, too. So this week, we’re sharing our top 5 ‘Harvest Season’ photos! No matter where you are, we hope the harvest is plentiful.

#5: Cool Cabbage

If you’re not familiar with the African School Farming and Food Security Project, and especially the Starehe Girls School version, you’re missing out. Starehe Girls School is a boarding school in Kenya for girls from poor families throughout the country.

The school has a feeding program that includes growing all of its own produce. Chalice supports the garden, which regularly turns out delicious vegetables, such as cabbage.

Curious to learn more about the program? Click HERE

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Food Brings Happiness to Schoolchildren

“A hungry man is an angry man”, they say, and Ajugboul has seen that firsthand.

The elderly woman lives in one of the remote villages surrounding our Wa site in Ghana, and used to quarrel with her two grandsons over not having enough food to eat. The boys were abandoned by their parents, and finding them enough to eat was a struggle for Ajugboul.

They were always stuck at home, not even enrolled in school. For the sake of Ajugboul and her boys, some kind of intervention was needed.

Around the same time, word of the Chalice Nutrition Program in school was spreading. When the boys caught wind of the news, it was clear a solution was in sight.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 ‘Simple Joys’’ photos!

Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

In First Timothy 6:2-12, Timothy famously writes that, “The love of money is the root of all evils.” It’s easy for us to be led astray by pursuit of money and goods, but it’s the simple, small joys that give life its beauty.

Even without money, we can still appreciate all that God has given us – and indeed, doing this may bring us closer to God.

This Friday, we’re sharing our top 5 ‘Simple Joys’ photos. When times are hard and money is tight, it can be hard to find joy in the everyday. But with God’s help, we can realize there is so much to rejoice in!

#5: A Safe Home

Mary is all-smiles! She lives near our Baraka site in Kenya with her eight children, and their home was a small clay building where they cooked and slept. With all the smoke billowing about, she developed troubles with her eyesight.

With the help of Chalice supporters, she has a new house. We must never underestimate the simple power of a roof over one’s head.

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Cecilia’s Vision Comes to Fruition

Many of us go through life with 20/20 vision and no need for glasses. But not so for Cecilia.

The 21-year-old lost her vision at a young age. Raised by her single mother near our Mombasa site in Kenya, things took a turn for the worse when she got into an accident and injured her left eye.

Though she was treated at the time, the problem came rearing back when she began reading frequently while in school. With watery eyes and difficulty seeing, this was an immense challenge.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 ‘Worker’ photos!

Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

This past week in Canada, people across the country celebrated Labour Day. A day of rest and vacation, it’s historically a time to celebrate workers and their achievements.

Chalice works with hard workers around the globe, many of whom are the only ones supporting their families. This week, our top 5 ‘Worker’ photos celebrate all those working to provide for themselves and others.

#5: Mending Maladies

At our Mercy Care site in Kenya, people like Sr. Franclit work at the mobile medical clinic to help children treat infections and other illnesses.

When it first opened in 2013, the situation was dire.

“Now, the children are very healthy, they are getting enough food, they are getting enough medicine,” Sr. Franclit writes.

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High-Fives For Handwashing In Tanzania

At our Mbinga site in Tanzania, life already isn’t easy for many schoolchildren. Rural Tanzanian students often live in poverty, while their parents struggle to afford school fees. Children often drop out, further widening the poverty cycle. Around 70% of schoolchildren ages 14-17 aren’t enrolled in secondary education.

When COVID-19 swept the world, it certainly hit Tanzania. Handwashing and keeping schools hygienic became more important than ever.

Enter: the SWASH club.

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Sending a card or “special money” to your sponsor child or elder

Writing to your sponsored child creates a tangible connection between you and your sponsored child or elder, and they are so excited when they receive your letter directly. This also encourages them to write you back.

In addition, some of our Chalice sponsors like to give extra donations for Christmas, birthdays or other special occasions. We call this “special money”. There are 5 methods for sending a gift of “special money” and we will explain to you what they are in this post.

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