Since 2012, Chalice has worked with partners in Sucre, Bolivia to offer care and services to vulnerable children and families. In addition to sponsorship, our Levántate Mujer site is also involved in our gift catalogue program. At Christmas (and throughout the year,) kind Canadians can purchase gifts through our catalogue to be given to those in need. Thanks to our generous supporters, many children and families from our Levántate Mujer site were blessed with a variety of gifts this year!
“I remember harvesting beans with my grandmother from her backyard garden. As we would wash and clean them standing over the kitchen sink she would entertain me with stories from when she was a little girl. She grew up on an isolated farm in the country with no electricity or running water. She had many chores to complete before walking to school each morning, one of which included drawing water from their well. It was most certainly a demanding task and quite unpleasant in cold and rainy weather to be sure, but at least she didn’t have to worry about getting attacked by crocodiles or snakes!
As a child I could never understand what it was like for my grandmother to not have access to water inside her home. Even today as an adult who works in international development, knowing the realities million of people around the world face each day, I still find it difficult to comprehend the monumental effort people put forth each day in their quest to gather enough water to meet their daily needs.
This may be the reason that ensuring people have reliable access to safe water is one of my favourite projects. The unification of our generous donors here in Canada which allows for the infrastructure to be built overseas and brings such joy and relief to the families in our sites is a beautiful sight to witness. We are excited to present our most recent water project which will bring treated water to about 4,100 residents and schools within Aduoyo and Kokise villages at our Asembo sponsor site in Kenya.
Volodya is a energetic, hardworking 11-year-old boy from our Ternopil site in Ukraine. He’s in grade six, and his favourite subjects are computer studies and biology. He’s very social, and enjoys playing soccer with his friends and attending dance and drama club at his local community center. He adores animals, and enjoys taking care of his dog Alfa and cat Murka!
When Volodya was growing up, his life wasn’t always filled with happy moments. When he was born, his father abandoned him and his mother, Svitlana, who was left to raise her new baby alone. Volodya suffered with frequent illnesses, so the family had to spend most of their time at the hospital. Since they were homeless, they lived in the small hospital shelter for a year while Volodya received treatment.
After moving from shelter to shelter for over three years, Svitlana eventually found a shabby apartment that they could afford on her small income as a janitor. The building has no running water, and was in need of many repairs. Svitlana still struggled to pay rent, and the two often didn’t have enough to eat.
In 2014, Pope Francis said, “Educating is an act of love; it is like giving life.” If you get the opportunity to visit a school in one of our sites you know this to be true – the children are so happy and so thankful to be able to learn.
But hungry kids can’t learn. One of the ways that Chalice breaks the barrier hunger places on education is through our Nutrition Fund which provided over four million meals last year!
Surrounded by three slums, Muthaiga Primary School, located near our Baraka site in Kenya, rarely receives funds from the Ministry of Education, which places a real burden on them. The children attending school often came hungry and their academics suffered.
Our Madurai site in India first began in 1997 in partnership with the Sisters of the Cross of Chavannod. “We aim to empower the poor and downtrodden,” says Sr. Amala, our site director. “We work to identify the capabilities hidden within students and to find creative strategies to convert them in to very useful and relevant skills!”
Today, our Madurai site sponsors over 700 children. Two hundred of these live in the subsite area of Kodaikanal. In this area, many children faced barriers that prevented them from attending school. Continue reading
For children living in poverty, education is the key to a better future. In many developing countries, however, the schools available to children make it difficult to learn. Some classrooms don’t have enough desks or school supplies for every student. In some communities, there’s not even a school for children to attend.
In Kenya, elementary school is free to attend. Unfortunately, parents are still responsible for books and uniforms, which can be expensive for a struggling family. School infrastructure in Kenya is extremely poor; in many cases, classes are taught in makeshift shacks. Often, there’s no furniture, so children must sit on the floor. This poor learning environment makes it difficult for children to focus on their lessons.
Selva’s son Braulio has been sponsored through our CMAVIL site in Paraguay for 10 years. Sponsorship has been an immense blessing, but when Selva’s husband lost his job, the family’s financial situation became dire. Selva, eager to support her family, had the idea to start a small laundry business!
Laundry work is not regarded as a respectable job in her community, and Selva’s husband tried to persuade her to do something else. Selva, however, was determined she would be able to make her business idea work. When her daughter was let go from her job due to downsizing, the family put the severance pay towards their first industrial washing machine. They named their new small business “J&M Laundry”, after Joseph and Mary from the bible.
When Scolastica’s mother passed away, she and her sister’s life changed forever. The two sisters from Nanyuki, Kenya, had to leave their lives behind and move in with their uncle, who offered to adopt the girls into his family. Scolastica’s uncle has a wife and children of his own, and works as a casual laborer to make ends meet. The family doesn’t own land and lives in a rented house, and the financial burden of two extra children caused them to quickly fall behind.
Even seemingly minor health issues can stand between a child receiving the most out of their education. Caroline, a sponsored teen from Nakuru, Kenya, lives with her mom and two siblings. Three years ago, Caroline started having issues with her eyesight. Her eyes suddenly became intolerant to bright lights, leading to discomfort in class and while studying. Her aching, red eyes would often trigger severe headaches.
Caroline was given painkillers for some time, but the irritation and headaches became too much to bear. Looking for answers, her mother took her to the hospital. Doctors discovered that Caroline’s brain was unable to adjust to various levels of brightness, causing light sensitivity.
Education is essential to break the cycle of poverty, but children also need to be healthy to be able to learn. Being affected by vision or hearing loss, chronic pain, or mobility problems can severely affect a child’s ability to learn. Donations to Chalice critical needs is one way our supporters help break the barrier poor health can place on a child in need.
Munich, a 17 year old sponsored teenager from our Tondo site in the Philippines, lives with severe mixed hearing loss in both her ears. She had a typical hearing throughout childhood but around the age of 10 her mother noticed that she was having trouble with her hearing. Munich’s family is quite poor. She lives with her parents and seven siblings in the slum and even though it was evident that Munich was in great need of hearing aids to keep up with her school work, a series of unfortunate events befell the family and she didn’t receive the help she needed.
