It takes a village

Judith, her daughter Eunice, and other children are incredibly grateful for the support following the devastating flood

Kokise village, located near the beautiful Lake Victoria in Kenya, boasts a strong, close-knit community. Along with the help of Chalice donors, this supportive group jumped in to support Eunice, a child sponsored through our Asembo site, after her family experienced a devastating flood last spring.

Eunice’s widowed mother, Judith, supports her seven children’s basic needs through buying and selling fish and selling extra crops grown on her property. Her farm and house were both very close to the lake. Last year during the rainy season, Lake Victoria’s water reached record levels and overflowed, claiming Judith’s home and land in a terrible flood.

Because boarding schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eunice and her six siblings were all home the night of the flood. Thankfully, the entire family escaped unharmed.

The entire village rallied around Judith and her family. Because the land she owned is vulnerable to future flooding, the family was given a new parcel of land higher up, partly donated by a one individual and partly paid for by the rest of the community.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 “sharing our gifts” photos!

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

This week, we’re marking National Week for Life and Family, an annual event in Canadian Catholic churches. The family is a place of sharing. When each member shares their gifts, their faith, their good works, their joys, and their hard-earned wisdom, the family grows into a little “church.” Our top 5 “sharing our gifts” photos celebrate how the families in our sites constantly demonstrate how to grow together into resilient, loving little churches.

#5: Sharing our time, talents, and gifts

Abinash, from India, was born with a development disability, and was unable to attend his local school. He required full-time care, preventing his parents from earning daily incomes.

With the support of sponsorship, Abinash is now able to attend a school for children with disabilities, and lives on campus with caregivers. He’s made a lot of progress, and is now able to perform daily tasks such as washing and dressing without any assistance.

Abinash is lively, curious, and friendly. His parents are both skilled potters, and with Abinash’s needs being met at school, they’re able to pursue their work full-time. They believe that he will be able to take up pottery and help them with their business when he graduates!

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Another win for Garikapudi

A gifted athlete, Garikapudi lives with his parents and older brother near our Mangalagiri site in India. Born into a loving and supportive family, his parents tried their best but struggled to provide for their children.

His mother and father worked side-by-side as often as they could selling fruit on the roadside but are both affected by serious health concerns. They never let their circumstances define them, however – Garikapudi’s parents are positive in their outlook on life.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 “mom moment” photos!

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

Moms are extraordinary! They seem to have eyes in the backs of their heads, more hands than just two, and hearts so big that the outpouring of love encompasses everyone around them. This weekend in Canada, we honour moms by celebrating Mother’s Day. In anticipation of this special day, we’re sharing our top 5 “mom moment” photos, celebrating mothers doing what they do best.

#5: Landing the airplane in the hangar

At our CMAVIL site in Paraguay, mothers of sponsored children volunteer at the Open Centre each day, a community center for children. They cook and serve healthy, free meals, help with schoolwork, brush hair, and everything else the 70 or so children need to be happy, healthy, and ready for school. This mom is helping the little ones clean off their plates!

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COVID-19: Updates on India and Sponsor Sites

We at Chalice are closely monitoring updates on the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We are working diligently to ensure that our operations continue safely. We will continue to update all of our supporters with the most recent information we have regarding our response to COVID-19.

Sponsored children and site updates

India – As the COVID-19 situation continues to escalate catastrophically, the sponsor site staff are continuing to serve the families in their sites. Following all government guidelines and using PPE, they are ensuring the sponsored children have access to education, nutrition, and healthcare. Families circles are not meeting.

Donate Now to help our sites in India provide families with food, cleaning products, surgical three-layer masks, face shields, cloth masks, and hand sanitizer.

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From mother to mother – teaching skills through generations

Learning to knead dough until it feels just right, combining spices that make a meal pop, and turning over a new garden bed to get the most robust growth are just some of the valuable skills that mothers pass on to their children. The warm childhood memories that fill our minds of working side-by-side, as we soak in the knowledge of our mothers and grandmothers are priceless.

We then build our own memories as we teach these same skills to our own children, which connects us all forever. Traditions passed down will live on. Sometimes, they can even be turned a profitable business that can help the family thrive, as is the case with Lourdes.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 “family entrepreneur” photos!

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

Even though we celebrate Labour Day in September here in Canada, many other countries celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1, including many of the countries where we work! May 1 also marks the Catholic feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. In honour of these two upcoming occasions, this week, we’re shining a spotlight on workers.

Working during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a monumental challenge all over the world, especially for families at our sites who face barriers on the best of days. Every day, we’re inspired by the brave and creative individuals we work with who are innovating and adapting their livelihoods to provide for their families. Our top 5 “family entrepreneur” photos highlight just a few ways that families have started new businesses or persevered in their ventures this past year.

#5: A convenient container

Thanks to kind donors through our gift catalogue, The Njiru Stars group of entrepreneurs from our Nairobi site in Kenya received a shipping container for their business hub. They have kitted out the space to be a convenience store, produce stand, barber shop, snack bar, welding shop and vegetable garden!

The young entrepreneurs are thrilled to be business owners. Their enterprises have meant steady work during widespread unemployment due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Owning the container has protected them from the stress of unpaid rents, and they are able to continue supporting their families!

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Clean water refreshes children and improves health at Holoby Village School

Children at Holoby Village School enjoy fresh, clean drinking water after a $55,426 donation repaired their contaminated water system.

For a long time, the parents of Holoby village near our Pochaiv site in Ukraine were incredibly worried about the health of their children. Over a span of more than 16 years, their children were born frail and sickly, which only worsened as they grew. Doctors struggled to pinpoint why the children were so sick. No matter what medications they tried, nothing seemed to help, either. A local pediatrician noted several concerning conditions such as allergies and intestinal and liver diseases which tended to become chronic around age seven.

After an investigation by the State Sanitary Epidemiological Service of Ukraine found harmful substances in drinking water, the source of the children’s diseases became clear. Years of drinking contaminated water and eating school lunches prepared with the same contaminated water was causing serious adverse health effects.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 “volunteers on mission” photos!

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

It’s National Volunteer Week! We’d like to celebrate, thank, and pray for all of our volunteers who have worked with us at Chalice. Every person has been a blessing, bringing their unique gifts to help us carry out our mission here in and Canada and overseas.

Volunteers help us in our office, in their own communities and parishes across Canada, and at our sponsor sites when they travel with us on mission. When gathering restrictions came in place in Canada, the move to volunteering from their homes did not phase our local volunteers. They still stuffed more 100,000 envelopes of child correspondence at Christmastime!

Today we’re sharing our top 5 “volunteers on mission” photos – highlighting all of the ways our volunteers share their expertise, passion and, above all, love with the children and families at our sites.

#5: Sojin’s new pals

Sojin volunteered her time and talents on a mission trip to Paraguay. She loved playing with the children at the Open Centre in our CMAVIL site. Sponsored children come to the Open Centre before or after school, where they receive help with their homework, a hot meal, healthy snacks and of course, lots of outdoor play time. So it was extra fun to have buddies from Canada for a whole week to push them on the swings, skip their jump ropes, and play soccer!

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Year after year, Chalice volunteers make huge impact

Volunteers are at the core of Chalice and make a huge positive impact on the work we do. From the parents who run feeding programs in our sites, to our Chalice Champions in Canada who fundraise and advocate in their parishes, schools, and communities, volunteers help us keep our costs low and impact high.

The ongoing pandemic has drastically changed how we work, but the enthusiasm and dedication of our treasured volunteers is stronger than ever.

Cathy, a Chalice Champion currently living in Nova Scotia was recently inspired by a bingo themed 50/50 fundraiser she participated in this past winter. “When I heard that one of the schools I visited on my mission trip to Tanzania in 2019 was raising money for a library I thought that I could use the same idea,” she explained. “Thinking that it was a good way to connect with family and friends across the country during these lockdown times, I put together an emailing list and sent a message.”

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