Photo Friday: Our top 5 “New Beginnings” Photos!

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

Green is a special colour for the month of July in the Church, symbolizing the kind of hope we see in a sprouted seed when the snow finally melts away.

Green also reminds us of new beginnings, and how we can start fresh. This week, our top 5 “New Beginnings” photos celebrate all the beautiful beginnings that shape us into who we are.

#5: New Life

“In children we have a great charge committed to us.” – St. John Chrysostom

The birth of a child signals new beginnings for everyone. The baby gets to discover the beauty and joy of life, as the mother and father tackle parenthood. God has a plan for every child, and every child deserves love and dignity.

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Hard Work Brings Lorenzo Home

Some people just have a way with words. If you’re not convinced, ask translator/teacher Lorenzo.

In Chile, where Lorenzo is from, the disparity between low-and-high-income is often stark. At our Arica site, Chalice partners with religious organizations to offer medical checkups and skill training.

And, of course, sponsorship.

A generous donor has been sponsoring Lorenzo since he was six years old, opening doors that began his path towards success.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 “Breaking Bread” Photos!

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

Ah, potlucks. The scent of spices and oils and sugar melding together into everyone’s favourite dishes. The best part about them? Eating together.

Breaking bread among friends helps us grow in fellowship, and there’s no doubt many of us can’t wait until we can gather with friends and family for a meal once more. Our top 5 “Breaking Bread” photos remind us of the sacredness of this time-honoured tradition.

#5: Joyous Eating

Check out this girl’s cheeky smile! Near our Dominica sponsor site in Paraguay, the San Pedro Dining Hall has become the core of the community. Monday to Friday, hard-working mothers arrive early in the morning to prepare the day’s food. And guess what? These women are all volunteers.

Every day, 130 children and 10 seniors arrive for their meals. Many of those children are also sponsored. Breaking bread is truly at the heart of the site.

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Ely Whips Up Success

Ely knows her way around a computer, a cake and a page full of numbers. Determined and hard-working, she’s not one to abandon her goals. But to achieve them, she took a bumpy ride.

In Yapacani, Bolivia, children, adolescents and elders face abandonment. Many children only attend a few grades of primary school, and university? It’s often out-of-the-question.

Ely’s parents are farmers, and supporting their children’s education was hard.

Fortunately, hope arrived. Ely’s Chalice sponsor entered her life, and made the path forward a little brighter.

Through almost 15 years, he’s made a huge difference. Sponsorship meant finances were less concerning, and Ely’s parents could support schooling.

With a heaping helping of hard work and her sponsor’s support, Ely achieved an incredible milestone: university. She studied petroleum engineering, beginning the journey to a fulfilling career.

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The Radiance of Peruvian cuisine: Papa rellena

Our regions have radiant cuisine, and Latin America is known for its abundance and richness of products. Peru has rich biodiversity due to its geography, with the Amazons and the high-altitude Andes mountains.

Have you ever wondered where potatoes come from? Well, today we’re answering that question. Potatoes are originally from Peru, and there are over 4000 potato varieties in different colors and shapes.

Popular and rich in nutrients, potatoes are part of almost every Peruvian dish. Today, we’re bringing you a delicious Peruvian recipe called “Papa rellena”, or stuffed potatoes. It’s is prepared with white potatoes. It’s an extraordinary dish to share with your family and remember the regions you support!

Did you know? Chalice ensures children have balanced and nutrient-rich diets by implementing school feeding programs through the support of the Chalice Children Nutrition Program.

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Photo Friday: Our Top 5 “Humble Hug” Photos!

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

The last year-and-a-half has been difficult for many, and some of us haven’t seem our family and friends in a long time.

We’re all excited to hold those people close once again. So this Photo Friday, we’re celebrating the humble but powerful hug with our top 5 “Humble Hug” photos!

#5: The Hug Jump

There’s nothing like the love between friends, and they’re always there to give a hug when we most need it!

Peru has faced many challenges relating to COVID-19, and the Centro Esperanza moved its youth programming online in response. While it is still a great way for children to stay connected with their friends, we can only imagine the hugs when they meet in person again!

This site is supported by kind Chalice donors via sponsorship, a childhood development program, and skill-building workshops.

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Sponsorship Helps Family Achieve Their Dreams

When you parent two children with special needs, the way Svitlana and Volodymyur do, you learn to appreciate the small things.

For them, it’s the happiness and victories of their kids. The faithful parents carry deep trust and support for one another, and their bond has helped them through the hard times.

Living near our Ternopil site in Ukraine, their daughter Diana has dwarfism and poor eyesight. Her brother Olesksandr is on the autism spectrum, and faces some developmental delays. Between the many moments of joy, there’s been some challenging ones, too.

At one point, the family was in debt from surgeries and treatments for Diana. Both parents stopped working so they could take care of their children full-time. At that point, any support at all was a precious gift.

It was then Chalice sponsors entered their lives – people they now consider the heralders of God’s grace.

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Photo Friday: Our top 5 “Celebration” Photos!

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

Here in Canada, people living in the province of Quebec are celebrating Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a day marking the birth of Saint John the Baptist.

Our Top 5 “Celebration” photos show us all the ways you can celebrate the good things in life – and even keep celebrating when tough times arise.

#5: Sweet Stuff

You can never have too much dessert, right? Hannah, hailing from Tondo, Philippines, seems to think so. She took up a business class while in school, where she came up with the idea for a convenience, candy and dessert shop. A part-time job earned her the money to set up shop, and she opened in 2020.

Here she is, holding her homemade graham balls – a delectable dessert made of graham crackers, condensed milk and peanuts. Yum!

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Juan Carlos Beats The Odds

 

With a smile as bright as the sun, Juan Carlos is an attentive and loving kid to his mother Marisol. He loves helping her around the house, and is a fast learner. You can’t see it on his face, but Juan Carlos has been through a lot to get to where he is today.

When he was only little, Marisol found out he would have lifelong troubles with mobility. That’s because Juan Carlos had cerebral palsy, a common disorder that affects movement. He also had poor vision and hearing.

Marisol discovered with time he needed a unique diet, and medicines her insurance didn’t cover. For the devoted single mother and her son, it was a hard time without much hope on the horizon.

“In those moments of grief and despair, Chalice appeared”, wrote the Santiago site staff.

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Photo Friday: Our Top 5 “Daily Dad” Photos!

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

There’s no one quite like Dad! He’s always ready with an outpouring of wisdom, a comforting hug, or a cheesy joke. This weekend in Canada, we’re honouring dads by celebrating Father’s Day. In anticipation of this important day, here are our top 5 “Daily Dad” photos, celebrating the ways dads are there for us on the daily.

#5: Building Together

For some, childhood is full of memories of Dad crouching next to us wielding the hammer to help with construction projects. From building a fort to a birdfeeder, dads are there to lend a hand around the globe. Oh, and they make sure we don’t hurt ourselves while we’re at it!

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