Raymark’s wheelchair is the gift of sunshine and socializing

Raymark loves going out in his neighbourhood of Laoang, the community base of our Samar sponsor site. When he can’t go out, his sister Racelyn often sees him socializing from afar.  

“He is always excited to look at people while peeking at the window,” she describes.  

Raymark was born with cerebral palsy which affected the development of his speech and motor skills. He relies on his mother, Rachell, and grandmother, Corazon, for his day-to-day needs. Rachell pursued a degree in education so that she can support her family as a teacher. But she struggled to make ends meet and could not afford special devices for Raymark.  

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Sparkling with Christmas Joy in Paraguay

When Christmas comes, it seems that the whole world has a birthday,” writes the staff at our CMAVIL sponsor site in Paraguay. “In every house children and adults prepare the party: some set up a manger with a small child, others also decorate a tree with lights and stars. The streets and houses sparkle with lights and garlands.”  

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A special Christmas hamper full of solidarity

At our PINIFE sponsor site in Peru, “Christmas is an important day for families, as they celebrate the birth of Jesus and have the Holy Family of Nazareth as their model,” describes the site staff. 2021’s celebrations centred around St. Joseph, as we came to the end of the special year dedicated to our universal patron. 

The site staff organized an online day of reflection for each of the 22 Chalice family circles, held from December 6 to 20th. “These celebrations were very well received by the families, especially by the parents that learnt a little more about St. Joseph and they committed themselves to live the sacred family of Nazareth’s virtues at home as well as to instill in their children the values of love, respect, responsibility and reconciliation.” Sponsored children submitted videos to share. They sang Christmas carols, offered Christmas messages and poems. 

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Children got an exciting field trip during Christmas

Our Konta sponsor site in northern Ghana is a Catholic organization which supports children from low-income families and children with special needs. At Christmastime, the community loves to have a special Mass, where they can offer prayers for “the Chalice family, the generous donors, the beneficiaries, the new converts at Kpongu and the community as a whole,” writes Nicholas, the sponsor site director. “We asked God to protect us against Covid-19 and bless us all in the coming New Year 2022.”  

The Christmas party started after the Mass, where they enjoyed drinks, biscuits, and a meal among sponsored children, parents and the community members.  

The Wa staff wanted to create an experience for the children where they could “embrace their culture” and so they arranged to visit the Sampaa Naa Palace, the home of the local chief. The Wa Naa oversees the Waala traditional council in the upper west region of Ghana.  

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Parents and their children fall in love with gardening in Bolivia

The “Sagrado Corazón de Jesús” daycare is a splash of colour among the brown buildings of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The centre offers pre-school education and, importantly, nutritious snacks and meals daily, with support from Chalice’s nutrition program. 

For the littlest ones, trying new foods can be challenging. Fresh produce isn’t always easy for their parents to buy, so many children are tasting certain fruits and vegetables for the first time at lunch. And, being children, vegetables are not always their favourite! 

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Chalice sponsorship changed Neziini’s family destiny

Neziini loves to jump and skip around her rural community in northern India. The energetic 11-year-old keeps her parents busy and speaks of her dream of becoming a doctor.  

Her parents, Ebviio and Naomi, are hardworking farmers. They own a single plot of land and paddy fields. When Neziini was just starting primary school, her family was undergoing severe financial difficulties. They lived in a rented house and faced food insecurity. Ebviio and Naomi reared pigs and cultivated vegetables to earn what income they could.  

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The difference a hot meal can make

With the support of a farm, a school can run a daily lunch program for students. School-day lunches are game changers for students and staff in impoverished communities where families face food insecurity. Whenever a school introduces daily meals there is a significant increase in enrollment, retention, and grades, and absenteeism and drop-out rates decrease just as much.   

Through our African School Farming and Food Security Project, Chalice will support the feeding of 16,000 children in 29 schools in Tanzania, Zambia, and Ghana.   

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Gifts of special money

It feels like it snuck up on us, but we have reached the middle of October already! It may feel too early to think about Christmas, but at Chalice, now is the time to do a little planning ahead. Sponsors inquire with us about sending a gift of ‘special money’ to their children for a Christmas gift. Special money is simply an additional donation of any amount to your sponsored child or elder, which they spend on much-needed items such as school supplies, clothing, and even home improvements. Sponsors can give special money gifts at every time of year, but of course, a gift waiting on Christmas morning is extra heart-warming.  

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