Cross International

God’s love, transforming deepest need into thriving joy

Katya’s Story – New World Christian School Ecuador

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Pursuing Her Dreams: A Young Mom Continues Her Education in Ecuador

Getting a quality education can be a challenge for many young people in the developing world. For 18-year-old Katya from Riobamba, Ecuador, becoming a mother made that challenge all the more daunting. Newly married and with a baby on the way, Katya and her husband moved to the city of Sangolqui in search of work. In Ecuador, and in many developing countries, it’s all too common for young people like Katya and her husband to leave school early in order to find whatever work they can, foregoing the long-term benefits of completing their studies.

Katya in class at New World Christian School
Katia in class at New World Christian School

With the urgent needs of supporting her family and taking care of her five-month-old son, Katya wasn’t sure how she would be able to continue her education and pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. Then she and her husband found Cross International partner New World Christian School. Thanks to the school’s unique schedule, Katya is able to care for her baby during the day and attend classes at night. Katya’s husband is also a student at New World Christian School and is able to continue his education while working to support their family.

New World Christian School was founded specifically to ensure that students like Katya and her husband don’t have to drop out of school just to make ends meet. In addition to strong academics, the school also focuses on the Gospel and Biblical studies. And, with support from Cross International, New World Christian School holds weekly church services and offers Christian counsel for their students.

Katya with other students and teachers at New World Christian School
Katya with other students and teachers at New World Christian School

Thanks to Cross International and New World Christian School, Katya will soon finish her degree and she looks forward becoming a nurse one day. Without the kindness and compassion of generous Cross supporters like you, the future would not be nearly so bright for Katya and her young family. Thank you for making it possible for them to receive a quality, Christian education in Ecuador. 

A Summer Without Hunger

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School Feeding Program Makes Sure Hungry Kids Get the Food They Need

Summer can be an extremely difficult time for children in the developing world. During the school year, many boys and girls depend on daily school lunches to meet their nutritional needs. For some, school lunches are the only food they can rely on. Then when summer “vacation” comes the meals suddenly stop. Without consistent meals, these children can begin slipping into malnutrition. In the more extreme cases, malnutrition can lead to stunted growth, and even impaired cognitive development, which may impact the child for the rest of their life.

Haitian girl looking at the camera while eating her lunch
Haitian girl looking at the camera while eating her lunch

For hardworking parents who, try as they might, simply lack the resources they need to ensure that their kids get enough food, the summer months can be heartbreaking. In Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, lack of nutrition during summer remains a major problem. That’s why Cross International has partnered with Divine Shelter Schools (DSS) to implement a summer feeding program for at-risk children in Haiti.

Food being served for over 200 Haitian children
Food being served at one of the DSS locations

Serving well over 200 children in multiple locations, the Cross International and DSS summer feeding program includes a morning devotion, Bible lesson, art class, math and grammar tutoring, sports, hygiene education and, of course, nutritious meals! To ensure that each child is getting the food they need, the DSS staff also make sure to track the weight of each child throughout the summer.

It’s only because of the generous support of kind Cross International partners like you that these precious girls and boys are enjoying daily, healthy meals this summer. Thank you for showing them God’s love through their fully bellies!

Children receiving lunch at the DSS summer feeding program
Children receiving lunch at the DSS summer feeding program

Meet the DSS Summer Feeding Program Students

Claudine

Claudine is a rising 4th grader attending the summer feeding program at the Divine Shelter School of Bellanger. Claudine’s father works in a factory that produces ice and her mother sells cookies to help provide for Claudine and her three siblings. Claudine is thankful for the food and fun she enjoys at DSS.

Claudine smiling at the camera
Claudine smiling at the camera
A child smiles, part of Thriving Kids in Haiti
Jessica, happy to be part of the feeding program

Jessica

Sadly, Jessica’s parents are separated so she and her three siblings live with their father in a rented hut. Jessica will be in 4th grade when school begins again at DSS Bellanger. The daily meals Jessica receives at the summer feeding program are helping her grow healthy and strong!

Finding Her Place: A girl in Haiti discovers belonging

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Born with Down Syndrome in Haiti

The youngest of five children, 14-year-old Meh was born with Down syndrome in Haiti. Despite her condition, Meh began school at the age of five. Sadly, though, she struggled to find the special needs support to help her succeed. Her parents tried sending her to three different schools, but each time Meh’s special needs were not cared for. At one school, a particularly mean teacher would beat poor Meh, leaving her with bruises on her arms and legs.

Special Needs Support

Violent protests and civil unrest further complicated Meh’s education and her parents didn’t know where to turn next. Then they discovered the National Academy of Excellence (NAE), a Cross International partner in their area. Officially opening in 2016, NAE is a school that provides primary education for children living on campus as well as kids, like Meh, who live nearby. Thankfully for Meh, NAE even provides for children with special needs in Haiti, ensuring that they too get the opportunity to learn in a positive and healthy environment.

Meh at NAE cutting papers with her friends
Meh cutting papers with her friends at NAE

Education for Special Needs Children

For Meh and her family, the National Academy of Excellence has been an answer to prayer. Meh has finally found the place where she feels like she belongs. Since she began attending NAE, Meh has shown remarkable improvement in her fine motor skills, spelling, and vocabulary. At the NAE’s annual Christmas show, Meh even performed a song during the school play!

Meh singing at NAE's Christmas Celebration
Meh singing at NAE's Christmas Celebration
Meh smiling while eating her lunch at NAE
Meh singing at NAE's Christmas Celebration

In the short time she’s been at NAE, Meh has made remarkable progress and she says how much she loves going to school and how proud she is to be an NAE student!

Programs like NAE are so important for special needs children in Haiti, like Meh, who have nowhere else to turn. Thank you for helping this precious young lady, and so many other children, get the priceless gifts of loving care and a quality education.

A Helping Hand During COVID-19 in Ecuador

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Living in Poverty in Ecuador

Daira is a sweet 12-year-old girl who was living in dire poverty in Ecuador. She lived in a two-room house with 12 other family members including her mother and her siblings. Sadly, Daira’s father is not in her life. The family was struggling and often there was not enough food for Daira and her brothers and sisters. Not only did Daira have to go hungry, she was also in need of necessities like shoes and school supplies.

Daira’s mother already suffered with delicate health, so when she contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic in Ecuador, Daira was scared for her mom.

Daira with some of her siblings
Ecuadorian girl receiving food

A Blessing During a Hard Time

Daira was invited to participate in the Moses Project, a Cross International partner in Ecuador. During her mother’s sickness, and throughout the COVID-19 lockdown in Ecuador, the Moses project supplied Daira and her family with food rations to get them through the pandemic. Not only that, Daira received new shoes to replace her worn out ones!

Christmas in Ecuador

At Christmas time there was one more blessing in store for young Daira—the gift of new clothes!

Daira has big dreams and hopes to one day become a veterinarian and own her own home. Thanks to the help she’s received, that dream finally seems within reach.

Ecuadorian girl receiving food

Through the kindness of Cross International’s generous supporters, Daira and her family were greatly blessed during a very difficult time. Friends like you helped them put food on the table during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador and showed Daira the love of Christ.

Haiti 2021 Earthquake Relief

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Help restavek children who lost their homes and their schools

The earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, August 14 is still making its impact felt. At 7.2 on the Richter scale, it was twice as powerful as the deadly 2010 quake that leveled Port-au-Prince a decade earlier. 

Haiti Earthquake Map - 2001
Haiti Earthquake Epicenter. August, 2021

It appears that many fewer lives will be lost since it occurred in such a remote area. However, because it was such a remote quake – 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince – the rebuilding and recovery will be more challenging.

At Cross International, we have been called to serve in Haiti for more than two decades. We remember the massive suffering of the 2010 earthquake. It was personal for us. This latest quake is no less personal. We not only have projects in Haiti. We have friends who live there. We have a Haiti field office. So, when there is a disaster of this magnitude, we mobilize immediately to send food, water, tarps and other urgent supplies to wherever it’s needed. 

This MEBSH school in Terre Rouge was reduced to rubble after the recent earthquake
This MEBSH school in Terre Rouge was reduced to rubble after the recent earthquake

For this earthquake, we were told that our Cross-supported restavek schools (known locally as MEBSH) were seriously impacted.

MEBSH is a long-standing partner of Cross International. Of the 14 MEBSH schools located in the southern peninsula, six were completely destroyed – in Bazelais, Bompas Pesmel, Lariviere Tiburon, Chardonniere and Camp-Perin. All were located near the epicenter.

Learn more about our work with MEBSH

To date, 490 MEBSH students and family members have been impacted by the earthquake. They not only lost their schools. They also lost their homes and are currently receiving support. And the situation became even worse following the earthquake, as Tropical Storm Grace dumped 10 inches of rain onto Haiti. It pelted people huddling in fields who had no homes and no protection from the elements. These families are in desperate need of food and shelter. That is why our field office is so vital to our ministry.

“Our Haiti field office enables us to respond quickly and nimbly to disaster situations such as the Haiti earthquake,” says Kelly Miller, President and CEO of Cross International. “

Woman sitting on the rubble of her home in the village of Toirac
This woman from the village of Toirac lost everything, and faces a long period of rebuilding.

We have another Cross-sponsored Christian school system in the northern part of Haiti who, once they heard about their brothers and sisters in need, immediately offered to donate some of their funds to MEBSH, in order to purchase desperately-needed food staples, tarps and other essential items.”

“It’s a wonderful partnership, and a prime example of Christian partners working together, to help one another. The Body of Christ working as one.”

Boxes of protein enriched rice shipped to Haiti
Cross International’s food shipments are distributed to those most in need by hardworking ministry partners.

Kelly goes on to explain how Cross’ entire network of in-country church leaders provides the ministry’s eyes, hands and feet on the ground. “All of our in-country partners are helping each other,” he says. “They have been reporting details about the areas of greatest need and are paving the way for even more relief shipments to come. They provide more boots on the ground, and they ultimately implement many of the relief efforts we want to accomplish.”

“Our role is to empower our partners with training, financial and material resources, and the leadership development needed to address specific situations. This is certainly the case when we are responding to our MEBSH schools which have been so devastated by the quake.”

DONATE TODAY

The Haiti earthquake truly showed no mercy when it struck on Saturday morning and turned thousands of structures into rubble. It targeted the poorest schools in the poorest part of the country and leveled them to the ground. But the people of Haiti will survive. Their faith is strong. With the love of Christ guiding us, compassionate relief can lead to long-term healing.

We will continue to work through the MEBSH leaders to identify priority needs and to determine how and when to become involved. We are only in the early recovery stages, where our brothers and sisters are going through a traumatic period:

OUR PROCESS FOR RESTORING COMMUNITIES

PHASE ONE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND EARLY RECOVERY

Prayerfully, we want to help those who have been impacted find stability in their lives as soon as possible. To do this, we will try to restore the basics in their lives and get their children back to school. (Note: School starts on September 6.) To this end, church services and classes may be held under a tent or some other temporary structure, but this is an important start.

For children who are restavek or who are in danger of becoming restavek, the restoration of the destroyed MEBSH schools in southwestern Haiti is vital to restoring hope – as well as meeting essential needs. Unlike so many other things in these children’s lives, the schools are a loving and dependable foundation for these often-forgotten children. They also provide the nutrition students can rely on, and the compassion found in the classrooms provides hope for a better future.

With six of these schools completely destroyed by the destructive power of the recent earthquake, many of Haiti’s children and their families are more vulnerable and more at risk than ever. They need to know that we care and are working in Christ’s name to bring rapid relief.

DONATE TODAY

Your generous gift will be used for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund through June 30, 2022, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the initiative, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry and may be used in the following fiscal year.

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Help Children With Disabilities

The UN estimates that between 93 and 150 million children worldwide live with a disability. In developing countries, these children are often unable to attend school, play outside or access specialized resources. Negative stigma or superstition among their parents, neighbors and community leaders often reinforce these barriers.

This year, we’re providing $60,000 worth of medical equipment to Kupenda for the Children in Kenya. This is a very remote location, and your gift will help cover the shipping costs to this very worthy medical outreach.

This gift will benefit: Kenya

Recommended Gift

  • $243 would provide a wheelchair to a remote facility
  • $950 would provide 60 pairs of youth crutches to a remote facility
  • $2,430 would provide 10 wheelchairs to a remote facility

Heal the Sick

In developed countries, basic medical supplies such as gauze, wraps, bandages, and syringes are commonplace. Unfortunately, that is often not the case in the developing world. Christian doctors and volunteers in developing countries frequently run low on these supplies, and they also lack the funds to keep large inventories on hand.

This year, we’re providing $84 million worth of medicines and medical supplies. Your gift will help cover the shipping costs to medical outreaches in some of the most remote areas of the globe

This gift will benefit: Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kenya

Recommended Gift

  • $866 provides $100,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies
  • $4,328 provides $500,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies
  • $8,656 provides $1 million worth of medicines and medical supplies

Build a Family a Home

A gift of a safe, secure home is tangible affirmation of God’s love for a desperate family — it brings hope, health, stability and opportunity. Most poor families must settle for much less. Mired in poverty, they are forced to live in unsafe shacks fashioned from mud and thatch.

You can provide the life-changing gift of a safe, storm-resistant new home with Cross partners Ambuya Development Center in Malawi and Hope of Life in Guatemala. A new home will ease the family’s burdens, protect them from the wind and rain, and help them achieve their dreams.

This gift will benefit: Guatemala, Malawi

Recommended Gift

  • $1,881 will install an eco-stove, for safe, economical and healthy cooking
  • $8,900 will finance the construction of a safe, sturdy concrete- block home

Education

The gift of an education is an investment that reaps long-term dividends for a child’s future. By opening doors for the children of the poor to enroll in Christian schools and get the same educational opportunities as their more economically well-off peers, you are giving not just a hand-out but a “hand-up.”

Your gift will fund Christian education to nurture vulnerable children mentally and spiritually — for thriving futures that will transform hopeless places.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Ecuador, Uganda

Recommended Gift

  • $515 provides Christian primary school scholarships to 10 children
  • $1,030 provides Christian primary school scholarships for 20 children
  • $1,240 provides one week of Vacation Bible School for 100 children
  • $3,300 provides one year of vocational school scholarships for 60 girls
  • $3,660 enables 30 adults to attend a Christian adult literacy program

Rescue Women and Children in Crisis

Through emergency child rescue services, vocational training, anti-trafficking programs and Bible literacy classes, Cross International is helping vulnerable women and children reclaim their lives. Inspired by Jesus’ love, we work shoulder to shoulder with our in-country partners, empowering them to create change that lasts so that those who need help will eventually be able to stand confidently on their own. Be a part of this good news and make a life-saving gift part of your holidays.

Your gift will help protect victims of gender-based violence and also help save marginalized women and children from harm.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua

Recommended Gift

  • $891 supports a family rescued from trafficking or abuse for 3 months
  • $1,782 supports a family rescued from trafficking or abuse for 6 months
  • $3,564 supports a family rescued from trafficking or abuse for one year

Provide Clean, Safe Water

Our ministry partner, the Kachere Development Center, has an ambitious plan to install 20 wells, providing 5,160 adults and 8,414 children with clean water. Our goal is to finance the drilling and installation of one well – part of an entire community water system, which includes training to maintain the well, and sanitation and hygiene training for improved health.

One borehole can provide 2,800 gallons of safe, life-sustaining water every day. Help us bring clean, safe water to one of these villages today — in a way that will last for generations.

This gift will benefit: Zambia

Recommended Gift

  • $3,105 will train the community for water care system and use
  • $10,755 will finance the cost of drilling the well
  • $18,975 will finance the cost of installing a community water system

Give Tools for Sustainable Farming

One of nine people worldwide survive on less than $1.90 a day. Without training and supplies to grow moneymaking crops and breed profitable livestock, poor farmers stay locked in the cycle of poverty.

By supporting this fund, you’ll help families break free of poverty — transforming lives for generations. When families get the training and tools they need, it means bountiful harvests and small animals that produce income for a sustainable business model.

This gift will benefit: Guatemala, Nicaragua

Recommended Gift

  • $495 provides training, tools and assistance for one farming family
  • $990 helps provide training, tools and assistance for 2 farming families
  • $1,840 will provide 10 goats for children to raise for breeding
  • $8,500 provides a family with a chicken coop, 40 hens & feed, plus small business & animal husbandry training. Creates $1.20 family income/day – a 60% increase!

Feed Hungry Children

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 811 million in the world suffer from under-nourishment. By providing the gift of food, you will save the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in developing countries.

Your gift will provide meals for ministry partners such as Divine Shelter Schools in Haiti and Hope of Life in Guatemala. A generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Malawi

Recommended Gift

  • $146 will feed 10 children for a month
  • $292 will feed 20 children for a month
  • $584 will feed 40 children for a month
  • $2,336 will feed 160 children for a month
  • $4,672 will feed 320 children for a month
  • $9,334 will feed 640 children for a month

Most Urgent Needs

Inspired by the love of Jesus, we work shoulder to shoulder with local leaders overseas, equipping families with the resources they need to thrive – basics like food, clean water and healthcare, as well as longer-term community transformation projects that will ensure lasting change.

By giving to our Thriving Kids Initiative, you’re not only meeting children’s Most Urgent Needs, you’re also helping lift their families – even entire communities – out of poverty.

This gift will benefit: Africa, The Caribbean, Central America, South America

Recommended Gift

  • $1,000 helps lift 9 kids out of poverty
  • $2,500 helps lift 23 kids out of poverty
  • $5,000 helps lift 46 kids out of poverty
  • $10,000 helps lift 92 kids out of poverty
  • $20,000 helps lift 184 kids out of poverty

Feed Hungry Children

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 811 million in the world suffer from under-nourishment. By providing the gift of food, you will save the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in developing countries like Haiti, Malawi, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Your gift will support the provision of meals and other basic services that are essential for survival. A generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Malawi

Recommended Gift
$1,000 will feed 30 children for a month | $5,000 will feed 80 children for a month | $10,000 will feed 92 children for a month | $20,000 will feed 184 children for a month

Donate to Cross International’s Thriving Kids Initiative