Katya’s Story – New World Christian School Ecuador
A Summer Without Hunger
A Young Woman and Her Family Rise Out of Poverty
Raising Chickens: Moving Beyond Poverty in Guatemala
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 5
- Next Page »
God’s love, transforming deepest need into thriving joy
When Cynthia Bauer, an American grad student, met Leonard Mbonani, a Kenyan special needs teacher in 1999, they never imagined that their partnership would lead to improved health and inclusion for thousands of disabled Kenyan children. But that’s exactly what has come to pass with the establishment of Kupenda for the Children.
Many people in Kenya believe that disabilities are caused by witchcraft or are a punishment from God. Kupenda for the Children’s mission is to fight against these harmful beliefs by training local pastors and community leaders to serve as advocates for children with disabilities. Today, in partnership with Cross International, Kupenda for the Children provides a series of tailored trainings on disability knowledge, family counseling, and abuse prevention. After that pastors go through a “Training of Trainers” program so that they are able to train their peers as well.
Thanks to your support of Cross International, Kupenda for the Children is helping to change and reverse the cultural stigmas around disabilities in Kenya and give these precious children the community support they need.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Josefina was stuck. With four children to care for, Josefina and her husband, Santos, were struggling to find enough work to put food on the table. The pair mainly worked as day laborers in their hometown of El Milagro, Guatemala. Working for others, it was difficult for Josefina and Santos to get ahead. They wondered if they would ever break free of the cycle of poverty.
Little did they know God was about to bless them with a new opportunity.
Josefina was chosen by local Cross International partner, Hope of Life, to receive help starting a new business raising chickens for eggs. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Cross International donors like you, Josefina and her family received training on how to care for and maintain a flock as well as 40 hens and a coop of their own. Because Josefina is not literate, field staff enlisted the help of her eldest daughter to help with keeping track of egg production and sales.
In the first year of the business, Josefina and her family worked diligently to make the most out of their new opportunity. Not only did they start earning a daily income, they were able to reinvest some of the profits in replenishing and expanding their flock. For Christmas, Josefina was able to purchase and raise a small flock of broiler chickens, and they all sold out!
Josefina and her family feel blessed by God to be a part of this Cross International poultry project and they are very proud to have their own business and to be able to support their children.
Thank you for making family agriculture projects like this one possible. You are giving hard-working people like Josefina the dignity and hope that comes from being able to reap the fruits of their labors and build a future for themselves and their kids.
If you want to support other families like Josefina’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.
Argelia never had the chance to go to school in Guatemala. Now 52 years old, she still cannot read or write. Even so, Argelia worked hard to provide for her children as best as she could, but with little opportunity the cards were stacked against her. Then, thanks to the faithfulness of Cross supporters, Argelia got connected with Hope of Life, Cross International’s partner in Guatemala. With the support of CI donors like you, Hope of Life is in the midst of a three-year community transformation project in Argelia’s village of El Milagro.
One of the core components of this community transformation project is to help individuals build thriving agriculture businesses in order to provide for their families and increase the availability of nutritious food in the village.
Because of her hard work, Argelia was chosen to receive help starting a chicken raising business. Argelia has been diligent in attending training sessions and now she has her own chicken coop and is able to harvest eggs for her family to eat and to sell at the market for extra income. Argelia is incredibly thankful to have been able to be a part of this Cross International poultry project in Guatemala. “No one receives if God does not give,” Argelia said. “God is great and powerful and I am so grateful for the benefit of these projects.”
Thank you for blessing hard-working people like Argelia with the means to build a better life for themselves and their children!
If you want to support other families like Argelia’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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