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.
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.
Little Vilma weighed just 4 pounds. At 22 days old, she was already dangerously underweight. Baby Vilma was suffering from severe malnourishment in Guatemala. Her family is from the small village of El Barrial where they live in a dilapidated adobe hut with a tin roof and a dirt floor.
Her family is from the small village of El Barrial where they live in a dilapidated adobe hut with a tin roof and a dirt floor. They have no electricity and no running water. In fact, the only water source the family has is a small stream a 40-minute walk from their home.
Cross International friends sent a nutritional rescue team from Hope for Life, a Cross International partner in Guatemala, to help baby Vilma. When the team arrived, they realized just how fragile she was.
They took Vilma back to the Nutrition Recovery Center where the little girl responded beautifully to the child nutrition plan they put in place. Vilma began to overcome malnutrition and hunger in Guatemala. In less than two months baby Vilma had gained enough weight to return home to her family.
Wilma’s mother received help too. Thanks to Cross International and Hope for Life, she received education on how to fight malnutrition so that she can make sure that Vilma will continue to grow healthy and strong. She will also be taking Vilma to all of her follow-up appointments so that Hope for Life can continue to monitor Vilma’s health. Cross International supporters also gave Vilma’s mom nutrients and formulas that will help her continue to feed Vilma all that she needs.
Vilma’s parents see the care they received from Cross International and Hope for Life as their own little miracle. They are so thankful to God and to Cross International supporters like YOU for helping to heal their daughter.
Life in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, can be very hard—especially for children. There are many orphans in Haiti, and Haiti child trafficking is a tragic reality. Other problems abound including malnutrition, lack of education in Haiti, limited access to medical care, and much more. But one particular situation that many Haitian children face is, if not endemic to Haiti, still so common that they have a special word for it—restavèk. The word restavèk literally means “to stay with” in Creole, but the reality behind the word is far more sinister.
The word restavèk refers to a child that lives with a family that is not their own. The child may be an orphan in Haiti, or, more commonly, their parents simply cannot afford to support them. They are sent to live with another family to do household chores in exchange for meals, shelter, and, hopefully, the chance to go to school. Unfortunately, all too often, the truth is that restavèk is just another word for Haiti child trafficking. While child trafficking statistics in Haiti are hard to come by, those living as restavèk are often victims of child slavery.
Nine-year-old Christopher* lives as a restavèk, or a child slave, in Haiti. His “host” family consists of a man named Leon*, his wife, and their five children. Christopher works hard helping Leon in the pastures and in the family’s home. When he was caught playing with his friends in the neighborhood, Christopher was seriously beaten. Sometimes Leon’s wife claims that Christopher hit one of her children and refuses to feed him.
Christopher dreamed of going to school, but Leon cannot pay his school fees. Thankfully, Christopher’s life began to change for the better when a local pastor helped get him enrolled in a literacy center run by Cross International partner the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti. Thanks to the faithfulness of Cross International friends like you, Christopher’s dream of an education in Haiti is starting to come true. Christopher loves school, he has a good teacher, and he has made friends in class. He also enjoys receiving school lunches and shared with school staff that sometimes the school lunch is his only meal of the day. Even though he has lots of chores to do at Leon’s home, Christopher works hard to make time for his homework, too. Most joyous of all, Christopher has even accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior!
Sadly, like so many other victims of child trafficking in Haiti, Christopher’s situation remains difficult. But, with Cross International’s support, school staff are working to provide more food and assistance to him. Christopher even asks that we continue to find ways to help other children who live in situations like his.
Through the generosity of our compassionate partners, Cross International is able to come alongside and support our partner organizations in Haiti who are working so hard to help victims of child trafficking and slavery like Christopher.
*Names changed to protect identity.
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