Child Sponsorship | International Child Care Ministries | Days for Girls | Kenya

Thrive Kenya Supports Days for Girls

by AfricaBlogKenya

Thrive, a group of young women in Kenya who are raising awareness of gender based violence, human trafficking and ways to connect survivors to services, has been traveling to International Child Care Ministries schools to talk with and educate girls about Days for Girls (menstrual health and sanitation).

 

Thrive is a group of young women in based in Nairobi, Kenya who are raising awareness of gender based violence, human trafficking and ways to connect survivors to services. (Top row from left: Yvonne, Lillian, Violet, and Kathleen. Bottom row from left Jayne, Pheliciters, and Naomi. Naomi, Violet, Yvonne, Kathleen, and Lillian are ICCM alumnae.)

 

Violet reports, “The Days for Girls was such a nice experience. The girls were very excited to receive the kits, which are beautiful. We taught them how to count their days so they could be prepared in advance. Everyone concentrated fully as was evident from their eye contact and facial expressions.”

 

 

“Such training is vital. They could share their views from their perspectives and they asked burning questions. The training is important, providing facts that dispel misleading, inaccurate information gained through friends. Some parents do not share with their children the whole process, how and why it occurs. In many cases the girls are not comfortable sharing with their parents what happens in their bodies.”

 

 

“Having such training is crucial because the girls count on us as their big sisters. The schools were supportive. Some teachers came to assist us.

The Days for Girls kits will help the girls to fully attend classes and this improves their performance. We are thankful for the hands that prepared the Days for Girls kits.”

 

 

 

Without a solution to manage their monthly cycles:

  • 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa…

  • 113 million adolescent girls in India…

  • 30% of girls in rural Brazil…

will miss school this year. (Days for Girls)

 

“Around the world, girls and women resort to using rags, mattress stuffing, banana leaves, feathers, and even cow dung to manage their menstruation. Days for Girls provides a safe, beautiful, washable, and long-lasting alternative — along with vital health education.”
— DaysforGirls.org

Support Days for Girls

 

ICCM supports Days for Girls efforts by distributing handmade kits to Thrive who educates and supports girls in Kenya.

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When a Sponsored Child Gives Back

by AsiaBlogPhilippines

Achiever. Leader. Teachable. Dependable. These are the qualities that define an 18-year-old ICCM scholar, Sheila May Bayanban.

She has been sponsored for 11 straight years, and while being a sponsored child she has become a role model to the younger generation in their hostel in Saloy, Calinan, Philippines.

 

She expresses how thankful she is for International Child Care Ministries and her sponsor for being a great help in her life for 11 years.

Without them, she would not be able to study in high school because of financial constraints.

In return, Sheila has been a good steward of God’s blessings.

 

Since 7th grade, she has always been one of the Top 10 in her class.

She is also a leader in the hostel and at school.

The young achiever shares how the training and the rules in the hostel has molded her to be self-controlled, disciplined, and confident.

She willingly observed the rules because she knew that they help her grow and become better.

 

Being one of the eldest occupants in the hostel, she is also one of the facilitators.

Sheila advises from her own experience that once you are a leader, you need to be patient and understanding.

You also need to act first so that others will follow.

How she has dealt with the children in the hostel has taught her to adjust and be confident in dealing with her classmates at school.

 

 

Above all, she never forgets to acknowledge God for being the source of knowledge and wisdom, and for touching her sponsor’s heart.

 

 

$1/day can change a child’s life forever.

sponsor a child today.

 

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The Power of Sponsorship

by BlogCreative Access

I’m embarrassed it took so long to say yes. I knew about ICCM child sponsorship for years. I trusted their leadership. I was excited about their vision. I even recommended their work to many. But, I had never said yes to sponsoring a child myself.

Part of the dilemma was choosing a child. How could I possibly select one of the beautiful faces over any of the others? Should I pick a certain gender? Would an older or younger child most benefit? How would I ever narrow down my choices to a continent, nonetheless an individual country? Unanswered questions postponed my decision. My good intentions and God’s nudges were waylaid by indecision and busyness.

Soon, I promised myself. But “soon” never came. Until it finally did. With an upcoming trip to a Creative Access Country, it was time. I knew which country, and would simply select any available, waiting child. I hoped I would actually meet my child while in the country.

Even before traveling to my sponsored child’s country, holding his bio and intake picture made God’s world smaller and more personal. Here was an individual child and family I could pray for by name. I could locate where they lived on a map. I could hang his picture on my refrigerator. A 6-year-old boy in a foreign land was now part of our family.

Once in country I did have the chance to meet him. Photographs tell the story of how his smile and laughter quickly spanned the cultural and language divide. I wondered why it had taken so long to say yes to sponsorship. I wondered how enthusiastically I could encourage others to also say yes. The retired empty nesters in my church. Our passionate youth who long to make a difference. Our children’s ministry that ministers to neighborhood children whose own difficult circumstances would find resonance with their brothers and sisters across the ocean.

One simple yes. One child across the ocean. Many lives changed. That’s the power of child sponsorship.

 

written by Pastor Kristen Bennett Marble

How I was Impacted by ICCM Sponsorship

by AfricaBlogRwanda

Alice Bland is one of the people who influenced my life. She made an incredible investment in my childhood through ICCM sponsorship. I am who I am today or will be in the future because of sponsorship.

How splendid to have received my sponsor’s first photo together with her husband Charles! Our relationship was founded on encouraging words and praying for one another.

In this photo I am holding the rabbit we purchased with a gift of money she sent. This photo of my family includes my father, Elie, my mother, Therese and my siblings, Bernardin and Alvera.

I remember how Alice was saddened by the death of my brother. Later we, as a family, mourned hearing in her letter of family deaths. I treasure these letters and photos received from Alice. My dad kept them safe and transferred them to me after my wedding. I, too, will transfer them with clear explanations to my children as a precious inheritance. May our Lord’s blessings be upon the next generations of Alice Blands who are influencing children and changing the world through sponsorship.

P.S. This would be a great time to take a few minutes and write to your sponsored child. They prize a letter or photo from their sponsor! Enclose a letter with your next check or click here to write your child  through the website. Thank you!

Brazil News and Events

by AmericasBlogBrazil

In late October the government inspectors visited our school in Monte Santo, Bahia, Brazil. One of them is holding the more than 300 pages of documents required to make the final application.

The inspectors were satisfied that the documentation can now be submitted to the State government.  It may then be approved, or there may be physical modifications to the school or other changes required before they can begin offering 10th grade. So far as we know, 10th grade in February is still a possibility. It is urgently needed. It’s still difficult and relatively rare for children in in the Monte Santo area to complete high school. Pray for this process to be accomplished to God’s glory and for the benefit of the children.

 

 

Neddy and Friends -350 CP

Visiting Ethiopia

by AfricaBlogEthiopia

“Thank you” in Amharic is “Ameseginalew” something I learned on my visit to two schools (Jimma and Beta Genet) in Ethiopia this October. These schools are bringing change to their communities. The parents want their children enrolled in our ICCM schools because they provide quality affordable education. Also, they teach good values and uphold discipline for both the teachers and the students.

 

Mengistu, our Ethiopia ICCM National Coordinator, works hard. He travels extensively to each one of our five ICCM schools to make sure all is well.

He loves the children.

 

A visit to Jimma School will give you hope. The children are clean and happy. Before class they gather together for instructions and announcements. They love to be in their school. ICCM sponsorship makes a significant difference.

 

Vickie Reynen, ICCM Africa Regional Coordinator, has worked with ICCM Ethiopia for several years. When she visits Jimma School the students and the teachers are elated. She inspires them all to keep working hard and trust God for great things for the school.

 

These Jimma kindergartens have warm, magnetic hearts; they will attract your smile. The teachers are dedicated to their calling – to teach, care and love these youngsters.

 

A visit to Bita Genet School is memorable. This school is a light to the community. Many parents are constantly seeking places for their children. The children here glow with happiness. ICCM makes this happen through sponsorship. 

 

These three girls at Bita Genet School listen with gladness to their teacher. See their eyes! They are eager and happy to learn. In this social studies class they are learning about the world.

There is a water well at Bita Genet School. ICCM in partnership with Come Unity made this happen. Now they have plenty of water.

 

Samuel with Kids

The Long Road Back

by AfricaBlogRwanda

As the horrific events of April 1994 recede into the past for the rest of the world, Rwanda still remembers the Genocide every day. Such evil has rarely engulfed a nation. It cannot help but scar the soul of a people. Rwanda is on the long road back from that hellish time.

For International Child Care Ministries, our tragic date is 2001, the year we had to suspend sponsorship of two thousand children in Rwanda. The decision was painful for all involved, but unavoidable, as the leaders of the Free Methodist Church at that time proved untrustworthy. Many sponsors suffered; certainly many children and their parents suffered. It was our own “worst case scenario.”

Since 2008, we have been working with new leaders in Rwanda. Our new approach began with several initiatives. They include expanding the “cow project” begun in 2001 and still going strong in some areas; providing life-saving water filters for families; and offering a very limited sponsorship opportunity —the children of the Amizero Project, a ministry to mentally challenged kids, are being enrolled.

In a land where reconciliation is seen as the greatest need, it seems fitting to restore our own relationship with our sister Church there, being agents of reconciliation and bearers of hope together. If Rwanda is on your heart, turn the page to see how you can help the children there.

 

Thank you!

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Khmer New Year – Cambodia

by AsiaBlogCambodia

The people of Cambodia celebrate Khmer New Year, a three day holiday in April. We spend time with family and friends. Most non-profit organizations set aside time for staff fellowship. ICCM teachers, house managers and other key leaders eat lunch and fellowship together.

The children who attend programs at the different houses (Love, Joy, Peace) get together to play traditional games. They have a lot of fun and sharing over a simple, delicious meal.

The children from the House of Joy had a field trip. This adventure included a trip to the Royal Palace, to the Killing Field, a tragic period in the history of Cambodia, and to the Mall, a big market. They were really excited to see a lot of new things, especially how the people in the city live.

Bun Chandara, a holistic child development teacher at House of Joy says, “My students learned a lot about our country’s history. They can learn and know new things in Phnom Penh. Praise to the Lord for the trip. I love my ICCM students!”

The children at the House of Peace were so excited to play games with ICCM teachers. We have planned programs before, during and after the holiday for the students to keep them safe. Too many times teenagers and youths have died in accidents when they go out somewhere on Khmer New Year.

The ICCM Cambodia team and children are thankful for the many sponsors who give to help children in Cambodia to grow up holistically and learn a lot from new things in life.