Children.org Sponsorship

You may have seen Debbie Gibson , singer, long-time sponsor and spokesperson for CI campaigning to raise funds through ECF (Emergency Community Fund) – to help support families struggling due to loss of income resulted from Covid pandemic. The fund has also been used to provide additional support for families most impacted by the recent cyclone in Kolkata, India. Neha's WG follow-up report has arrived this week in record 10wks turnaround! CI is currently only able to send $50 (total $60) per youth in India because it is difficult for the one parent who is allowed to shop to carry the food home. As the field staffs are working hard to get the funds to the families as quickly as possible, I'm hoping that the support they receive from sponsors directly via EG (Extra Gift) has helped support more families and lasting longer via ECF combined with any savings made through closure of the CI centers. Kolkata to Colombo in 3hr 10min by direct flight A detailed list of purchased food and...

Dechen among children in her village watch their lesson on national TV (courtesy of UNICEF Bhutan) I read this beautiful heart touching story of a child (age 11) living in rural Bhutan – South Asia. She reminded my childhood at her age going to our neighbor's house to watch television, and the time when I was following lessons on TV at the height of the civil war in Sri Lanka. This is an era before the internet and mobile phones became part of our everyday life. As mentioned in the article, just published by UNICEF, today children are taught lessons not only in classroom but also online even in rural parts of the world. But as Dechen echoed, going to school is an experience no other can replace – like holding/smelling a textbook or a letter handwritten by your child/sponsor. Dechen says, “I miss my school, my teachers and my friends. I understand the lessons better in school when our teachers explain; I don’t understand much when I watch it on TV. At school, the teacher explains ...

My preferred way of writing to children has always been using online letter templates because it's quicker and easier for me than having to handwrite and post. However I stopped using online greeting cards since learning that it's printed on normal paper rather than card. I see value in writing this way because children reply by handwriting no matter whether you type or handwrite your letters to them. Nonetheless, having to adapt to current Covid situation with centers closure and stay-at-home or social distancing orders in place, the journey my letters making to children now seems far from value driven. There is no guarantee of any attached photos being received, and the return journey only consisting of the child response in the format of either text or by phone and translated/transcribed by staff – no handwriting, drawings. Aflatoun International has recently conducted a survey ( Aflatoun COVID-19 Impact & Response ) amongst its 114 social franchisees in 67 countries a...