Save the Children Voices from the Field

Mother & Emergency Brigade Leader

Marco Antonio Lopez Quispe

Sponsorship Operations Assistant

Bolivia

March 21, 2016

I wanted to share Carolay’s story, a mother of one of our sponsored children who has participated in our sponsorship-funded emergency training program. 

Before Sponsorship came to their community, Carolay and her daughter Veronica didn’t have any knowledge of how to react in emergencies or natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Save the Children sponsorship programs taught her risk prevention skills and how to safely manage crisis situations, with first aid training and evacuation drills both at home and at school. 

Nowadays, Carolay is in charge of the school's student Emergency Brigade. She leads this group of students in taking responsibility for ensuring the safety of their peers at school. With the help of Carolay’s training and guidance, these students have developed their own emergency plans and evacuation routes, and have mapped risk areas inside and outside the school. Broken up into groups of two or three children, the Emergency Brigade monitors the entrance and exit points of the school for the other students, guiding them safely through potential hazards like stairs to avoid accidents.

Carolay is committed to her work with the Emergency Brigade and now feels prepared to deal with any emergency situation that might occur in their community. Her next challenge is to increase other parents’ involvement in the Emergency Brigade. She tells me, "I believe that children are the future of our country and it is important to strengthen their knowledge on preventing dangerous situations and have them learn how to fend for themselves. That is why I thank the sponsors who support Save the Children."

A big thank you from Carolay, Veronica and all the other children at their school in Cochabamba – sponsorship has truly made their school a safer place. Thank you, sponsors!

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Elijah Develops a Love for Learning

Save the Children US Programs

March 14, 2016

Like so many children in the poor rural areas of the United States, Elijah, a 6-year-old from Eastern Kentucky, struggled in school. His reading was below grade level and he rarely wanted to participate during class. Elijah was dangerously at risk of becoming one of the 24 percent of children in Kentucky that do not graduate from high school. 

But thanks to the support of our sponsors, Elijah has made great strides. Through our literacy programs, students like Elijah now have online access to books. Since he joined Sponsorship programs, Elijah’s family has seen a real change. Now he enjoys school almost as much as playing basketball.

Now, Elijah often volunteers to read aloud, has scored 100 on recent reading quizzes and is now reading above his grade level.

We’re happy to report that Elijah is not alone in his success this past year. Our generous sponsors have made success stories like Elijah’s possible for hundreds of children in the United States. Thank you for all that you have done – and continue to do – for children.

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Let Healthy Mouths Do the Talking!

Maria Rosario Garcia

Philippines

January 18, 2016

February is National Oral Health Month in the Philippines. Since oral disease is a serious public health problem among Filipino children, this occasion is very important in reaching the majority of public school students who suffer from tooth decay and infections. To keep our Oral Health Month celebrations engaging, Save the Children in the Philippines enlists help from Child Health Promoters. These trained children can share information with fellow children about these significant health issues and help to make a big difference in achieving our goal of zero cavities and good habits for a healthy smile among all children. 

Neil Patrick, the Child Health Promoter

An excited grade 6 student in Caloocan City has been confidently doing just this. His name is Neil Patrick and as a Child Health Promoter, he leads other children to good practices and shares his knowledge about being healthy by speaking for the younger children.

Neil Patrick and other Child Health Promoters like him have been receiving trainings from our School Health and Nutrition program about how to pass on information and lessons to other students. With Save the Children’s support they are also provided with materials like books and hygiene kits that they can use during their sessions.

“Last year, as the school year began, I became a Child Health Promoter in our school when I was encouraged by my classmate,” says Neil Patrick after we asked how he got his assignment. He continues, “I feel like I am fulfilling my dream of becoming a teacher by coaching young ones on the proper way of brushing their teeth and how to maintain a healthy smile. Not everyone has the understanding of how to take care of their teeth, that is why children in our school are very fortunate to be in front of me and to learn these skills now.”

Neil Patrick telling a story about dental hygiene to the young audience

Neil Patrick enjoys being a storyteller and speaking in front of the many children in his school. He reads a book titled Ay! May Bukbok Ang Ngipin ni Ani! or Ani has a Bad Tooth! to them during the Oral Health Month celebration.

He tells us as the next batch of children wait for him to begin and to listen to his story, “It is fun talking to kids because they are like my brothers and sisters. I am happy and I feel inspired whenever I help them.” With great role models like Neil Patrick, Save the Children in the Philippines is building a brighter future.

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

A Letter for Esnart

Goodhope Siwakwi

Community Mobilization Officer

Kalulushi, Zambia

January 11, 2016

“Another delivery for Esnart,” I thought as I got ready that morning. Excited, I tied the parcels to my motorbike and set off for Bulaya, the community where Esnart goes to school.

The morning was filled with birds singing, celebrating the rising of the sun and the rain showers. It was a wonderful day. As I approached the school, I heard children singing and excited voices. They were having a short break from class. Some seemed to be nearly in a frenzy as they ran around outside, enjoying playing soccer and other games.

At the sound of the motorbike, everyone’s attention shifted as they recognized me from the sponsorship enrollment exercises, the day that we gather the children’s information and officially enroll them in our programs. The children grouped around me, each one anxious to receive a letter from their sponsor.

Esnart’s mother greeted me warmly, “Mwaiseni Mukwai” meaning ‘Welcome,’ expecting me as I had told her earlier to be present at the time of the delivery. Esnart greeted me more shyly, but was eager to see what was contained in the parcel for her. I untied them from the motorbike and began to open them to go through the contents with the parents and teachers. I handed Esnart her letter and she excitedly thanked me, saying she was very thankful and felt special to have a sponsor to write letters to.

Esnart’s mother fell to her knees and clapped three times, as practiced in our local culture, to show gratitude. She was short of words on how grateful she is for the sponsorship support of her daughter and her community.

“My sponsor is my role model and when I grow up I want to be a nurse so that I can help sick people in my community.” Esnart said.

Children love receiving any form of communication from their sponsors. It motivates them to go to school as well as other children to go to school themselves and enroll in the sponsorship program. It is so helpful for them to know that other people are concerned about them and love them too. Thank you, Sponsors!

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Little Thuy Overcomes Her Shyness

Tran Bich Phuong

Field-Based Project Assistant

Save the Children in Vietnam

January 4, 2016

One of the most rewarding bonuses of my job is that I can see with my own eyes how our programs can affect one particular child. 

Thuy smiling brightly with the letter she wrote to her sponsor

On my second day, as any excited rookie might feel, I fell into worry knowing that my job was not going to be easy. Thuy, the girl whose sponsor’s letter I was delivering, was a very shy girl who could not or did not care to say a word to my colleague and me. I have had some poor experiences working with children her age and circumstance. She was only 6, spoke very basic Kinh (the common language in Vietnam,) wrote even less and might have never met any strangers before in her lifetime. Though she said she was very happy to receive a letter from her “big friend” [Sponsor] in a faraway country, she seemed to struggle and showed very few signs of enjoying writing. It took us nearly one hour and a lot of effort to help Thuy to reply to her sponsor with a letter of just 40 words.

Over the next several months, my trips to the field lessened but the image of that little girl still appeared in my mind. I wondered how she was and whether she was less shy and smiled more. Though we were now using community volunteers for most of our letter delivery, a letter from Thuy’s Sponsor caught my eye as it made its way through our office and I took the chance to see her again.

Even though it was a weekend and I was not supposed to work, I felt so excited for the opportunity. After one hour travelling by motorbike along a terribly rough road, crossing two springs and countless mountain slopes, I arrived at Thuy’s house. I waited a bit for her while she was out playing with her neighbor friends across the hill. When she returned home and saw me, her smile was replaced by a look of reservation. I thought to myself, “Again this will be me sweating through my attempts to talk to and get closer with her, while the poor little girl remains silent as if I were not there.” I would spend the whole day there, I thought, doubting myself.

Thuy (left) with her mom holding her younger brother and cousin (right)

To break the ice, I suggested Thuy let me take a picture of her. She then surprised me and proved she was not as nervous as the last time we met! She actively asked me to take a picture of her with her friend, her mom and brother, and also with Ron, the dog. She smiled and posed very naturally! Knowing that I came along with a letter, she became enthusiastic to see it and then read it with unconcealed happiness. Although she was still struggling a bit with her reading and writing skills and it took quite some time to help her compose her letter, it was not so difficult to pull the words out of her this time and she was visibly enjoying herself! It was a pure delight knowing Thuy actually liked to write and to be written to. Thuy even asked me to spend a night with her family, which surprised me the most!

Was Thuy’s positive change the result of our activities and the interactions between her and her sponsor? I realized I could never know for sure. However, I do know that she surely enjoys writing letters now. Knowing that there is someone out there who cares and wishes her well puts a smile on her face. And what else could be more important than a child’s smile?

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Sponsorship in Arizona

Trish Zilliox

Program Specialist, Save the Children US

Arizona

December 28, 2015

To work as a Program Specialist with Save the Children, I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona and since then have enjoyed learning so much about my new town and the communities I live with, work with and travel to see. In my role I am tasked with ensuring our literacy, healthy choices and nutrition programs are operating robustly and engaging the students attending them. In addition to overseeing these programs, I partner with Sponsorship which serves each of the schools we work with. Sponsorship is a primary funding source, and thus a lifeline for sustaining Save the Children’s programs that reach hundreds of children in Arizona. 

One of the many sponsorship children in Arizona benefitting from our programs

The communities Save the Children partners with in Arizona are in rural areas, struggle with high poverty and exhibit great academic need for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Four of the six sites I currently support are located on reservations of the Navajo and Apache Nations. It has been a remarkably insightful experience to get to know the communities, schools, staff and students. The unique culture of each nation is pronounced and tended to respectively. These communities and families are very tightly knit, and I’m honored that they have welcomed me in.  

There is an undeniable need for Save the Children to partner with these schools and districts. Challenges these communities face include high rates of unemployment, alcoholism and domestic violence. The feeling of extreme rural isolation is palpable, as are the challenges that come with it. Many families, for example, live without running water and electricity. This subject was eatured on NPR in January of 2015. I encourage you to visit www.navajowaterproject.org to learn more!

The beautiful Arizona landscape

I have acted as a Sponsorship Liaison as well at some schools, and overseen Sponsorship operations in the process. It is a very intimate experience when sponsors write to their sponsored children. The kids’ eyes literally widen with wonder and curiosity. Letter writing is a meaningful way for these students to learn and interact with the larger world. Often we keep a map handy when we distribute letters, as they are great for sparking curiosity and learning about different parts of the country. Sponsor-to-child correspondence plants the seed for this idea that a friend somewhere far away is thinking about the life of these students’, their families, their school life and general wellbeing.

It really means so much to receive a letter. My only wish is that every single sponsored child is able to share in this unique experience. If you are writing to your sponsored child, your letters are changing a life. If you haven’t had the opportunity to write to your sponsored child yet, I highly recommend it. Your life just might change too.

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Celebrating the Kick Off of Sponsorship in Uganda

Samuel Tusubira

Sponsorship Manager

Uganda

December 21, 2015

Kicking off the sponsorship program in Uganda could not go without taking time to celebrate this grand moment, not only for children and their communities but also for the entire staff of the Uganda Country Office. 

Happy children enjoying on the day of enrollment

The children and communities in Uganda face many challenges, such as abject poverty, health hazards like malaria and HIV/AIDS, low access to and quality of education, and abuse of their human rights. For them, the start of a sponsorship program is like a new dawn of hope coming alive from a terrible night of wonder. 

Children and their caregivers could not hide their joy on realizing that the long-anticipated sponsorship program had finally kicked off and children were actually being enrolled. The enrollment was initiated after several sensitization meetings with local leaders, community members, teachers, caregivers and children, during which Save the Children staff told about the organization, the sponsorship program and the ways of partnering for the wellbeing of children. The inauguration of the sponsorship program is envisaged as a long term opportunity for joining efforts in addressing issues affecting the welfare of children, with a special focus on better education.

The enrollment exercise included caregivers signing or thumb-printing on the consent forms, staff filling in the biographical information for each child, and the taking of the children’s portrait photos. The day was full of fun and excitement, especially for the kids upon seeing their individual photos in the camera. I observed that the way sponsorship activities are conducted can always be made fun for the children.

It was a worthwhile moment for Save the Children staff to set aside a little time to celebrate the effort and support. Everyone had contributed towards bringing us to that moment in some way, through proposal writing, carrying out feasibility studies, supporting “go” or “no go” decision making as we selected our communities and programming, plus the many other steps involved in the startup process.

A couple of excited girls line up to have their portrait taken for the first time

After enrollment, Uganda Country Office staff were able to gather, clad in their amazing red Save the Children t-shirts and caps, to toast to the day’s event, dubbed “Uganda Sponsorship Go-Live”. We all watched as our Country Director Barbara Burroughs pressed the enter button that finally launched the webpage showing children from Uganda being promoted around the world.

The day’s celebration closed with cake cutting and some refreshments, as well as a group photo. The whole staff held up their caps in glee towards kickstarting an 8 to 10 year program aimed at promoting the wellbeing of children through strong, focused and proven programming.

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Tracy Meets Patrick and His Community

Agnes Zalila

Sponsorship Manager, Save the Children, Kalulushi Sub-Office

Zambia

December 14, 2015

Today is an extraordinary day not only for Patrick but for all the children in his community and the entire Save the Children team in Zambia. Today his sponsor is visiting him and she is the first sponsor to ever visit since the inception of the sponsorship program in Lufwanyama, Zambia! 

Tracy with Patrick and his classmates

Patrick, age 6, lives in one of the communities where Save the Children has recently opened an Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Center. He and other children in his community all benefit together from the sponsorship program. He feels very lucky to have the opportunity to go to the ECCD Center and learn so much. The community never had such learning facilities for children Patrick’s age until Save the Children phased in. 

Patrick’s sponsor Tracy was greeted by the Sponsorship Team and then taken to Nkana, the community where Patrick lives with his family. First, Tracy went to Patrick’s school where a warm gathering including parents, teachers, caregivers and children was expecting her. She was given a big welcome by everybody, most importantly from Patrick who was very shy, but excited. The two seemed to be short of words as they stared at each other and exchanged big smiles.

Tracy then had the opportunity to witness some program activities on health and nutrition, specifically those that address the issues of water and sanitation. Additionally, even though schools were on holiday, Tracy was able to meet with Patrick’s friends and classmates.

Tracy pumping water at one of the pumps

Tracy greatly appreciated this experience. She plans to share the story of her trip with her students back in New York, so they too can understand more about what life is like for children in Zambia. We encourage more sponsors to visit the communities and programs Save the Children supports. Tracy has pledged to come back and says she will be more prepared next time as she understands the realities better now. The Zambia Country Office team hopes that she will be an ambassador for the country and encourage many other sponsors to take the journey as well. The community also thanked Tracy as one of their generous sponsors and expressed their great appreciation for her support towards improving the education and wellbeing of children in their community.

What is most notable today is that now the community, children, staff, Tracy and Patrick can attach faces to the other end of the sponsor-child communications.

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

Teaching a Trouble Maker to Love Learning

Vinita Thapa

Junior Officer, Media and Communication

Nepal

December 7, 2015

On my first day in Achham, a hilly district in the far west of Nepal, I landed in Santosh's grade 3 classroom. Filled with many colors and drawings displayed along the walls, the classroom looked like an indoor playground decorated with teaching materials, most of which were made by students and teachers.

As I sat down to learn how the teacher ran her classes, I spotted Santosh, sitting and listening to the teacher while also managing to laugh and smile quietly with his classmates. He looked a bit mischievous. However he would raise his hand to answer questions and participate actively in the group learning activities.  

Santosh showing off the car he made out of mud and sticks

I spoke to his teacher to know more about him. Santosh had been known as a boy who picked fights with his teachers and friends in school. Due to his lack of interest in his studies he had to repeat grade 2, while all his friends progressed to a higher grade. I became more curious about him.

When I had the chance to ask him some questions, I asked Santosh about his experience in school. He shared that initially, he disliked coming to school because he was having a hard time understanding what was happening in the classroom. When he was unable to complete the lessons being taught, he was often punished.

In Santosh’s school, teaching styles gradually changed after the implementation of the Active Teaching Learning method, which encourages teachers to use locally available learning materials and to allow children to become an active element in the learning process. In an active teaching and learning class like Santosh's, teachers and students are on the same level, discussing, drawing, singing, dancing, taking turns asking questions and answering them, and laughing as they spend time in class. Santosh excitedly told me about the ways he learns in class, using balls, blocks, colorful charts, songs and even natural materials like stones or sticks. He proudly showed me a car he made out of mud and sticks.

Santosh looked happy in the classroom, finally able to understand what his teachers taught. For him, school has become fun because his teacher is now more like a mentor or friend and less like a disciplinarian or authority there to punish him.

Speaking to Santosh took me back to my own school days, when the only way the teacher taught was through textbooks and us repeating whatever was being taught. Being unable to memorize lessons completely had landed me in trouble many times and I too was punished. I remember how much it discouraged me and instilled a sense of fear.

Santosh and his friends in their colorful classroom

Spending a day in Santosh's classroom reminded me that things have changed now, even in this remote part of my country. Now classrooms are playgrounds where you learn through play.

As a part of the Basic Education program, Save the Children provides training to teachers and school staff to help them make classrooms more interactive and joyful. We are proud to say that with the help of our dedicated sponsors, the program has now reached sixteen districts in Nepal. Thank you for your support!

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.

A Community Leader Knows

Mengos Nazare Sebastiao

Basic Education Coordinator/Guinée

Mozambique

November 29, 2015

João Ussene is an old and wise man, born in Mecunula and still living there with his family. Currently he is the community leader and serving as chairperson and president of the primary school committee. 

The kind face of João Ussene, community leader and president of the primary school council

In his own words, João tells us that he knows from A to Z what is being implemented by the Save the Children sponsorship program in his community.

Before the program entered, the situation in the school was not good. Children were studying in very poor conditions. There were no classrooms, desks, chairs or adequate blackboards. Additionally the school had untrained teachers, so João tells us that both children and teachers were really suffering.

When Save the Children started to implement sponsorship programming, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, he says, and things started to change. Currently the school has new classrooms, an administrative block and 7 latrines under construction. Moreover, teachers are benefiting from monthly trainings through the Literacy Boost program, a Save the Children approach to improving reading skills that will allow teachers to help school children to read and write throughout the different stages of their educational development.

The community leader tells us he can see smiles on the faces of children when the community is receiving school materials and parents are now really engaged with school issues. Both these results of the sponsorship program positively contribute towards motivating children to go to school and keep going to school. João sends a very big koxukuro (thank you in Makua, the local language) to sponsors, expressing his great gratitude and appreciation for their generosity in helping his beloved community look ahead at a brighter future.

Interested in joining our community of sponsors? Click here to learn more.