Disrupting Poverty

I have worn many hats as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, a mother raising children overseas, an aid worker and now CEO of an international child development organization. Life has taken me all over the world and I look forward to sharing some...

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Disrupting Poverty turned 10 today!

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Disrupting Poverty turned 8 today!

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Sitina shows us her Christmas card from her sponsor.

Christmas cards arrived for sponsored children in Ethiopia a few days ago, and they are very pleased! Mail is important to children and adults, especially this time of year. If you’re interested in writing to your sponsored child (or maybe a niece or nephew a couple of thousand miles away), here are some letter-writing tips. Happy holidays, everyone, and may you receive something good in the mail. 

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At ChildFund, we have many things to be thankful for, first and foremost the honor of working with children around the world. They all deserve the chance to grow up healthy, happy, learning and encouraged to follow their dreams. This year, I visited an early childhood development center in Zambia, where I met boys and girls who are getting a good start. They’re learning and developing, and we hope they will continue to attend school so they’re prepared to lead their communities one day. This Thanksgiving, let’s devote a few thoughts to the youngest generation, which will take our world into the future. I wish them the best.

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Diana, 10, lives in Mexico. When asked what it means to be safe in school, she said, “It means that, for example, if I’m here at home and I get scolded and feel bad because of what I did, at my school I can forget about what happened here, and think about mathematics, Spanish and science. And I like it a lot because I can learn new things there.”

Diana’s one of more than 6,000 children in 41 countries who answered questions for ChildFund’s annual Small Voices, Big Dreams survey. This year’s focus is on education. Read more about children’s views on school, safety and their future. These small voices are important! 

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Typhoon Haima struck the northern Philippines last week, slamming the Apayao Province with 140 mph winds and heavy rains. Flooding and landslides have blocked roads, damaged homes and -- most seriously -- decimated farmland, affecting the region’s food security and economy. ChildFund is working to provide food, shelter and other resources to Apayao’s families. Read more here and please consider making a donation. Thank you to our Philippines emergency assessment team for sending these photos of the region. 

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Youth Succeeding in Zambia

Playing pool is not something I ever thought I would be doing at work!  But last week while visiting ChildFund’s programs in Zambia, I visited a youth program that ChildFund started in the community of Tiyanjane. The small one-room building provides a safe alternative for local youth to go to after school – pool, other games and computers are available.  

 Aiming for the corner pocket.

Like many countries, including our own, alcohol consumption by youth is a problem in Zambia. ChildFund is teaming up with local communities to discourage this risky behavior and provide safe, fun alternatives. The young boys I met were obviously taking advantage of the center because their pool-playing skills were much better than mine!

Another highlight of my trip was visiting the Zambian Nurse E-Learning Training Program, an innovative program funded by The MasterCard Foundation. ChildFund is teaming up with the country’s Ministry of Health and the General Nursing Council to provide new employment opportunities for youth while filling a critical shortage of trained nurses needed to serve a population of 24 million Zambians.    

Two nursing students and me.

Introduced by ChildFund, e-learning is allowing the Ministry of Health to increase the number of nurses trained each year. Next year, the first cohort of young people will graduate from the three-year course, which significantly decreased the amount of in-classroom instruction, substituting it with online personalized training accessed via tablet in the student’s home. 

In-person practicum time with patients, however, remains the same. In addition, ChildFund introduced both a life-skills component and scholarships into the program, ensuring that the most vulnerable youth were given the opportunity to obtain a marketable skill and had the confidence to be successful. The life-skills component already has proven its value to the Ministry of Health, and it is already incorporated into their “regular” nurse-training program. Hooray!

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Suggestions of a 'rigged' U.S. election can plant dangerous seeds of cynicism among idealistic children far and wide.

Anne Goddard, ChildFund President & CEO, in the Huffington Post

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In late summer, a team of filmmakers and ChildFund staff members from the United States and India came to Dhodlamitta (a village in Andhra Pradesh, India) for a special purpose: to create a 360-degree video that would help people in the U.S. experience life in a faraway place where ChildFund works. 

Once there, a young woman named Annapoorna served as our guide, showing us her home, the school where she teaches children facing many disadvantages, and the fields where her father labors daily. The Return -- the name of this 5-minute film -- is Annapoorna’s story. But with the change of a few details and landmarks, it also is the story of many children who have benefited from the support of a sponsor.

We are so excited to be able to harness technology for an important purpose.

“If I had not been supported by ChildFund, I may have ended up as a dropout child,” Annapoorna says, “doing agricultural labor and doing household chores till my parents got me married. And I currently touch so many others through my work as a teacher, as a community role model, and as a volunteer leader of a club where children learn about issues like health and child safety.” Watch -- and share -- Annapoorna’s story! 

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Vyshanavi is a ninth-grader from Andhra Pradesh, India. We asked her to tell us the most interesting thing she has learned from reading. 

"From all the books I have received from ChildFund, I like Money World the most," she says. "It was interesting to see the images and understand how each currency differs from the ones of other countries. I found out that, like India, Sri Lankans and Nepalese also call their currency rupee. But reading this book also made me wonder about a lot of issues related to money, like how important it is for us to have money to buy or eat or drink anything. Even to pursue studies, money is necessary, and people who don’t have enough don’t get to pursue their studies. I wish all children could get a chance to get educated."

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Video by Jake Lyell.

We love this video of children running, jumping, tossing, twirling and showing off their fancy footwork in a Kenya neighborhood. What kinds of games did you play as a child? 

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Helping Children Discover Their Cultures and Roots

A Sri Lankan girl learns about making videos as part of the Island Connect program.

Many of us want to know more about our history, whether it takes a genealogical turn or an interest in learning crafts, songs and stories passed down through the centuries. But despite a lot of tools to help us find our roots, it can be a struggle for anyone. Have you ever taken the time to look at hard-to-decipher immigration records, or maybe you hit the end of the paper trail at the slavery era?  

Now, consider if you’re living in poverty. Families we work with don’t have a lot of time to hear (or tell) stories if they have multiple jobs, or are living apart for various reasons. Children especially suffer, because they may feel isolated. Not part of a larger clan or culture.

ChildFund works to help children gain literacy and other skills that help them succeed in life, and when possible, we weave in cultural education through books, video, storytelling and artwork.

Girls reading in our Oklahoma program.

In the United States, children receive storybooks that have characters they can relate to. Whether they’re African-American kids from urban Mississippi, or Latino children in south Texas, we make sure they “see themselves” in books. As a result, children get more interested in reading and writing, as well as in their own cultures. We’ve seen young people in Mississippi create posters and other artwork about their favorite authors.

As they gain a greater understanding of their identities, children and youth often want to share their knowledge with others. At this point, we help them with the tools and training they need to create their own stories.

For instance, in Sri Lanka, the Island Connect project promotes traditional storytelling via modern technology. Children get access to video cameras and other tools so they can film, record and edit pieces that continue the tradition of oral storytelling. And because this program spans several cultures, children and youth learn more about their neighbors.

In the Philippines, we hold reading camps that not only encourage literacy but also let children create their own books. When children take active roles in their education, they get excited and invested, sometimes for life. We’re proud to be part of this process, which helps the youngest among us feel connected and supported in their communities and beyond.

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With summer comes the real work of children: play. The simple act of playing, whether an organized game or spur-of-the-moment frolic, sets free in children the capacity to grow and imagine, the chance to reach for new places and possibilities.

Read more in my July Huffington Post article, “The Poverty of Play.” 

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Keeping Children Safe

Children in Indonesia.

If you have (or had) small children, you probably use baby gates, electric outlet covers and other tools to keep them safe. Every parent or grandparent wants to see their children happy, smiling and unhurt, but it’s a much greater challenge to keep children safe in some communities where ChildFund works.

Human trafficking is a threat in impoverished Indonesian communities, preying on families’ desire to see their children well cared for. Often, predatory traffickers tell parents that wealthy families are waiting to adopt their children, or they’ll say that a well-funded orphanage will be a better home for their young ones. Of course, the truth is that their children could wind up begging on the street or working in a dangerous factory, or something even worse.

ChildFund is working with Indonesian authorities and local partner organizations to make parents aware of the risks posed by trafficking and how to prevent it. Peer educators and career guidance training help them build financial stability and job skills that make children less vulnerable to trafficking.

Testing distress whistles in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, children with disabilities are at particular risk of danger from careless drivers, bullies and perpetrators of abuse. We’ve introduced a fairly simple but effective solution: distress whistles. A loud, shrill whistle calls immediate attention to a problem, even in noisy urban streets. The Whistle For Protection campaign focuses on the rights and protection of children with disabilities, and aside from the distribution of whistles, they learn to report incidents of abuse to caring adults within their communities. Greater awareness makes everyone safer.

Fire and smoke cause other kinds of danger for children in Ethiopia. Open fires and inefficient stoves cause burns and respiratory diseases, even asthma, in young children. But for many families, they’re a way of life — the only tool they have to cook family meals and bake injera and bread to sell. Aysha, an Ethiopian mother of five, was constantly collecting firewood from a nearby forest or buying it from a market. The air they all breathed was full of smoke. 

But now, she’s part of a women’s economic strengthening group, which has allowed Aysha to get an energy-saving stove that doesn’t produce smoke. And her financial situation is better, Aysha says, which has given her family the income to consider building a new home. Knowledge and resources help keep children safe, we’ve learned over the years, and they also give families hope for a better future.

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Did you know that 42 percent of Zambian women ages 20 to 24 were married by the age of 18? Early marriage and motherhood rob millions of young women of their childhoods, educational opportunities and even their dreams. Learn about Patricia’s experience with marriage at age 15 -- and the unexpected turn her story took. 

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Knowledge Is Key to Defeating Poverty

A mother and child in Ecuador.

Poverty often deprives people of information they need to help themselves. If you grow up in a village where the only school is miles away and your parents can’t read, there’s a lot you miss out on.

In Guatemala’s rural highlands, which have low literacy rates and high numbers of malnourished children, parents often don’t know what kinds of nutrients their children need for their brains and bodies to grow strong and healthy. And if they do know, they often lack the seeds and tools to start a vegetable garden and protect plants from predators.

Child neglect, which stunts children physically, emotionally and intellectually, accompanies malnutrition in some places. That’s why ChildFund is attacking both issues together through radio broadcasts, one-on-one counseling and even skits and songs in rural Guatemala.

Ecuador has laws and policies prohibiting corporal punishment, but it’s still common practice in more remote areas because people have fewer ways to access information. The message -- that hitting is wrong -- is delayed. 

To provide this information, we work with guide mothers who are trained to advocate for good parenting practices. Guide mothers are important to our work in rural Ecuador because they come from families similar to those they’re helping, and they understand the issues parents face. They’re able to show families how to protect their children from outside dangers like exploitative labor, as well as stop abusive punishment practices that have held children back for generations.

Lucy at her village savings and loan meeting in Laroo, Uganda.

In Uganda, we’re working to change attitudes about gender roles, particularly between husbands and wives, which have limited the rights of girls and women. Even in recent years, women rarely left the home unless it was to fetch water or go to the market, explained one young mother, Lucy. But with ChildFund’s support, women have more autonomy and are able to model independence to their children. Today, Lucy is part of her village’s savings and loan association, and at their meetings, she gains friendships, advice and knowledge that help her family. Her husband now treats her with greater respect — something we all want in our lives.    

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One in four young women alive today was married as a child. More than 115 million children are exposed to hazardous labor, many of whom are forced to give up their schooling in order to work.

ChildFund President & CEO Anne Lynam Goddard, Huffington Post