Aid Children's Health & Education in 5 Countries

Thank you so much for supporting Children's Helpers Worldwide (CHW) through our "Impact Fund" page on GlobalGiving. Your donations are used for urgent or unexpected needs at our partner projects, or if we are struggling to complete a campaign. CHW is a small charity and it is people like you who make it possible to support children and young people around the world!

Many of you have supported Casa Mea in Romania, through this page. Casa Mea provides a loving, family-style home for a group of children and teenagers who, for various reasons, are unable to live with their families. Most recently, your donations have helped to sponsor a social worker to assist these children.
During the lockdown, the children have been staying safe and well in the home, and have been attending school classes online. Felicia, the manager at Casa Mea, explained that, to keep themselves busy, the children have also worked in the garden, as well as around the house, done some cooking and have done artwork too, especially with the rainbow theme, to send out a message of hope. Two of the teenagers, Ana and Cristina, have had birthdays during the lockdown, and they all celebrated together in the house.

During this time, when lockdowns around the world have made it difficult to continue with regular fundraising events and activities, any extra help towards the running costs of Casa Mea's home would be so greatly appreciated.

Before the lockdown, donations that you made were also used to help a home in Ghana. New Life runs a school, residential centre and assists the wider community. New Life's centre needed to have electrical rewiring work done, as most of the home was without electricity. This was a very big project and we are so grateful to all who contributed to support it. At first, we were unable to raise all the funds for this appeal, but with the help of those who donated to the Impact Fund, we reached the total needed in mid-January. The work at New Life was completed in March.
Derrick, the director of New Life said, "The compound [outside] light was the only light available. The ceiling woodwork had to be done before the electrical rewiring. After the whole work, light is all over the place. Thanks to you, CHW and supporters."

Also before the lockdown, some of your donations were used to assist Rooikappie Pre-School Centre, South Africa, with paying for their phone line rental. Thanks to you, we were able to sponsor this for a couple of months, to make sure that the centre had continued use of its phone line. The Principal, Faranaaz, explained this was important so the centre does not miss out on anything and can contact parents in case of an emergency. Faranaaz was very grateful and said the donation was "a tremendous help and assistance to us."

The photo below shows the children at Rooikappie attending a workshop a few months ago, at one of our other South African partner organisations, ORT SA CAPE. We are grateful to CHW's supporters who sponsored this workshop. Another of our South African partners, The Future Factory, introduced us to Rooikappie in the first place. Over the past couple of weeks, we have heard from both The Future Factory and ORT SA CAPE. The Future Factory is involved with a food distribution programme, and ORT SA CAPE has also started giving food packages to families in need. Any help with either of these food programmes would also be greatly appreciated.

Right now, our partner organisations have had to find ways to keep going, at a time when it is harder to get support. Casa Mea in Romania is an example of this. Other partner organisations have launched new projects in response to the situation, as you can see with the two food distribution programmes in Cape Town. We know this is a time of uncertainty for everyone and we are truly grateful to those of you who are continuing to support the children, young people and families at our projects. You are making such a difference.



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With thanks to Bev and Karen (ORT SA CAPE), Derrick (New Life) and Felicia (Casa Mea) for the photos included with this report.

We hope you have had a great start to 2020! Thank you to each person who supported the children and young people at our projects in 2019! The "Impact Fund" enables your contributions to go to where they are most needed, whether this is to assist with an urgent or unexpected need at one of our partner organisations, or to help us complete an appeal. Your support really makes a huge difference and is life-changing for the children and youth at our projects!

In 2016, CHW's Trustees made an administrative change to the charity, so that we could help young people as well as children. The first young person to benefit from this was Isaac, who grew up at New Life's centre in Ghana. He wanted to study Mechanical Engineering. We are delighted to share with you that, in 2019, he completed his degree! One of our corporate sponsors assisted with his fees, and donations through the Impact Fund helped towards a stipend for his food as well as support for his educational materials. Isaac is currently undertaking a year of National Service. Thank you so much to each person who helped along the way and supported Isaac, so that he could complete his studies.

We are also very grateful for recent donations to the Impact Fund, which helped us to complete an appeal for another of our Ghanaian partner organisations, Meyah Preparatory School. This school serves the community of Medie, and, after growing rapidly, was looking for help with sponsorship for its teachers. Some donations given through this page helped with that project and we are truly grateful to each person who gave, as you are enabling these children to continue with their education. We also want to thank Claire from the organisation Move The World, for linking us with this school.

Last year, your donations through this page also helped Casa Mea in Romania, when we were running an appeal to help them to keep going. We are thankful to all who contributed to this. Today Casa Mea is continuing to provide a warm, loving home for children and teenagers who, for various reasons, are unable to live with their families. We have previously fundraised to help sponsor a social worker to work with the children and we hope to be able to do this again in 2020. As a small charity, funding such projects can be challenging, and if we struggle to reach this goal, donations to the Impact Fund will go towards supporting Casa Mea in this way.

Along with this update, we are including some photos, our New Year greeting and a video of Isaac. We really appreciate your kindness and the difference you make for the children and youth. 

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With thanks to Felicia at Casa Mea, James at New Life and Moses at Meyah Preparatory School for the photos and video included with this report.

Links:

• Thank You Message from Isaac

Thank you very much for supporting the "Impact Fund". Your kindness is helping children and young people at the projects we support and you are making such a big difference for them.

Over the past couple of months, your donations have helped some of the individual children and young people at our projects, as well as helping with resources for programmes for groups of children.

Stelian, a thirteen-year-old boy at Casa Mea, Romania, started attending maths tuition sessions last month. CHW was able to fund this, thanks to your support through our page. If Stelian is able to get a high grade at the end of this school year, he will have a better chance to enrol in a good high school. Felicia at Casa Mea said that Stelian attends the tutoring every Sunday and is focussing on algebra and geometry.

Dora, who grew up at New Life in Ghana, is in her third year of a vocational course on wedding decorations and sewing. One of CHW's supporters sponsored her course fees. Your contributions have helped to provide Dora with a stipend for her food for the term. After completing her course, Dora plans to work for other people and gain experience, until she can go on to open her own shop. Dora is very grateful for your support.

Stepping Stones in China runs health and educational programmes for migrant children in Shanghai. CHW was trying to fundraise to sponsor their teaching materials for the next semester. With your help, this was possible! During the last semester, 248 trained volunteers provided 1,775 lessons to 2,784 migrant children in 24 schools and community centres in Shanghai. Eva from Stepping Stones expressed her gratitude for your support for the migrant children.

Challenging Heights in Ghana rescues and rehabilitates children who were trafficked into the fishing industry. Some of your contributions went towards supporting their reintegration programme, which helps rescued children, who have spent some time at Challenging Heights' centre, to move on with their lives and to be reunited with their families and return to school.

We are currently trying to sponsor teachers to work with the children at Meyah Prepartory School in Ghana. The school has grown rapidly and, whilst the director is making plans for the sustainability of the school's future, this assistance right now would be a big help for them and will ensure that the 150 pupils at the school continue to receive an education. If we struggle to raise these funds, then contributions made to the Impact Fund over the next month or so, will go towards this and will be a massive support for everyone at the school.

Our partner organisations joined in with our "making an impact" campaign, and took photos holding up our sign. You can see some of the photos in our Facebook album. The link is below.

Thank you so much for making an impact for children through your wonderful support for CHW.

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With thanks to Cui at Stepping Stones, James at New Life, Jan and Felicia at Casa Mea, Jonathan and Willow at Challenging Heights and Moses at Meyah Preparatory School for the photos and updates. Thanks to Claire at Move The World for making our collaboration with Challenging Heights and Meyah Preparatory School possible!

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Links:

• Our parter projects' photos - "I'm making an impact" campaign

Thank you for supporting this project, the "Impact Fund". Your help is making such a difference for the children and young people we work with around the world. In this update, we share with you some news about the children you have helped and how your donations will continue to help.

You have helped Dora and Elizabeth at New Life in Ghana. Dora grew up at New Life's home and is now taking a three-year vocational course on wedding decorations and sewing. Your contributions from the Impact Fund will provide her with a stipend for food for the next six months.

Elizabeth is a toddler, born to teenage parents. She lives with her mother and her family in a small village near New Life. Your donations have helped with her basic needs for this past school year, as well as covering the cost of her place at New Life's school, including educational materials and school lunches. This is giving her a better start to life.

You have also helped Casa Mea, a residential home in Romania, to keep going. The children and teenagers are all doing well. They have finished the school year and all are advancing into the next grade. A new girl, Simona, aged 15, came to live at Casa Mea last month. She is in the same class as Ana, one of the other girls at Casa Mea. Both Ana and Simona will be doing accountancy internships over the summer. In Romania, the final year of primary school is eighth grade. Cristina has just finished primary school and will be going to the local high school. She is 15 and, on Saturdays, she has been enjoying learning how to cut hair in a nearby salon. She hopes to do more work experience over the summer. Vlad is the oldest and he has just finished vocational school. He will be deciding what to do, whether it is continuing with his education or finding employment, in the near future. Raul is 14 and has just finished sixth grade. He has also completed two years of music lessons and he received a very high grade. He is a keen footballer and plays with a local young team. Thirteen-year-old twins, Livia and Stelian, will be going into eighth grade next year and the youngest, Robert, has just finished fourth grade.

At the end of eighth grade, children in Romania take an exam which determines where they will go to high school. Stelian would like to go to high school in the nearby city of Brasov, and will need a very good grade for this. Felicia, who manages Casa Mea, has asked if we can help with maths tuition for Stelian. This would cost around £379 for the year. So far, we have raised £284. If we struggle to raise the final £95 needed, we hope to be able to use future contributions to the Impact Fund to help with this.

We are also currently trying to raise funds to support the integration programme at Challenging Heights in Ghana. Challenging Heights rescues, rehabilitates and advocates for children trafficked into the fishing industry. They have asked us for help with £1000, which will help towards reuniting children with their families and offering them ongoing, holistic help. This will allow them to return to school, move on with their lives and to keep safe, so that they are not in the position of being trafficked again. As we are a small charity, it can be difficult to raise funds. However, our partner organisations are doing such great work. Any contributions, over the next month or so, may also help with supporting the wonderful, and vital, work being done for children at Challenging Heights.

Thank you very much for caring about the children and youth at our projects. It is so great that you are making such an impact for them.

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With thanks to Derrick and James at New Life, Jan and Felicia at Casa Mea and Jonathan and Willow at Challenging Heights for the updates and photos included in this report.

By supporting this project, the Impact Fund, you can be sure that your contributions will go towards helping disadvantaged children and youth overcome some of the barriers they face in life. Recently, your donations have helped with children and young people's education in Ghana, enabled a girl with disabilities in Argentina to have access to horse-assisted therapy and assisted organisations providing homes for children in Romania and Ghana.

New Life, in Ghana, runs a children's home, school and outreach programme. Two of the young people who grew up at New Life's home, Isaac and Dora, are currently taking their next steps in life. Isaac is studying Mechanical Engineering at a local college and Dora is doing an apprenticeship in wedding sewing and decorations. Whilst some of CHW's supporters have funded their course fees, we needed help with continuing to provide Isaac and Dora with stipends for food and educational materials. Contributions from the Impact Fund have gone towards this and we are so grateful for your help for these young people.

Isaac said, "We have been on trips two times this semester and all were fantastic. I will be completing my course by the end of June this year. So far so good, the academic work has been good. I appreciate all you have been doing for me."

Challenging Heights, also in Ghana, rescues and advocates for children who were trafficked into the fishing industry. The rescued children are brought to a shelter for rehabilitation, before being helped to integrate back into society. The shelter has a school with a computer lab. Challenging Heights previously asked CHW for help with a router and internet system for the computer lab. Some donations from the Impact Fund helped us to complete the fundraising for this project. The new system is now in place.

Jonathan at Challenging Heights said that internet-based teaching and learning is taking place and that the internet connection also helps staff complete work to do with the running of the shelter. Sixty-four students, who are survivors of human trafficking, are now able to use the internet to learn.

Some donations to the Impact Fund also helped CHW to complete the funding to sponsor horse-assisted therapy sessions for seven-year-old Briana, in Argentina. Briana has spastic quadriplegia and is benefitting, both physically and emotionally, from having this therapy at our partner organisation, Fundación Cordobesa de Equinoterapia. Veronica, the founder of the organisation, said she is very touched that people from so far away are helping Briana.

CHW's supporters were recently able to sponsor a power generator for New Life's children's home in Ghana, with some of the donations coming from the Impact Fund. New Life had asked CHW for help with this due to the frequent power cuts in the area. There will now be a stable power supply at the home. Thank you for helping to make this possible.

We also want to thank you for supporting the children at the home Casa Mea in Romania. CHW was trying to find funds to sponsor the running costs of the home, until their situation stabilised. Things are now looking a lot better for Casa Mea and for the children's future. Thank you for helping Casa Mea, through the Impact Fund, during their time of need.

CHW is a small charity and every penny you donate really counts! Our partner organisations are doing great work. Thank you for being a part of this and for making a difference in the lives of children and young people around the world.