I have always believed that education is the key to eliminating poverty and research supports this. Here in Nova Scotia we are blessed to have free education for all Bluenosers from Primary to grade 12. Elsewhere in the world children struggle to get any education at all even if schooling is free, due to extreme poverty and poor access to education. I do not know where my passion for child sponsorship comes from but I have always wanted to sponsor a child and finally last November I decided to do it! I sponsor a now 11 year-old girl from Burundi and a now 14-year-old boy from Haiti through World Vision and I am so happy! World Vision Canada is great but did you know Nova Scotia has their very own International Aid Charity through which you can sponsor a child? I had no idea until December of last year.
Chalice Canada is located in Bedford, Nova Scotia.
They sponsor children in 15 countries:
Bangladesh (South Asia)
Bolivia (South America)
Cameroon (Africa)
Chile (South America)
Ghana )Africa)
Guatemala (Central America)
Haiti (Caribbean)
India (South Asia)
Kenya (Africa)
Paraguay (South America)
Peru (South America)
Philippines (Southeast Asia)
Tanzania (Africa)
Ukraine (Eastern Europe)
Zambia (Africa)
I often wish I was Ellen DeGeneres or some other influential/wealthy person who could sponsor all of the children available through Chalice (and World Vision and Compassion Canada and all the other International Aid Charities out there). I do plan somehow to fundraise money for Chalice (anyone with any fundraising experience who would like to guide me through how to do so please contact me either through Facebook messaging on Bluenoser or at proudtobeabluenoser@gmail.com. I would love to raise enough money to sponsor as many children as possible.
I am proud to say I do sponsor one child through Chalice Canada. Along with some friends from work, I signed up to sponsor her as soon as I found out about Chalice. She is 11 years old and lives in Bolivia. She has three siblings and sadly lost a baby brother when he was only 1. Sponsoring a child through Chalice costs only $37 per month. They send you a package with a picture and information about the child you are sponsoring and you can write to your child and they will write back! Chalice also sends you yearly updates on the child you sponsor.
So what do they do with the money you send?
That is always the big question and I know a lot of people do not trust that the money you send is actually used for what a charity says it will be used for - I was one of you! I was very happy to discover that Chalice posts their Annual Financial Reports on their website. On their Our Work page they break down what their expenditures for you. And on their About page they explain their sponsorship model.
"Each family is unique, and so are their needs. We’ve recently launched our Family Funding model to better suit each family’s individual requirements. Guardians of sponsored children now receive financial training to budget for expenses. It’s a requirement that educational fees must be top priority. Families now have their own bank account where sponsorship funds and “special money” donations from sponsors (these are donations for their birthdays or Christmas or just money for something you know your sponsored child's family needs) are deposited. Each month, the guardian meets with their Chalice Family Circle (small community group) comprised of other guardians and a Chalice field worker. Each member discloses their budget for the upcoming month and reports back to the group on their expenditures for the previous month."
In 2018-2019 Chalice sponsored 51,007 children! Their goal is to increase the number of sponsored children and elderly by +480 people in 2021-2022 and by a total of +2658 by 2024-2025.
I would love to help them reach this goal either by raising money to sponsor the children myself or to have fellow Bluenosers sponsor them! Who's with me? On the Bluenoser Facebook page I will be posting children eligible to be sponsored through Chalice and I am hoping you will find it as rewarding as I do to sponsor a child in need.
Still not convinced you should? Still not convinced child sponsorship works? Chalice has a blog with success stories you should read. Chalice also has an Instagram account and a Facebook page.
Here are a few faces of children who are awaiting your support :)
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