Catholic Child Sponsorship Programs Advance Direct Family Funding

Florence and her husband are raising their four children in a modest two room wooden house in the village of Karima Ka Ntwiko, located in Meru County, Kenya.  Her husband is a watchman and care taker for the grounds of a private business in Meru town. The family home sits on an eighth of an acre among some fruit trees which they have planted. Although Florence and her husband work hard to provide for their kids, getting the funds together for school fees and classroom supplies can still be out of reach. Chalice Catholic child sponsorship programs offer a way for parents to receive financial assistance to support the education of their children. As parents of a sponsored child, Florence or her husband must participate in a Small Community Group, along with other parents or guardians of sponsored children. Chalice has implemented Direct Family Funding (DFF) for members of the Small Community Group (SCG) at the Meru Sponsor Site.

With DFF, parents and guardians decide how they will allocate sponsorship funds and then report back after the funds have been spent. As always, school-aged children must attend school. Chalice staff provides ongoing training, support, and guidance. Each group elects a leader, secretary, and treasurer and whenever possible, a bank account is opened in the name of each sponsored child’s parent or legal guardian who participates in the SCG.

Florence and some of the other members in her SCG decided to use some of their funds to launch a business to earn additional income for their families. So every morning at 5:00 a.m. Florence wakes up to cook breakfast for her family, feed the chickens, clean up and walk an hour to the makeshift bakery located at the site of the Good Shepherd Sisters who run the Meru Sponsor Site.

The bakery consists of a few tables and a large oven in a simple wooden structure with corrugated steel walls and roof. The women tie on crisp white aprons to begin their work day under the supervision of Judy the site social worker. They work as a team to methodically measure, knead and form bread and cakes. Paid on commission, Florence brings home between 100-150 Kenyan shillings for a day’s labor, almost one USD to about $1.48. The group meets twice a week and must look for odd jobs the rest of the week to make ends meet.

For Florence and her business partners, the bakery is more than an extra source of income; it’s also a support network and a place to belong. They aspire to grow their business with a building that can be certified for food safety and new equipment to increase their output, sell more, and get higher commissions in return. The site is working with Chalice and the group of women to meet their business goals. Please keep Florence and her fellow bakers in your prayers.

Direct Family Funding empowers families of sponsored children and makes their communities stronger. Chalice recognizes that when given the support and encouragement, caregivers will make good decisions that benefit their family. When people ask, does sponsoring a child really work; where DFF is advanced, the answer is a resounding yes.