Our Sponsor Sites
Sponsorship FAQ's
You may choose a child from our website or you may wish to contact our office via e-mail, phone or mail. Or, you may mail your request to Chalice.
Children usually stay in a program until they have completed school. Sometimes, however, circumstances arise that a child may leave the program beforehand. When this happens you will be notified and, if you wish, a new child will be offered to you.
The sponsorship cost is $33 per month for a total of $396 annually. You may make your contributions via cheque, post dated cheques or preauthorized payments from your bank account or credit card.* automatic withdrawal is only available from Canadian bank accounts – sponsor now -
The care a sponsored child or aged receives depends upon the circumstances and the nature of the sponsor sites.
Some projects care for homeless children or children not able to remain at home. In these cases your sponsorship will provide a home, a chance to go to school, nourishment, clothing and medical care, including visits to doctors or dentists.
For the children under the care of parents or a guardian, help is given to the child and family. This may include education, nutrition, clothing and/or medical care.
Elderly are provided with shelter, nutrition and clothing; and for those with illnesses, medication and treatment.
Many of our sponsor sites are not equipped with regular internet access.
If you wish to e-mail a letter to your child, please direct it to your Sponsor Representative, who will forward it on for you.
If you wish to mail cards, letters, photos, postcards, etc., please put your Child ID and/or Sponsor ID number clearly on your correspondence and mail to the Chalice office in Springhill. Please note that we are not able to forward anything larger than a regular card-size envelope.
There are many laws in our country and that of your sponsored child that govern all international procedures. Many agencies are involved that have their own guidelines. Finally, the child's legal guardians must be considered.
For these reasons, Chalice does not encourage sponsors to attempt to formally adopt their sponsored child. It is our desire that the children we help become happy, productive citizens of their own country. Our goal is that the children use their talents and training to help themselves, their families and their communities.
Each year you will receive a letter from your child, a status report and updated photo, a Christmas card and a sponsor site update. If your sponsored friend is unable to write, a relative or field worker may write your letter.
You may send a monetary gift to your sponsored friend for special occasions. To avoid jealousy we recommend a maximum amount of $25 Cdn., which will be used specifically for the child or aged.
Due to the fact that all Christmas contributions are pooled and distributed equally to all sponsored friends in all sites, there is no limit on Christmas donations. Please do not send your contributions in foreign currency.
You are welcome to visit your child. Please contact your Sponsor Representative to make the arrangements. Together with the sponsor site, they will provide you with any information you need for a very rewarding experience. Please remember that your child may live in conditions that you may find difficult. Some useful information concerning what to wear, eat, drink, etc., is very helpful before visiting.
| Meru |
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| Meru |
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Meru is located in the eastern region of Kenya, five miles north of the equator. The Chalice sponsor site in Meru was accepted into the Chalice Sponsorship Program in June 1999 under the
direction of the Good Shepherd Sisters. The service of their congregation is particularly aimed towards women and children who are wounded by life’s circumstances, injustice, oppression and alienation of those living on the edge of society. In the country of Kenya the culture is strongly dominated by the male population - women are not permitted to own land and the education of females is not emphasized. The Good Shepherd Sisters believe that ‘a child with education is a child with a future”. It is their hope that all the children in their sponsorship program will become educated, self-reliant members of society, going forth with the dignity and self-confidence knowledge brings. Sister Louisa, the Director of the Meru sponsor site, currently has over 500 children in her care, with the majority living at home with their parents. The few students that are not able to live at home are boarded in the convent or at a local boarding house. In 1999 the Good Shepherd Sisters established a Day Care Centre in the Shaauri yako slums. The centre was a non-formal way of keeping the children of the slums in Meru off the streets. Many of these children were orphaned, abandoned or without primary education due to lack of funds. The students at the centre are given porridge every morning, which in most cases was all they ate until the next morning. In February 2006 tragedy hit when the Day Care Centre was decimated by fire. Through the diligence of the Good Shepherd congregation and generosity of the Chalice supporters, a new spacious centre was rebuilt and opened within one year. The school system in Kenya runs year long with holidays in April, August and December. When the children are on holidays the Day Care Centre is used as an education centre for those in need of extra assistance and groups that provide young people with a place to join for games, music and activities aimed at keeping them committed to improving their futures and away from harmful influences. Primary education is free in Kenya, but to most families, the cost of uniforms and supplies is crippling. Through the sponsorship program these needs are met. Though the congregation concentrates on the educational requirements of the child, they do not overlook the needs of the family. The children are provided with a noon meal and additional food supplies are sent home. Parents and siblings receive medical care under the program to offset the burden this type of expense would represent. Items such as blankets are given to the children each year with other items being given as required and as funds permit. Chalice, Sister Louisa and her staff are committed to building the capacity of the children not merely academically but socially, economically and developing a community sense of responsibility. It is through sponsorship and the generosity of the supporters of Chalice that these goals will be attained, thus making children of Meru productive citizens whose lives are filled with the love and hope promised by God through the Gospels.
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