Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

Even though we celebrate Labour Day in September here in Canada, many other countries celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1, including many of the countries where we work! May 1 also marks the Catholic feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. In honour of these two upcoming occasions, this week, we’re shining a spotlight on workers.

Working during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a monumental challenge all over the world, especially for families at our sites who face barriers on the best of days. Every day, we’re inspired by the brave and creative individuals we work with who are innovating and adapting their livelihoods to provide for their families. Our top 5 “family entrepreneur” photos highlight just a few ways that families have started new businesses or persevered in their ventures this past year.

#5: A convenient container 

Thanks to kind donors through our gift catalogue, The Njiru Stars group of entrepreneurs from our Nairobi site in Kenya received a shipping container for their business hub. They have kitted out the space to be a convenience store, produce stand, barber shop, snack bar, welding shop and vegetable garden!

The young entrepreneurs are thrilled to be business owners. Their enterprises have meant steady work during widespread unemployment due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Owning the container has protected them from the stress of unpaid rents, and they are able to continue supporting their families!

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Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

It’s National Volunteer Week! We’d like to celebrate, thank, and pray for all of our volunteers who have worked with us at Chalice. Every person has been a blessing, bringing their unique gifts to help us carry out our mission here in and Canada and overseas.

Volunteers help us in our office, in their own communities and parishes across Canada, and at  our sponsor sites when they travel with us on mission. When gathering restrictions came in place in Canada, the move to volunteering from their homes did not phase our local volunteers. They still stuffed more 100,000 envelopes of child correspondence at Christmastime!

Today we’re sharing our top 5 “volunteers on mission” photos – highlighting all of the ways our volunteers share their expertise, passion and, above all, love with the children and families at our sites.

#5: Sojin’s new pals

Sojin volunteered her time and talents on a mission trip to Paraguay. She loved playing with the children at the Open Centre in our CMAVIL site. Sponsored children come to the Open Centre before or after school, where they receive help with their homework, a hot meal, healthy snacks and of course, lots of outdoor play time. So it was extra fun to have buddies from Canada for a whole week to push them on the swings, skip their jump ropes, and play soccer!

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Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

In Canada, warmer weather is slowly but surely arriving across our provinces. Many of us are getting our gardens, pots and yards ready for planting all sorts of fruits, flowers, and veggies. Watching things grow is one of the most enriching and exciting parts of spring!

At our sponsor sites, gardening is an integral part of life for so many of our families and communities. Growing food is a cost-effective way for families to access a balanced diet, and extra produce can be sold for an income! This week, we’re sharing our top 5 “gardening” photos to get you into the spring spirit, and share some of the amazing gardening initiatives from our sites around the world.

#5: Overcome and prosper 

Many areas around our Mikinduri site in Kenya have been affected by droughts over the past few years, leading to a food shortage. Local children were hungry and malnourished, and their health suffered, as did school attendance rates.

With the support of many loving donors, Miurine Elementary School was able to start a school feeding program with a small garden! The excited students took it upon themselves to plant lots of vegetables and fruit trees. Fresh fruit makes a great snack, and the vegetables are added to school meals to make the food more nutritious!
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Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

When a child enters the sponsorship program, the whole family benefits from the support. Families can grow together when they can all access nutritious food, health supplies, and send the sponsored child and their siblings to school. Knowing there is a regular source of support gives the family stability, confidence, and the ability to plan for future needs.

This week, our top 5 “Grow Families” photos celebrate God’s great gifts to us: our parents, siblings, grandparents and even our ‘families’ that aren’t related by blood. Through sponsorship, everyone can thrive.

#4: Building strong families 

Ethel is the president of her Family Circle at our Samar site in the Philippines. She lives with her husband and five precious children, three who are sponsored through Chalice! Thanks to the support of sponsorship, her children Liberato, Hazel, Erica, and Ella Jean are all able to attend school, while baby Aiden will have the support needed to grow up happy and healthy. Wanting to give back to the community, Ethel and her group-mates planted a garden at her children’s local school!
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Welcome to Photo Friday! Each Friday, we share photo collections of our favourite shots from our sponsor sites around the world.

Easter is a time to celebrate new life! As the winter melts into spring and the first flowers unfurl from the earth, we are filled with hope. New life abounds in our sites in many forms, and our dedicated site staff work to nurture them all into an abundant harvest. Our top 5 new life photos celebrate the hope of Easter and a new and brighter tomorrow!

#4: Starting life out right 

Pregnant and breast-feeding moms need to be extra mindful that they are getting a complete diet rich in vitamins and minerals. In rural Kenya, mothers-to-be and new moms were facing malnutrition and it was affecting their babies. Thanks to generous supporters of Chalice’s nutrition fund, the Sisters who run our Mercy Care site provided 388 mothers with a complete package of nutritional staples they need to stay strong. All the pregnant mothers involved delivered healthy babies, and the babies gained weight properly. The breast-feeding babies were stronger, more active and healthy!  Continue reading →