Your Support in Action – August
HOW YOU HELPED A MOM CHANGE THE FUTURE FOR HER CHILDREN
From a Family in Crisis …
Seven years ago, Patricia struggled to provide for her children in Malawi. Her crop yields were poor, and there was only enough food for the family to have one meal a day. The children were malnourished and frequently sick. With no extra crops to sell, Patricia couldn’t afford to pay her daughter’s school fees. She was deeply worried about her children’s futures.
… to a Family With a Future
Thanks to support from donors like you, Save the Children partnered with Patricia’s community to create a village savings and loan bank, a cooperative scheme that allows account holders to deposit money, take out loans, and share in the profits. Patricia uses it to buy fertilizer for her crops and pay her children’s school fees. The program also provides families with a variety of seeds, as well as training on how to improve harvests with more diverse crops and provide healthy meals. Now the children are well-nourished and getting the education they need to succeed in life.
Due to its success, the Government of Malawi rolled out Save the Children’s program across the country to reach another 700,000 families.
Patricia says:
My big desire for their future is to see my children well educated. They should reach heights that I couldn’t manage to reach.
YOU’RE HELPING CHILDREN STAY IN SCHOOL EVEN DURING TIMES OF CRISIS
SITUATION:
Marah, 11, lives in Syria. She always loved going to school and dreamed of becoming a teacher. Then a series of catastrophes threatened to put her dreams on hold—maybe forever. Her family was displaced, first by dangerous conflict and then by last year’s devastating earthquakes. They were forced to find shelter in a camp for displaced people in Syria’s countryside. “I loved studying a lot,” she says, “but I was deprived of it due to the bombings and earthquake.”
YOUR IMPACT:
Working with our partners in Syria and with your support, Save the Children has repurposed tents once used for administrative services to create educational facilities in the camp. These tents provide Marah and other children access to education, as well as a space for safe play and psychosocial support. Now Marah is excelling in school and has discovered a talent for poetry.
Marah says:
The school is good; there is a garden where we play. The situation is better now because I study and go out with my friends, and I have access to education.
YOU’RE HELPING GIRLS ACCESS EDUCATION AND AVOID EARLY MARRIAGE
30% of girls in Sierra Leone are married by the age of 18
Kuji, 19, is an early pregnancy survivor in Sierra Leone and a Champion with Save the Children’s Ending Child Marriage project. As a passionate advocate for girls’ rights, Kuji is supported by Save the Children to share her story with other girls and encourage them to resist child marriage and stay in school.
Kuji found out that her cousin, Kpemeh, was being pressured to get married and had to drop out of school at 15. Kpemeh had called Save the Children’s helpline when her parents were forcing her to marry after they stopped paying her school fees. Kuji talked to her cousin and, with the support of Save the Children, went to the village chief, who stopped the marriage. After learning about the dangers of child marriage, Kpemeh’s father now supports her decision to return to school and work towards her dream of becoming a nurse.
After going back to school, Kpemeh said:
I shared my story to prevent my friends from experiencing the same. I’ll only think about marriage when I’ve finished my education.
Save the Children’s Ending Child Marriage project works with community partners to:
- Raise awareness and advocate for girls’ rights
- Provide educational scholarships and psychosocial support to girls at risk
- Collaborate with community leaders and authorities to end child marriage and keep girls in school
“I AM LIVING PROOF”: BELINDA’S FULL CIRCLE STORY
Life was difficult for Belinda as a child in rural Bolivia. “I was always cold and hungry,” she says. “The ground is so salty and dry that nothing grows there.” When she was 10 years old, her parents enrolled her in a Save the Children program. Thanks to supporters like you, she received nutritional support, health services, and educational supplies so she could go to school.
Once Belinda turned 18, she started volunteering with Save the Children, conducting workshops for young adults about health and self-esteem. When she finished college, she joined Save the Children as a staff member and still continues today. She creates safe learning environments for children while also working with mothers to enhance their children’s health and education. Belinda has positively influenced more than 100 families!
Belinda met her husband through her work with Save the Children, and now they have two daughters. She applies the same health and education techniques she teaches other parents to support her own family.
“There is a visible change,” she says of the children in Save the Children’s programs. “And I am the living proof of it!”
BUILD YOUR LEGACY
Erin Bury is passionate about equipping women entrepreneurs. She and her husband are the founders of Willful, so they know the impact bequests can have. That’s why she’s left a gift to Save the Children in her Will.
Erin says:
As an entrepreneur, if my gift can equip more young women to become entrepreneurs in the future, that’s an incredible legacy to leave behind.
Request your FREE Will Guide kit today. 1-800-668-5036 ext. 265 | [email protected]
Thank you for helping children to be safe, healthy, and learning.
Names have been changed to protect privacy.