Child Aid

I'm the leader of a group of Senior Citizens who have had the privilege of working with Child-Aid in Guatemala a for the past seven years. Child-Aid is a small organization, home-based in Portland, Oregon, but it is making a dramatic impact on the lives pf many children in Guatemala through the literacy and other programs that it runs. The role of our
group has been to go to Guatemala on an annual basis, spend one or two weeks painting and doing repairs on one of the elementary schools. It is very gratifying work, knowing that we can accomplish so much, and add a 'bright spot' to the lives of so many people. We make life-long friendships with the teachers and on-site staff members while we are
there, as well as with the school children and their parents. This year we had 18 team-members, each paying their own way for transportation, lodging and materials, so it makes for a very cost-effective endeavor. The way to gauge our success? In our first year of doing this - seven years ago -- we had 12 members on our trip. Without 'advertising' for
new member - just 'word-of-mouth' - this year we had 18 members, all of whom are excited about going back again in November of this year. A wonderful experience for members of out group, and a real blessing to work with Child-Aid, an organization is doing so much to help the children in Guatemala!

Recently we had a chance to see all the wonderful things Child Aid accomplishes, and it was more than we could have imagined. Child Aid employs local staff whose creativity, drive, and enthusiasm fuels the success of the literacy program in their own communities. Everybody’s effort associated with the program (staff, teachers, librarians, parents, neighbors and students) not only accomplishes Child Aid’s education/literacy goals, but also creates an environment whose grassroots enable enrichment in so many other intangible ways that will be passed from generation to generation in Guatemala helping to end any cycle of poverty.

Child Aid is doing fantastic work in the area of childrens literacy in many communities in Guatemala. Their approach, which includes continuous training of their "on the ground" team who then train the teachers and the librarians in the local communities is empowering to so many, and just makes sense. One of the most inspiring things is seeing the kids excited about reading, then teaching other kids, inspiring them, and knowing that being a donor is only one small (but important!) part of the process, with the big work being done by the staff, teachers, librarians and mostly the kids. I highly recommend getting involved!

I have been a board member of Child Aid for more than 10 years. I am very careful about how I allocate my volunteer time and resources, and I am proud to be a supporter of Child Aid. I have seen firsthand what a difference our work has made to so many lives, and how far our dollars go in Latin America. I am also the board chair of a small community foundation, and in that capacity, I work with a lot of non-profits. Child Aid is the only organization outside of the non-profits in my community that I work with. Why? The impact of our programs, the passionately committed volunteers and staff, and the fact that Child Aid is run in an extremely professional and fiscally responsible manner are why I support Child Aid.

I am the father of two children adopted from Guatemala and have been working with Child Aid for a number of years as a way of supporting positive change in the country. I joined the board this year and had a chance to visit the country and see their Reading for Life programs first-hand.

I was most impressed to see how their multi-faceted approach -- providing books, training teachers and librarians and supporting local libraries -- is changing the culture of education in these communities. Not only are kids getting access to books and vital literacy skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, but teachers and librarians are getting high quality training that will make them better at their jobs. The energy and enthusiasm for learning (and teaching) that I found in the schools I visited was inspiring. It illustrates Child Aid's long-term focus on investing in and empowering local people that I think will pay great dividends in the future.

I have worked with Child Aid for the past several years. They have done so much to improve the lives of children. Nothing makes a bigger difference in a child's future than the ability to read, think & dream! Please join me in supporting Child Aid. Thanks!

Child Aid is great. The staff in Guatemala have been tremendous to work with. The projects are engaging and active and one is able to see that the staff have been very attentive to the communities that they work with. i certainly would not hesitate recommending Child Aid to anyone! i have had the chance to observe what they do and the impact they have in communities and each time i have been impressed. i appreciate that they respect and listen to communities and yet also challenge them in their libraries. Very impressive!

Public schools in Guatemala, particularly in remote villages, have few if any resources. The books I have been able to get from Child Aid to share with some of these schools have been received with a kind of heart-felt thanks and wonder that enhances the power of reading and writing in ways hard to believe. Teachers, earning less than $150 a month, and students coming to school with nothing more than a tortilla for lunch, if that, are amazed by these books and so proud to have them in their school "libraries". They have worked hard to raise a small amount to help pay for them and value them beyond measure. Thank you, John and Child Aid, you are making a huge difference on the ground and in the classroom!

Our non-profit organization in Guatemala, Esperanza Juvenil, has benefited from the wonderful work of Child Aid in two ways. First, Child Aid has donated a number of excellent, high quality, hardcover children’s books for our library. In the context of Guatemala, where it is extremely difficult and expensive to get books for children, this has been a tremendous resource. Second, our teachers and staff have participated in Child Aid’s training which has helped them to develop skills to promote literacy and a love of reading with our children. Over the last five years, we have seen and measured a high rate of improvement in our children’s reading skills and passion for reading. We thank Child Aid for being a key partner in this effort!

My wife and I were part of the 16 member team that catalogued books and painted the inside and outside of a school in 2009 and 2010. We saw how teacher training has helped instruction. We noticed the enthusiasm of children who voluntarily attended a reading program during their vacation time. We were impressed by how the community became involved in the improvement of their children's education. We were very impressed by the Guatemalan teachers trained by Child-Aid and by the entire staff of the organization in Guatemala and in Portland, Oregon.

I was a member of 16 person volunteer team who, in November of 2010, had the opportunity to work in and observe in a Guatemalan village school in which Child Aid has been working for improved children's literacy. Although the school was then on vacation, The Child Aid program, 'adventures in reading' was underway. We had the opportunity to see a reading program which excited and interested the children. The children were excited to have reading material, which was not available before. The teachers have been trained by Child Aid to conduct the lessons in an active and open environment which seems to encourage participation. I have learned that in much of Latin America there is NO emphasis in school to learn to read for pleasure, partly because there is usually no pleasure reading material available. It looks to me that through the work of Child Aid, some children are getting a new message about the power of reading. I was amazed at the number of village children who voluntarily attended the classes.