I found this post very interesting regarding one of Children International's goals. It was posted on the CI google group, and written by Neeta. I hope she has the other 9 program goals to share with us soon!:
Sometime ago, I had posted then ten program goals that our CI programs
are based on, and had promised an explanation of these goals. It’s
taken me a long while to live up to that promise, but here goes.
Goal 1: Basic Material Needs
Our sponsored kids live in circumstances where their families are
often challenged to provide for even basic needs, such as food,
clothes and shelter. So, in addressing this program goal, our
objective is to make sure that some basic needs of the kids and their
families are provided for. While we have other program goals focusing
on food and shelter (nutrition, housing and sanitation), through Goal
1, we try to address other basic needs the families may have.
Through the four Holiday gifts, more commonly known as the Birthday
gift, the Easter gift, the Christmas gift and the Special Hug gift,
agencies try to provide the children with basic items they may be in
need of. Agency staff and volunteers will usually meet with parent
groups to identify what gifts would be most useful to them. The usual
preference is to provide clothes and/or shoes, since parents cannot
usually afford them. Clothing items are selected to be useful by
season – for example, providing sweaters or even blankets during
winters. Through the Special Hug gift, agencies will usually gift
items that would be useful to the entire family, as a way of expanding
the program’s outreach to them. Items given out as Special hug gifts
could be dishware, mosquito nets, mattresses and sheets (so kids don’t
sleep on floors), a plastic table and chairs (which would double as a
dining table as well as a study table), etc.
When you consider that each agency works with 15,000 – 30,000 kids, it
is mind-boggling to work out the logistics of providing clothes
(color, types and sizes) to this many numbers of kids, of varying
ages. (Ever been shopping with two kids who want to go in different
directions at the same time?). Over the years, the agency staffs have
worked to develop best practices on doing this. In some cases, vendors
set up stalls in the community/service area centers, and display
clothing items approved by the agency for quality, and families choose
from there. Or, in other cases, measurements are taken and the clothes
are delivered by the vendors to the service area centers, where they
are picked up by the parents. But my favorite method has been
perfected by the agencies in the Philippines, where due to the easy
proximity of malls, agencies have simply tied up with the malls, and
parents and youth simply walk into the store on pre-defined days, and
shop for the clothes of their exact choice and color. This is fun to
watch, as it also becomes the family’s day out at the mall. This idea
has worked so well, that some of our agencies in other parts of the
world are also trying to explore the ideas in their own context.
When I meet with our sponsored children, I usually ask them what their
favorite program benefit is, and while there is a range of activities
they mention, what I hear most is that they love the Birthday gift. I
asked them why this is their favorite benefit, and one young lady
explained it well. She said that in her family, everyone is so busy
making a living, no one has time to remember or celebrate birthdays,
so it is just another day, and birthday gifts are out of the question.
So, when the agency gives her a birthday gift from her sponsor, she is
reminded that it is her birthday and a special day. She said “It’s my
most favorite benefit because it reminds me that I have a sponsor who
thinks I am very special.”
Neeta
are based on, and had promised an explanation of these goals. It’s
taken me a long while to live up to that promise, but here goes.
Goal 1: Basic Material Needs
Our sponsored kids live in circumstances where their families are
often challenged to provide for even basic needs, such as food,
clothes and shelter. So, in addressing this program goal, our
objective is to make sure that some basic needs of the kids and their
families are provided for. While we have other program goals focusing
on food and shelter (nutrition, housing and sanitation), through Goal
1, we try to address other basic needs the families may have.
Through the four Holiday gifts, more commonly known as the Birthday
gift, the Easter gift, the Christmas gift and the Special Hug gift,
agencies try to provide the children with basic items they may be in
need of. Agency staff and volunteers will usually meet with parent
groups to identify what gifts would be most useful to them. The usual
preference is to provide clothes and/or shoes, since parents cannot
usually afford them. Clothing items are selected to be useful by
season – for example, providing sweaters or even blankets during
winters. Through the Special Hug gift, agencies will usually gift
items that would be useful to the entire family, as a way of expanding
the program’s outreach to them. Items given out as Special hug gifts
could be dishware, mosquito nets, mattresses and sheets (so kids don’t
sleep on floors), a plastic table and chairs (which would double as a
dining table as well as a study table), etc.
When you consider that each agency works with 15,000 – 30,000 kids, it
is mind-boggling to work out the logistics of providing clothes
(color, types and sizes) to this many numbers of kids, of varying
ages. (Ever been shopping with two kids who want to go in different
directions at the same time?). Over the years, the agency staffs have
worked to develop best practices on doing this. In some cases, vendors
set up stalls in the community/service area centers, and display
clothing items approved by the agency for quality, and families choose
from there. Or, in other cases, measurements are taken and the clothes
are delivered by the vendors to the service area centers, where they
are picked up by the parents. But my favorite method has been
perfected by the agencies in the Philippines, where due to the easy
proximity of malls, agencies have simply tied up with the malls, and
parents and youth simply walk into the store on pre-defined days, and
shop for the clothes of their exact choice and color. This is fun to
watch, as it also becomes the family’s day out at the mall. This idea
has worked so well, that some of our agencies in other parts of the
world are also trying to explore the ideas in their own context.
When I meet with our sponsored children, I usually ask them what their
favorite program benefit is, and while there is a range of activities
they mention, what I hear most is that they love the Birthday gift. I
asked them why this is their favorite benefit, and one young lady
explained it well. She said that in her family, everyone is so busy
making a living, no one has time to remember or celebrate birthdays,
so it is just another day, and birthday gifts are out of the question.
So, when the agency gives her a birthday gift from her sponsor, she is
reminded that it is her birthday and a special day. She said “It’s my
most favorite benefit because it reminds me that I have a sponsor who
thinks I am very special.”
Neeta
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