A Look Back at 2022 and Hope for the Year Ahead
Kids enjoy nutritious meals and time with friends at their Hope Centers.
If you’re an aunt, uncle or grandparent of children living far away, you know how exciting it is to get updates on those kiddos you love so much. We feel the same way. That’s why we were excited to hear from Virna Segovia, OneChild’s Country Director in Nicaragua, about how the kids there are doing.
As Virna answered our questions and looked back at some of the struggles and celebrations that happened in 2022, she shared her vision for this new year and helped us understand how Child Champions are bringing hope to the kids in Nicaragua.
You also might be surprised to learn just how much impact sponsors make on the kids. Although we admit we weren’t surprised at all.
What was hardest about your hard place in 2022 — for the kids, Child Champions, or Field Ministry Partners?
A boy helps his mother prepare a meal at their home in Nicaragua.
Our kids experienced more illnesses such as respiratory diseases, dengue fever, malaria, and COVID. Because of inflation and a struggling economy, child labor in Nicaragua increased, and some families – or sometimes just one parent – had to move far away due to lack of jobs in their communities.
Child Champions had to adjust to new regulations on non-profits, and with unstable infrastructure and a poor economy, they had even fewer resources than usual.
How were the Hope Centers able to address some of these concerns?
Child Champions at the Hope Center provided struggling families with emotional support, food baskets, and sanitation kits. They made sure the children were current on medical check-ups, and they offered courses for parents to develop skills to better provide for themselves.
How did sponsors have the biggest impact on their sponsored children?
The most loving way to encourage a child’s heart is to write letters. Children who received letters from their sponsors – sponsors who shared Bible verses, offered support for their studies, and let them know how loved and important they are – had more confidence and a sense of optimism for their futures.
Watch a short video about how a letter brought hope to a child.
What would you like to share with sponsors about their impact?
Celebrations at Hope Centers like this one provide a special time of joy for kids.
Investing in the life of a child who lives in a hard place is the most loving, generous, and life-transforming thing you can ever do. Your generosity helps us give children hope and allows for better outcomes in the lives of the children and families we serve.
Hope Centers are always innovating and coming up with ways to best serve their children. What are some of your aspirations for this new year?
My vision for this year includes increasing the number of new Hope Centers in strategic, difficult areas. I’d also love to strengthen educational tools at the Hope Centers, provide more child protection education for Child Champions, train and strengthen staff and volunteers to use new digital platforms, and improve infrastructure and vocational needs through special projects.
Learn more about Nicaragua and the way Child Champions are serving kids there.
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We are accountable to the children we serve AND to our donors.
Our accountability to our donors is one of our highest priorities. Our goal is to use the funds entrusted to us as wise stewards. To do this requires continued monitoring of our fund distribution. OneChild is also a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
