COVID-19 disaster relief funds distributed to Chalice sites

Through the generosity of our Canadian supporters, we have been able to send $1,078,517 CAD to help families and communities deal with the hardships faced because of the pandemic. Two major disbursements were made: $951,104 in cash transfers through our Family Funding model plus $127,413 for individual initiatives. This amount does not include the COVID support that was provided through Special Money, Grants, Gift Catalogue, and Critical Needs.
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Chalice Programs


Sponsorship - Family Funding
Chalice's main sponsorship model is Family Funding. Over the last few years, Chalice has been moving away from our older benefit disribution model in which the decision-making process wassponsorship by the numbers202021 controlled at the sponsor site level. As each family is unique, so are their needs and the Family Funding model supports guardians of sponsored children in order that they can be the main decision-makers in budgeting and spending Chalice sponsorship funds within their family. The key to Family Funding's success is that every month, the sponsored child's guardian meets with their Family Circle (a small community group comprised of other guardians and a Chalice field worker). Each member of the group shares their budget for the upcoming month and reports back to the group on their expenditures for the previous month. Another feature of Family Funding is that every family now has their own bank account where sponsorship funds are deposited. Even though Family Funding is very different from the benefit distribution model, it's still a requirement that expenses related to the sponsored child's education be given top priority.

sponsorshipprojectionsOur Family Circles have many benefits. Since peer members hold each other to a high standard, there's an increased level of accountability. The members get to know each other on a personal level, building a sense of friendship and community. An experienced and engaged circle group member can also provide knowledge, skills, and confidence to new families so that they can lift themselves out of extreme poverty. In addition to the knowledge and skills that group members acquire from each other, formal training is also delivered by professionals and site staff on a range of topics, including financial literacy. Some Chalice sites also have programming for elders. There are modifications to the focus of the programming to meet their specific needs. In many cases, the sponsored elders are cared for by Family Circles in their proximity.
Christmas money
Christmas money donations are sent to sites to pay for a Christmas celebration for the community. Many sites were glad that some public health restrictions had eased, allowing them to have in-person celebrations once again.

A few examples of the ways our sponsor site shared their Christmas funds in 2021

At the Neema site in Songea, Tanzania
In our Neema sponsor site in Tanzania, the staff and families used the Christmas Fund to spread Christmas cheer to the entire community. As a part of this years’ Christmas celebration, they visited a local prison bearing gifts of gumboots and personal hygiene products. They called their gifts “The Bags of Love.”  Back at the Neema sponsor site, the sponsored children, their parents, and elders from the community sat down for a “sumptuous meal.”  The children also received “Bags of Love” with special and practical gifts of umbrellas, mosquito nets and sandals. “It was a wonderful Merry Christmas and joyful celebration” writes Sr Mary-Grace, Neema site director.  “Dear Sponsors, we thank you for making this Christmas day a memorable one for the children, families, the elderly, and those in prison.”

At our Mangalagiri site in India
The children in our Mangalagiri, India, sponsor site always look forward to their annual gathering. They wear new clothes and Christmas caps, share little gifts among themselves, dance, and share a meal. The family circles could not exclude the vulnerable in their communities. The 34 family circles shared items such as dry foods, bedsheets, sarees, blankets, dresses, sweaters, and notebooks with 260 their  neighbours in need. Everyone received food and 100 were invited to a special meal. One family circle supported a sponsored family whose breadwinner had become paralyzed with a supply of dry goods for two months. “We are grateful to all the donors who contributed so generously for our sponsored families to celebrate Christmas in a meaningful way,” writes Sr Maria Rose, site director.

Read our 2021 Christmas Fund Impact Report

Special Money
Special money donations can also be directed to a sponsored child and their family for specific purposes such as birthdays, educational needs, housing repairs, and medical requirements. In the fiscal year 2021-2022, Chalice supporters gave $1,746,241.77 to their child or elder. In 2020-2021, Chalice sent $1,314,892 in Special Money to our sites. These donations from sponsors are also deposited directly into families' bank accounts. For donations above $500, notification is required to provide time for the family to prepare a budget on how their special gift will be used.
Grants to sites
Charitable donations in the form of grant funding can be directed to one of our Chalice sponsor sites, an individual sponsored child or sponsor child's family. This type of charitable gift can be directed without a specific purpose as a general grant or a purpose driven grant. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, total donated grant funds were $488,439.56. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Chalice sent $784,821 in funding to our sites.

A general grant can be gifted to a sponsor site, sponsored child, or sponsored child's family to be used as deemed best by the recipient in order to supplement their income, operating or programming expenses. An example of a general grant could be a grant directed to a sponsor site who uses it to enhance an after-school program or offset transportation costs incurred when transporting special needs children to appointments or off-site events.

A purpose driven grant can be gifted to a sponsor site, sponsor child or sponsored child's family to be used for a previously agreed upon purpose. In most cases a purpose driven grant is a direct result of a previously prepared budget.

An example of this is a grant directed to the sponsor site for the sole purpose of purchasing a braille printer to be used by blind children at the site. A purpose driven grant directed to a specific child may be to fulfill an opportunity for post-secondary education and a purpose driven grant to a sponsor child's family may be directed in response to a budget prepared to replace the dilapidated roof of their family home.

Grant donations provide relief for vulnerable children in Mombasa

The Sisters of St Joseph run Chalice's Mombasa sponsor site, working in the low-income neighborhoods of the coastal city in Kenya. They run two children's homes, called Grandsons of Abraham Rescue Centre and the Shanzu Orphanage. The three homes provide shelter for vulnerable children who may have been homeless, or are unable to live with their families, or do not have a family who can care for them. The two care homes serve as a home to over 150 vulnerable children (boys and girls) from disadvantaged families. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the Kenyan government to place visiting restrictions on care homes like these two. Donations from local supporters and well-wishers came to an abrupt halt. 

Through the support of grant donations, the Mombasa site was able to provide water storage, bedding, blankets and mattresses to the Shanzu orphanage. The children were also happy to receive plates and cups, because now they don't have to share during meals, or take meals in shifts because there aren't enough dishes and utensils. The Sisters were especially excited that they could enroll the children for health insurance, and received a first aid kit to take care of minor emergencies and accidents. 

At the Grandsons of Abraham centre, the boys were delighted with a gift of groceries items such as corn, beans, rice and cooking oil. The staff had been struggling to give the boys the robust diet they needed to be healthy and active. The site also bought the boys mattresses, blankets and bedding, especially appreciated during Mombasa's cool coastal month.

Sr Janefrances extends their gratitude on behalf of the Mombasa site and the children. 'God bless Chalice, our donors and all those who made this a reality."

Chalice Children Nutrition
Our Chalice Nutrition Program supports activities that promote and improve nutritional health for children (both sponsored and non-sponsored) in sponsor nutrition programsite communities in Central and South America, Haiti, Africa, and Philippines. Programs include both feeding and educational components and most are supported by a nutritionist, either at the site or the regional office level. To ensure each program addresses the unique needs of the community, the program is flexible and allows for many different designs.

Many sites are participating in the Chalice Nutrition Programs. Examples of programs include support to soup kitchens, school feeding programs, distribution of food baskets, community and school gardens, provision of nutritional supplements, deworming, and training of children, parents, and elders on topics related to nutritional health. This year our sponsor sites have encouraged us to expand this successful program & we are hoping to raise a total of $500,000 to continue rolling this out to more schools.

Read the 2021 Nutrition Impact Report.
Critical Needs
critical needs fundingWhen sites are faced with an extreme or critical situation that is urgent, they may apply for Critical Needs funding. Critical Needs are categorized into three main groups and are used to provide immediate support to individuals or families facing the following types of crises:
1) Grave conditions for which urgent action is required and which, if not urgently addressed, will endanger the life of the individual(s) concerned (e.g. hospitalization and treatment for serious injuries sustained in an accident).
2) Chronic, serious, and/or congenital medical conditions that negatively impact an individual's health and/or quality of life (e.g. corrective surgery required for a child born with cleft palate).
3) Extreme emergency situations that threaten the well-being of a family (e.g. rebuilding a family home that was destroyed in a fire).

In our fiscal year 2021-2022 (Jul 1-Jun 30) Chalice supported 124 critical need emergencies with total funding of $201,397.49.
In the fiscal year 2020-2021, Chalice supported 74 critical need emergencies with total funding of $193,327. In 2019-2020 we supported 51 critical needs with total funding of $199,254 provided. In the 2018-2019 fiscal year Chalice sent $185,964 in funding to our sites.
Disaster Relief
Chalice may provide support to communities in countries where we work following larger-scale natural disasters. This differs from Critical Needs, which are smaller in scale and more focused towards individuals and families. Disasters are calamities resulting from such events as hurricanes, floods, drought, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, fires, tsunamis, and other natural forces.
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In our fiscal year 2021-2022 (Jul 1-Jun 30) the total disaster funding provided was $2,703,310.

Read the latest Disaster Fund Impact Report and see how disaster funding helped families in Haiti and Ukraine in the past year.
Gift Catalogue
Every year Chalice invites eligible sponsor sites to apply for additional support through the Gift Catalogue. In our fiscal year 2021-2022 (Jul 1-Jun 30) the total funds raised through the Gift Catalogue were $2,031,508.29.
In the 2019-2020 fiscal year total contributions to the gift catalogue were $1,918,471.00.3yearcontributionsgc 

Eligibility is based on site capacity and performance in financial and operational requirements. Sites are given a list of items they may use to guide their requests. This program benefits both sponsored and non-sponsored children. There is a broad range of categories in the catalogue and sites use this funding opportunity to supplement activities and reach out beyond the sponsorship program. Some examples are: animals (goats, rabbits, and chickens), educational items (books, classroom furniture, and uniforms), health and hygiene (vaccines, toiletries, diapers, and specific medical needs), skills development, small business support, and community infrastructure like water systems and agricultural support.


Read the Christmas Gift Catalogue Impact Report for 2021



 

Human Development Programs and Capital Projects
Chalice supports sponsor sites with various types of Community Projects & Programs under the following two categories: Human Development Programs (HDP) and Capital Projects (CP). In our fiscal year 2021-2022 (Jul 1-Jun 30) Chalice sent $2,408,319.56 in funding to participating sites. In the fiscal year 2020-2021, Chalice sent $1,755,105 in funding to participating sites.
Our projects and programs focus on Education and Training, Food Security, Nutrition and Water, Health, and Community Improvements.
projects and programs funding received

A few examples of 2021-2022 Capital Projects/Human Development Programs (HDPs) are:

Building an operating theatre, maternity and surgical ward and providing equipment, Asembo, Kenya

In partnership with Chalice, our Asembo, Kenya site is constructing a surgical ward, operating theatre, and maternity ward in the St. Elizabeth Lwak Mission Hospital. The Mission Hospital is a faith-based, non-profit health facility within the Catholic Diocese of Kisumu. It serves the Asembo community with an estimated population of more than 100,000 people, receiving an average of 120 patients per day.  This project will avail surgical services to women in the community which will reduce cases of maternal and infant mortality associated with complication in pregnancy during and after delivery, as well as reduce the rate of HIV transmission. This Chalice capital project also supplied all the medical equipment for the surgical theatre, including anaesthesia, sets of tools appropriate to all anticipated forms of surgeries, monitors, lighting, scopes, incubators, beds, and wheelchairs.

Funding provided: $324,061.00 CAD.

Comprehensive emotional and physical rehabilitation of elderly people in Arica, Chile 

To address these multifaceted concerns for the elders’ health, the Arica site launched a two-year program to provide comprehensive health support services for 45 sponsored and 15-non sponsored elders in Arica. The site has created a multidisciplinary team composed of an occupational therapist, nurse, psychologist, Chalice fieldworker, and a social worker. This team will visit the homes of each the elders and conduct assessments and create individualized treatment plans, following all of Chile’s coronavirus regulations. The site’s main objective is to guarantee that the elders’ care and well-being is being addressed and provided on a holistic level and lift them out of some of the areas where they have become most vulnerable. Through their individualized care plans, they hope to see that the elders and their caregivers are feeling happier, more socially connected, have improved mobility, and generally enjoying greater life satisfaction.

Funding provided: $83,416.09 CAD


agriculture projections africa




Community Improvement

Chalice_Community_Improvement_housing

Housing in India

A lack of adequate housing is a significant issue across many of our Indian sites. Through sponsorship, families are able to meet their daily needs, but not undertake much-needed housing construction or renovations. Since 2021, Chalice sites in India have undertaken housing construction projects that have housed 791 people.

Chalice_Housing in India_2021_2023Assam Housing Project

In 2023, the Assam site staff have partnered with Chalice to construct houses for 25 selected families in the Guwahati and Changsar communities. With an average of four in a house, 100 people live in these households, 50 of whom are children. 80% of the parents earn their income as daily-wage workers, and the rest earn their living as domestic workers or drivers. 22 families have Chalice sponsored children. 

Download the 2023 Assam Housing Project

Health

Our Urgency Fund helps families cope with crisis situations and financial shocks, including medical emergencies, property damage from fires or floods, and funerals.

chalice_health_Medical emergencies funded

Zero Cavities

To combat the issue of poor oral health, the Tondo site In Manila has been running their “Zero Cavities” program for four years. In that time, the children’s oral health has improved significantly. There were a few setbacks during the pandemic lockdown hiatus, but progress has been steady since it resumed in July 2021.

Dental check-ups and treatments (oral prophylaxis, fluoride application, pit and fissure sealant, restoration, and extraction)

Chalice Zero Cavities patients
Food Security

One of the best ways to support food security is through sustainable agriculture. In 2023, we have two concurrent programs running in Africa. We have the African School Farming and Food Security program, as well as a program to raise Dorper sheep in our Saidia site, Kenya.

chalice_food_security_Agriculture projects _2023


Nutrition and Water

chalice_nutrition_water_meals_2023


Education and Training

Our Chiclayo, Peru, site launched a three-year roster of programs called “Families as Development Promoters of their Community.” 

The Neighbourhood School: a program for 100 boys and girls aged 8-11, which supports academic performance and confidence by providing extra help with academics and extracurricular activities.  

The Family School Program:  a network of 65 committed female community leaders receive training in personal and family development, economic planning and management, small business entrepreneurship, and communication.  

The GROW program: a “Teen Network” of 60 youth aged 12-15. The Network learns leadership abilities, engages in community development projects, cares for the environment, and learns new skills.  
Chalice Education and Training 2023


Community Projects and Programs

Chalice supports sponsor sites with various types of Community Projects & Programs under the following two categories: Human Development Programs (HDP) and Capital Projects (CP). 

Chalice Community Projects and Programs 2023






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