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SPECIAL EDITION

SOLAR-POWERED BOREHOLE WELL

Walking through the northern Ghanaian community of Wantugu, the sight of six

gardens filled with bright green spinach, okra and pepper, seems like a mirage. The land, parched during the hot harmattan season, causes wells to dry and gardens to brown. Stop to admire the vegetables, and you’ll see rubber hoses snaking through the garden beds, dripping beads of clean water.

The drip technology is part of a project by Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) and its partner, Baptist Child Development Program, to build two solar-powered borehole wells and give the Wantugu community access to safe drinking water. Just six months ago, children drank from ponds polluted by surrounding cow droppings; diarrhea and skin rashes were common. Children, particularly girls, missed lessons fetching water.

But all that has changed. “It is remarkable that reported cases

of diarrhoeal disease have reduced drastically in just a few months,” explains the health clinic officer, Emmanuel Obeng-Ohene. Children are spending more time in school, can access potable water and wash their hands after using the toilet,

and are taking an interest in the gardens. The vegetables are improving community health and the nutrition of children at three schools. Today, more than 7,000 people have access to clean water.

Hi! Thank you for your loyal monthly support – it means so much to so many! In appreciation, we’ve shared this special edition of Community Rise to show how different ways of giving contribute to our lifesaving work. In this issue, meet Fatima, 14, Angoli and Axel, 7, and Lorenza, 10, and learn about the projects changing their lives. In the new year, you’ll receive a newsletter reporting on projects that your Community Rise support has helped CCFC fund. Best wishes to you and your family for an amazing 2017!

Yours truly,

Rachel Bonnetta CCFC volunteer ambassador and FOX Sports’ host

Ambassador’s note

“I was always late and tired [fetching water before school] and scored very low marks. Now my marks are much improved!” —Fatima, 14

Celebrate Christmas by sending a life-changing gift to a child in need. Visit ccfcanada.ca/GiftsforGood, or call us toll-free at 1-800-263-5437 ext. 610, to purchase a gift through our catalogue today.

By William Anim-Dankwa, CCFC communications manager, Ghana

sowing seeds of change

It’s 7 a.m. in La Chiriza, Nicaragua. The sound of noisy laughter can be heard inside a blue brick

school as children rush into one of three colourful new classrooms. In each class, a teacher sits at a small wooden desk in the right corner preparing for another exhausting but gratifying day. Lines of neatly arranged desks fill the rooms.

Not long ago, things were very different.

“We didn´t have classrooms,” explains Maritza Gutierrez, vice director of the elementary school. “Children used to receive their lessons under the shade of the trees.” Swirling dust and the six-month rainy season also made outdoor learning difficult.

Thanks to the support of Christian Children s Fund of Canada (CCFC) donors and partners, Nicaragua’s Ministry of Education (MINED) and the Taiwanese Fund for Children and Families (TFCF), children are closer to school and their daily walk is safer.

“Kids used to walk as far as three km to get to the nearest school,”

shares Ana Rosa, a mother of four. Busy traffic, no sidewalks, floods, gang violence and robberies in the area used to make the journey dangerous. Today, Ana Rosa’s children, and more than 100 other students, have a much shorter walk.

More families can take their children to school, and they don’t have far to walk during the rainy season.

Before a CCFC field staff member ends her school visit, she asks the children what’d they like to say to donors. Some raise their hands, while others laugh and loudly say “thank you!” She breathes in the joy and hope of childhood, looks at the happy faces of kids singing and laughing preparing for their future lives, and feels grateful for all you do. Thanks to the new classrooms, the children feel more secure and have greater opportunities to learn.

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“I like my school because I want to learn how to read, and also because I can play and run. Since I´m here I don’t fight anymore.” —Axel, 7

“I like my new school and all we do here. I feel safer because my school is near home and is just for little boys and girls like me.” —Angoli, 7 (above centre)

taking place in three new classrooms

LAUGHTER ANDLEARNING

By Vicki Quigley, CCFC brand stewardship manager, Canada (with files from CCFC Nicaragua)

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Children gather in a circle smiling and waving as an odd looking motorcycle rumbles in

front of the school. The motorcycle, specially outfitted with equipment including a mounted stretcher, oxygen cylinder and first aid kit comes to a stop. A tall doctor steps off and greets the excited crowd.

The customized motorcycle ambulance, one of two made possible through Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) donors and local partners Fundación Dequeni and Fundación Alda, serves rural communities in Finagrain (Caaguazú program) and Juan de Salazar (Limpio Sur program). Like other rural areas in Paraguay, families struggle with healthcare accessibility due to deteriorated roads, long distances and limited public or community health services.

“This is a spectacular support for us,” shares Dr. Diego Barreto Urquhart, director of the Family Health Unit of Limpio Sur. “The roads are impassable with a regular car. Our family visits were always made

on foot, and walking takes us all day to come and go. Sometimes we’d end up attending to only one or two people who had been bedridden for days. One mother has two children with cerebral palsy. She couldn’t carry both children, so only one child could follow his treatment. That’s changed. [In addition to our work in the health post], in the past nine months we’ve attended to around 280 people, did five health campaigns reaching around 2,500 people, and held 36 health workshops for 2,520 children.”

For children attending school in Finagrain, located about 12 km from the main road, the ambulance is a welcome resource delivering vaccinations and other health services. In the past, teachers had to make the long, treacherous journey with a student using their own motorcycles.

Now, more than 4,660 people in Finagrain and Juan de Salazar can depend on a quick medical response and improved community care.

“When it goes to schools it takes medicines to the children. I want to thank Canadians because they care about us.” —Lorenza, 10

NOT A FAN OF SNAIL MAIL?

delivering much-needed care in remote rural areas

MOTORCYCLEAMBULANCES

By Rosanna Menchaca, CCFC communications manager, Paraguay

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Your contributions will support the children and families living in communities where Christian Children’s Fund of Canada is involved. When donations exceed or are insufficient for what is needed, or where local conditions prevent program implementation, we will redirect funds to similar activities to help people in need. ACCESSIBILITY We seek to recognize and remove the obstacles faced by persons with disabilities. All communications are available in alternative formats upon request.

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TOP 25 CHARITIES BY THE FINANCIAL POST,

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CHRISTMAS IS A TIME TO REJOICE and give thanks for all of our blessings. What better way to celebrate Christmas than by sending a life-changing gift to a child in need through our Gifts for Good catalogue – more than half are matched five times in value!

By giving a gift for good, you won’t simply be crossing another present off your shopping list, you’ll be making a real difference that saves and improves the lives of children and families in need. This year’s catalogue offers so many choices that make an even bigger, long-term impact on children. You’ll find many meaningful gifts for everyone on your list – 37 to choose from – with popular favourites and ten new choices too!

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a life this Christmas!

Celebrate Christmas by sending a life-changing gift to a child in need. Visit ccfcanada.ca/GiftsforGood, or call us toll-free at 1-800-263-5437 ext. 610, to purchase a gift through our catalogue today.