Childcare Worldwide

Spiritual Development - Our central mission is to share the gospel with children and help them grow to Christian maturity through our Life Center program. Each week in 2023, an average of 1600 kids gathered at nearby partner churches to receive solid biblical teaching from loving, dedicated teachers. At Life Center, with up to 30 friends, the kids enjoy music, games, and a nutritious meal. The partnership with the local church is key, as the church provides the facilities and teachers, while Childcare Worldwide (CW) provides curriculum, programming, materials, and food. We carefully vet partner churches to ensure they fully align with our mission, and maintain strong ongoing relationships with the pastors and teachers. In 2023 we continued to grow our Life Center program by upgrading 25 Life Centers, investing in teacher training, music equipment and more nutritious meals. We continued our sibling program, inviting 375 siblings of sponsored children to participate in Life Center so that we could expand our reach to unchurched children. We held twelve special Life Center events in four countries for High School and College students. These events bore much fruit, fostering healthy social connections and spiritual growth in these teens and young adults. Additionally we provided these older students with weekly devotional guides and opportunities to participate in virtual small group discussions with country staff. And of course we continued to emphasize the two most important events in the Christian calendar by throwing special Love Pack (Christmas) and Hope Pack (Easter) parties at each Life Center. In a Love Pack children receive personal gifts that are fun, tasty, practical and faith-building. Hope Packs include a devotional guide and staple food to share with their families. For both events Life Center lessons leading up to the big day prepare the children's hearts to understand the good news of Jesus Christ. In 2023 we also provided 670 Bibles to older children and Life Center teachers.

Holistic Care - Physical barriers can prevent children from internalizing the lifesaving message of Jesus. CW strives to remove the most basic physical barriers kids face by providing access to clean water, healthy food, hygiene supplies, clothing, shelter and medicine. Here are some examples of our work in 2023: Our field staff identified 1561 children at risk for malaria for whom we were able to provide specially treated mosquito nets. Girls in our program do not have to miss school because of their menstrual cycles, thanks to 9700 monthly hygiene packs distributed to 12-18 year girls in 2023. The families of sponsored children often do not have enough resources to adequately feed themselves. In addition to providing critical nutrition at every Life Center gathering throughout the year, CW distributed emergency food to 350 families experiencing severe drought in Africa. We have had a successful medical check-up program in India for many years and were able to pilot this program in Kenya in 2023 with great success. We also assisted with the medical needs of a dozen kids with critical health concerns. We built 17 houses in 3 countries, providing desperately needed shelter for some of our neediest kids. CW provided and installed 52 new water catchment systems in Kenya and Uganda, providing year-round water to communities where we have church partners. The water catchment systems are replenished during rainy seasons and serve the local community with thousands of gallons of rainwater which is filtered to strain away dirt and dangerous pathogens. Not only do these water tanks provide a crucial resource to the residents of the area, but they also provide an opportunity for pastors and church members to build relationships with the unchurched in their community.

Education - Access to education allows children to escape the cycle of poverty and grow into capable Christian leaders. In many areas, school costs are well beyond what families can afford. With the help of CW's school fee program, children are able to attend and stay in school. We work to develop strong, positive relationships with school administrators. We monitor the educational success of each child, ensuring kids are in school every term before paying school fees. We provide educational and career counseling to high school graduates and kids struggling in school. In 2023 we assisted 900 primary kids, 2100 high school kids and 1100 trade/university students with their tuition and other educational expenses. We also targeted over 2200 children to receive assistance with exam fees, school supplies and/or uniforms.