Chalice monthly News- August 2024

Through My Eyes – This month’s featured artist: Hilary

At the time, he was a four-year-old scamp who liked playing hide-and-seek with his sister, Jeniffer. They lived with their mother, Josphine, in a one-room mud house.

Now twenty, and pursuing college, Hilary is contemplative about his childhood. “I am a kid raised by single mother. My dad passed on while I was six months old,” he says. “Our lives had challenges since Mother had to work harder, twice, and act like a father at the same time a mother.” Josphine supported her children with casual work. To this day, it’s not easy to find consistent employment in rural Mombasa County, on the coast of Kenya. When Hilary and Jennifer were still little, Josphine faced employment discrimination seemingly everywhere she turned. "Time passed and when we were sinking in poverty,” Hilary says of his childhood. But their faith, though tested, was never extinguished. “Whatever God can't do does not exist,” Hilary says. “God brought a light in our life. He brought a key -- a precious golden key to unlock the doors for education in my life. The door that brought hope in my life. The key that I would forever be thankful to God.” “The golden key of my life is Chalice. Chalice, you are the key that I will forever pray for God to be with you; to guide you in whatever you do.” By sixteen, Hilary wanted to be the Minister of Education. By seventeen, he decided he would rather be a historian and teacher. “I will always make use of the education you provided for me," he says. “May God be the light of your life. May your kind heart live forever."

Anastasia is on a roll!

Born with the condition that affects her movement, little Anastasia could not walk independently. She zipped around in her wheelchair. Her parents, Bohdan and Lyubov, enrolled her in a school/rehabilitation centre.?

She was already in full swing there when she was sponsored through Chalice’s Pochaiv sponsor site.?

“Anastasia was quickly selected for sponsorship and has been a member of this wonderful Program ever since,” says the Pochaiv site staff who know her best.?

Anastasia always felt like her sponsors were her friends.?

“Despite the distance between them, Anastasia felt their support and prayers. These people helped the girl to find faith in herself and make it clear that she is not alone in this world, that she is special, that she can do everything and even more.”?

“Thanks to the sponsors, the parents already had more opportunities for Anastasia's treatment and education. “?

Anastasia did well in her studies, and developed many talents, including poetry and crafting. She was constantly setting new goals for her physical strength and independence.?

“She persevered through all the rehabilitation courses, made a lot of effort, and learned to walk independently,” her site workers say. “Anastasia is a strong personality, a real fighter for life. A girl knows that success is the ability to step from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm.”?

Through it all, she felt her sponsors there in spirit. They “taught Anastasia to believe in her abilities, to do the impossible, even if it seems that the whole world is against you.”?

Meanwhile, her mother Lyubov – a teacher by training -- took a job at the centre where Anastasia spent her grade-school years. With so much personal experience, Lyubov was passionate about helping other children with disabilities reach their dreams.?

When she graduated high school, Anastasia decided to pursue a university degree in journalism. She graduated in 2022 with her undergraduate degree. Undaunted by a wartime disruption, she enrolled in her master’s degree.?

“She loves life and enjoys every moment,” says the Pochaiv team. “After all, every new day is an opportunity to say “yes” to your dreams.”?

“Anastasia is infinitely happy that such a wonderful opportunity came her way – to get into the Chalice sponsorship program, where yesterday's dreams become today’s reality.”

Vivian helps everyone Be the Best

Vivian is a busy mother of five. She and her husband live in the dense, urban community of Tondo in Manila. Chalice's Tondo site staff first met her in 2020, when her daughter Ashley was sponsored. As soon as Vivian walked through the door, the site staff say, “her fieldworker sensed a potential in her."

Just a few months after she attended her first Chalice family circle meeting, her fieldworker encouraged her to attend the site’s BidaBest Family Empowerment Program.

“Bidabest” (Be the Best in local parlance) is a Chalice-supported seminar program for children, teens, and parents. Seminar topics include parenting skills, advocacy about social issues, emotional well-being and spirituality.

In the early days of the program, professional facilitators ran the sessions – but they proved so wildly popular the initial team of facilitators could not run enough sessions to meet the demand. So the Tondo site started to train parents of sponsored children and youth to become facilitators themselves.

Vivian’s fieldworker had her pegged as a facilitator. “She was hesitant at first because, at that time, she was looking for a stable job to support her four kids in their studies,” Tondo staff say. But Vivian was accustomed to volunteering, and she found the time to attend facilitator training.

Her greatest challenge was overcoming her fear of public speaking. After six months of practicing in front of her family circle, she was starting to feel more comfortable.

"She no longer shakes whenever she is speaking,” staff say, “and her charisma helps because parents can relate to her discussions and are participative whenever she is the one who facilitates.”

Her topics are not easy but are highly relevant. Vivian’s monthly sessions cover issues such as mental health, violence prevention and healthy relationships.

"’Practice what you preach’ is a popular saying she embraced being a Blessed Advocate,” staff say. Vivian believes that if she is going to teach her fellow parents a topic, she must apply it in her own family’s life first. And she can tell that the techniques are having a positive effect.

"With each session focused on parenting and family dynamics, she sees a gradual shift in how she connects with her children,” staff say as Vivian shares her experiences from her home life. “Communication became more open, they understood each other better, and their relationship at home improved a lot.”

Vivian has just finished months of training in a housekeeping course, and she's excited to find full-time work with her new credentials. She is grateful to Chalice and the site for giving her the opportunity to grow in the BidaBest program.

Every morning, Chalice’s staff gathers to pray for the intentions of our supporters. If you have a special intention you’d like us to pray for, please submit your prayer request.

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