Impact that lasts
charity programs that address ALL STAGES OF A CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT
It's a fact: Without the right interventions, children in poverty become adults in poverty …
… and the cycle of generational poverty continues. With your support, Children International works to put an end to generational poverty through a holistic, community-based approach, with dynamic programs based upon local needs and partnerships. We implement an effective, long-term child and youth development program that helps children rise through the first two decades of their lives.
Poverty negatively impacts brain development and well-being
Children and youth growing up in poverty typically lack proper health care and nutrition. They’re also more likely to be exposed to the stressors of domestic violence, gangs and drugs. All of this can impair brain development, negatively impacting long-term physical and mental well-being.
Children International contributors invest in the lives of children and youth, equipping them with the educational support, social-emotional skills, health resources, and the life skills and employability training they need to break free from poverty. Guided by trained local staff and strengthened through supportive spaces, this approach ensures children can build the mindset, confidence, and capabilities to pursue sustainable employment and create lasting change for themselves and their communities.
The right programs at the right time.
We don’t believe in taking a one-size-fits-all approach to helping children. What’s best for a 6-year-old in Zambia is far different than what a 14-year-old in Honduras needs. It’s an approach we call contextualization, which means our programs adapt and change with children’s needs at different ages, matched with the most urgent needs and available services in their communities.
Our programs focus on four key outcomes
Health
Living in poverty can mean inadequate health care, chronic malnutrition, poor hygiene and unsafe sanitation conditions, a lack of education about reproductive health and mental health, and preventable diseases going untreated.
Your support helps children in our communities by providing health programs that focus on three important outcomes:
- Helping children develop healthy habits through health education and other vital programs.
- Strengthening and partnering with existing health systems, such as local clinics and hospitals, through a community-driven approach.
- Connecting children with medical and emotional services when they need them.
Education
In impoverished communities, children don't typically have access to the educational resources they need, like tutoring assistance, libraries and computer labs, causing them to fall behind without the support they need to catch up. And many underprivileged youths drop out of school to support their families and never return. In some areas, entire school systems are understaffed, often failing to provide adequate education to the children they serve.
Through your support, you help break down the barriers that keep children from kindergarten through high school from getting a good education, including early childhood development programs, tutoring assistance, learning spaces, internet access, computer training and more.
Empowerment
To truly end generational poverty, children must have hope for the future and see possibilities for themselves beyond their circumstances. Without interventions that foster life skills or coping mechanisms, they are unable to overcome their neglected environments, continuing the cycle of poverty for another generation.
We believe confidence grows as children develop leadership and other essential life skills. Trained staff, serving as mentors, foster a sense of social responsibility and teach kids how to take active roles in improving their lives and communities. Your contribution supports empowerment programs specifically designed to teach the value of teamwork and encourage children to make an impact that lasts.
Into Employment®
The problem we are solving
65M
Youth need
work
65 million young people could not find sustainable, meaningful work in 2023 - with young women recovering more slowly post pandemic.
Source: International Labour Organization, Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024.
1 in 5
Young people
are unemployed
More than 1 in 5 young people are not currently employed, being educated or in any formal training program.
Source: ILO/Sida Partnership on Employment, technical brief, 2019.
24M
Students are
at risk
Prolonged school closures put 24 million learners — from pre-primary to university levels — at risk of not returning to school.
Source: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2022.
OUR SOLUTION
Into Employment provides access to education, training, personal development and job opportunities that help create a more equitable future. We teach 21st-century life skills to prepare our youth for the modern economy. Motivated youth also receive career coaching and job placement that is relevant to each local workforce via partnerships with more than 100 employers in young people’s communities.
93% of youth complete our programs
As high as 87% find employment within 6 months
64% of participants are young women
Employment often doubles or triples families’ incomes
