Around the world, there are children who will go to bed in houses with roofs that leak and without food or water. Often their stomachs are still growling when they walk to school the next morning — if they are lucky enough to go to school at all.
To better understand the daily challenges these boys and girls face, we invite families to do a photo scavenger hunt together. Each photo you take will be shot in your own neighborhood and is a reminder of the things Americans are blessed with every day — blessings too often taken for granted. Each task also includes a story explaining the difficulties poor families in developing countries face every day. We encourage you to share these stories as you complete each task.
Please help us raise awareness of the Church’s mission to the poor by sharing your family’s photos and what you learned together on Facebook or Instagram and tag Cross Catholic Outreach.
Have you ever experienced what it’s like to be hungry? Elias Josue has.
His family did not have enough money to provide him with food every day, so when a local ministry partner in Nicaragua weighed and measured him, they found out he was moderately malnourished. This means that he was not getting enough nutritious food to survive! This situation could even have turned deadly. Thankfully, Elias’ family was given special meals, along with extra vegetables, beans and fruits to improve their health. Learn how you can bless more children like Elias with food.
Medicines, bandages and first aid supplies — our medicine cabinets usually have everything we need if someone in the family gets sick or injured. And if there’s a need for a doctor, a hospital is usually a phone call or a short drive away. Sadly, in developing countries, this is not always the case.
Fortunately, faithful Catholics in Malawi built a medical clinic, the St. Cynthia Health Center, that now treats 800 patients each month! The first baby to be born at the clinic was a girl named Cynthia. Learn how you can help give medicine to more children.
Count how many steps you take from your bedroom door to the sink. We often don’t notice the blessing it is to have access to clean water. For young Ethel, life was very different. Before she could have a drink of water, she had to wait for her mother to return after walking several miles to collect water, and even then, what her mother brought back the water was often dirty.
Now, there is a new well in her village in Ghana. Ethel is now happier and healthier thanks to friends who made the well possible. Learn how you can help other children who still need access to clean water.
Thanks to our dedicated schools, teachers and parents, children in the United States learn to read at a young age — an important first step that allows them to follow their dreams. Sadly, for children developing countries, learning to read can be a much bigger challenge.
When Sophia first entered the Tláhuac Home for Girls in Mexico, she didn’t know about the talents God gave her. Sophia was easily frustrated by her low test scores and lack of success. Then, with the help of her teachers, she learned the basics to help her succeed in school. Three years later, Sophia has the best grade point average in the school! She has become so confident that she loves helping younger students with their schoolwork. Learn how you can help uplift other children like Sophia.
With locks on our front door to keep us safe and well-built roofs over our heads, it can be hard for us to imagine what it’s like to live in a makeshift shelter. Maryse and her husband are farmers living in Haiti, and they have never made enough money to own a well-built house.
Sadly, the place they called home was small, dirty and falling apart. Because of this, other families wouldn’t let their children play with Maryse’s six kids. Then, a Catholic ministry called Bethsaide Housing, heard about the families situation and decided to help.
Now, the family lives in a beautiful new home, but there are other families still in need. Learn more.
Can you imagine a Christmas without presents? Thankfully, last Christmas, little Sylvia in Guatemala didn’t have to. A compassionate Catholic sent her a Box of Joy® — a gift her family wouldn’t have been able to afford. She proudly showed off her new doll while wearing her new, child-sized sunglasses. It was a moment she will never forget! Learn how you can send a Box of Joy, too.
Around the globe, Cross Catholic Outreach works with bishops, priests, religious communities and lay Catholics to assist families in need. The people we serve have a deep love for Jesus, just like your family and the families you see at Mass every Sunday. We know that Jesus loves them too and calls us to be his hands and feet — serving the poor as if it is him we are serving (Matthew 25)!
Box of Joy is a registered trademark of Cross Catholic Outreach.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
