Vulnerable Children Impact

Your Gifts Rescued Children in Developing Countries and Restored Their Hope

God has a beautiful plan for all his children, but it often takes the Church working in partnership with supportive people like you to set his restorative plans in motion. This is especially true for the 1 billion vulnerable children worldwide who are multi-dimensionally poor — lacking access to basic needs such as education, food, clean water and a safe place to live.

In 2022, generous U.S. Catholics like you stepped forward to help the world’s poorest children, giving our ministry partner in 12 countries the help they needed to transform lives.

Your generosity helped Cross Catholic Outreach provide grants for 24 projects, assisting children in AfricaAsia, the Caribbean, South America and Mexico and Central America. For example, your support blessed young survivors of violence and human trafficking in the Philippines with a safe, Christ-centered home. You also blessed 37 boys and girls at the Impaputo Day Care in Mozambique by offering healthy meals and supporting their Catholic education.

24
Projects
12
Countries
Grants Provided
1,164
Children Fed
45
Children Reintegrated With Families
14
Orphan Center Feeding Programs

CHRIST-CENTERED CHILDCARE IN GUATEMALA

EL CARMELO DAY CARE AND FEEDING CENTER

A daycare teacher with four children.

Access to safe and spiritually enriching childcare is a blessing for families in all walks of life. That’s because it empowers parents to earn a living and helps their little ones learn, gain confidence and see themselves as precious children of God. This is especially true in Zone 7 of Guatemala City, Guatemala, where families often live in makeshift structures and struggle to afford basic needs like food and clothing.

In 2022, Cross Catholic Outreach donors linked arms with El Carmelo Day Care and Feeding Center in Guatemala City to extend loving care to 28 youngsters ages 1 to 4, giving impoverished parents the opportunity to work full-time. This support enabled Our Lady of Carmen Parish to provide a nurturing environment by helping to provide key staff members, including two teachers, two nannies and a coordinator.

Thanks to friends like you, children in Zone 7 have the early foundation they need to be successful in school, and families have experienced Christ’s love in a powerful way!

Fast Facts

History

Cross Catholic Outreach began partnering with Our Lady of Carmen Parish in Guatemala City in 2016 to assist with its social ministry efforts to reduce poverty and encourage love, justice and peace in Christ’s name.

Education

Children participated in age-appropriate learning activities to foster cognitive development, language skills and gross motor skills.

Methodology

The center uses the Montessori education method which emphasizes hand-on learning, playing and creativity to foster an early love for learning.

Other Outreaches

In addition to the daycare, the parish supports a ministry that provides the poor with a medical clinic, dental clinic, psychological care, hearing checks, legal support, at-risk youth activities, and self-improvement classes for mothers and teens.

Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2024, 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.