In the poorest places around the world, many boys and girls are burdened by malnutrition, frequent illnesses and adult responsibilities, such as working to provide for younger siblings. Those most vulnerable have been abandoned or orphaned, left with no one to care for them and often scrounging or begging on the streets to survive.
Impoverished children are also at greater risk of falling into the hands of people who do not have their best interests at heart, like human traffickers or street gangs. Longing for a family, children who seek belonging often find it in the wrong place and end up being exploited.
Our partners are on the front lines, providing hope to vulnerable children in developing countries through food, shelter and education. These Catholic ministries are coming alongside children and families to declare that their lives are immeasurably valuable in God’s kingdom and that their stories have been set apart to fulfill a unique purpose.
Each one of these ministries is welcoming children in the name of Jesus. When you give generously to make their works of mercy possible, you help welcome those children too!
Please give generously to bless boys and girls worldwide and restore their hope today.
When it comes to meeting the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, effective solutions aren’t one size fits all. Cross Catholic Outreach and our ministry partners tailor projects to meet local needs and enable individuals and communities to become more self-sufficient while also growing stronger in faith. We strive to provide whatever will benefit an area’s children the most — empowering kids to thrive with nutritious food, education, shelter, water and health interventions, and the nurturing love of Christ.
Send protein-packed Vitafood meals to fight malnutrition in Eswatini and Liberia. Strengthen children in Mexico and Mozambique through critical feeding programs targeting the malnourished.
Provide scholarships, as well as teacher and support staff salaries, to guarantee a primary, secondary and vocational education for 475 students in Guatemala and Kenya.
Empower Catholic anti-trafficking and rescue programs, children’s homes, and daycare programs for kids in Bolivia, Ecuador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Your generosity will serve orphans and vulnerable children worldwide. Here are a few of the partners your gift will support.
Traffickers in the Philippines prey on vulnerable children, including impoverished girls living on the bustling streets of Manila. That’s why the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco established the Laura Vicuña Foundation, a safe home for girls rescued from cruel conditions. Not only do the sisters help girls heal from trauma, but they also have a mobile child protection clinic that prevents others from falling into the hands of predators. They proactively reach vulnerable girls with the message of God’s love, mercy and hope. In addition, the sisters educate boys about the atrocities of human trafficking so they can grow up to be part of the solution.
Operated by the Ewuaso Kedong Catholic Church, the Marie Adelaide Girls Rescue Center is fighting to set children free from the bondage of early marriage. This ministry gives at-risk girls refuge, quality education, nutritious food and hope for the future. Dedicated missionaries at the center are committed to teaching girls about their inherent worth — that they are deeply loved by Christ and immeasurably valuable in his sight. To carry out this critical work, the ministry needs your help to rescue and house 11 girls in the coming year.
Kenya
The life of boys living on the streets in Kenya is painful. They scavenge for discarded food, sniff glue to suppress their appetite, and sleep in discarded boxes. Without outside intervention, they have little chance of improving their circumstances.
Many factors have contributed to these heartbreaking conditions, and in recent years, things have only gotten harder for poor families due to inflation and a long-standing drought that has devastated local food production. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has also left many children orphaned.
That is why the St. Francis and St. Clare Homes were founded in 1999 by a Tanzanian priest — to love, house and teach the children in deepest need, giving them a safe place to learn and grow. Your support will help provide salaries for 10 teachers at the on-site Catholic school at St. Francis Home.
“If I didn’t come here, I don’t think I’d be alive now,” Antony, a resident of St. Francis Home, told us. Antony grew up in a family where there was not enough food, school fees could not be paid, snakes had easy access to his home, and necessary medicine was unaffordable. He had to work to help ease the financial burden of his parents.
While Antony was hungry and doing hard labor on the streets just to survive, the St. Francis Home rescued him.
The founder and director of the home, a Catholic priest, has become a father figure in Antony’s life, imparting biblical wisdom that will stick with him for a lifetime.
When Antony thinks about how the St. Francis Home has changed his life, his eyes well up with tears. He is healthy and happy, and for the first time, he knows he is loved. He is confident that with hard work and discipline, he will be able to achieve his goal of becoming a pilot to see the world.
When you join us to support children, you will give young hearts like Antony’s hope for the future. Give now!
Around the world, over 900 million children face multidimensional poverty (UNICEF). This means at least one of their basic needs, such as food, water, shelter or healthcare, is not being met. The situation is most difficult in developing countries. There, many vulnerable children are left abandoned on the streets because their parents cannot afford to raise them. These little ones have little to no supervision, nutrition or education. Other children have lost one or both parents due to violent conflict or illnesses like AIDs, tuberculosis or cancer.
The long-term impact of poverty on these little ones is devastating — not only materially, but spiritually. When all they’ve known is hurt, it’s hard for them to believe that God loves them and wants what’s best for their lives.
That’s why Cross Catholic Outreach believes that children must be served comprehensively, in a way that meets their material, spiritual and emotional needs. Our Catholic ministry partners meet the immediate material needs of poor children while equipping them for future success and stability in Jesus’ name.
The Catholic Church has a rich history of standing up for vulnerable children when no one else does. Every time we defend a precious child and shelter, feed or educate them in Christ’s name, we help bring them to the feet of our Lord. Your support will give kids the loving care they need to thrive and not merely survive.
Please join us to be a voice for the voiceless. Give generously today to help children reach a future filled with hope!
Children in Ewuaso Kedong, Kenya, drink their morning porridge at a Catholic school.
Use it for reflections and notes to grow in your spiritual life. You’ll also receive a prayer request form to mail back so that we can pray for your needs. In effect, this creates a spiritual bridge to connect you to our sisters and brothers in Christ in the developing world!
Cross Mission Partners also receive a semiannual Mission Update with news, insights and information about the good work and accomplishments made possible by your support.
Every dollar helps us bless the least of our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico & Central America and South America.
Thank You for Your Special Commitment to Serving the Poor!
It’s easy to shop through the Cross Catholic Outreach Project Catalog. Simply browse the categories and choose an item within your budget and close to your heart, such as Anti-Trafficking and Girls’ Rescue or Most Urgent Needs. Select and sponsor one or more of these gifts, and you’ll make a meaningful impact on the life of a needy child or family. It’s that simple!
Absolutely! Once you select your items, you’ll be given the option of sending an e-card or printing a customizable certificate. This is a meaningful way to share Christ’s love with others while also honoring friends and family.
We are a Catholic ministry that partners with bishops, priests, religious and lay workers to provide Food, Water & Health, Housing, Kids & Education, Women & Girls, Disaster Relief, Farming & Loans opportunities and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ to the poor and vulnerable in over 30 countries around the world.
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.
