Our Sponsored Children
Children's Health, Education and Relief (CHER) is a registered, non-profit organization that aids in the relief of poverty by providing children in under-developed countries with education, meals and basic medical care.
Way back in 1999, Knotty Boy sponsored our first child, Memory Kalieka from Malawi, Africa, as a small thank you for the blessings of that very first year of business. By 2003, it became our public goal to sponsor five additional children so they could also receive food, clothing and education by December of that year - a goal which was happily reached with the help of our generous Knotty family!
In November 2005, a new initiative was created to continue the sponsorship of additional children around the world through the Child Sponsorship/Eco-Friendly Packaging fundraiser. Again, our wonderful Knotty customers stepped up by adding $1 to their orders to have them packed in eco-friendly materials, with $.50 of that dollar going toward the sponsorship of a new child in need.
In just over one year, your donations, $.50 at a time, allowed us to sponsor a total of five more deserving kids around the world - at a rate of one child every three months - with a total of 30% of our Knotty customer family making this small donation! Do you know how huge that is?? If we at Knotty Boy have learned anything from all of this, it's how easy it is to make choices that don't cost a lot, yet directly impact the lives of others so they can grow up having the same opportunities to change their worlds, too. Exciting!
Even MORE exciting is this little fact: all orders are now shipped in eco-friendly packaging, at no extra cost to you, trading Styrofoam and plastic bubble-mailers for paper-filled mailers and cornstarch packing bits that fizzle up in water like the Wicked Witch of the West!
So now, when you choose the $1 extra option upon check-out, 100% of your dollar goes toward providing a child with a year's worth of food, clothing and schooling they otherwise would not have had. (See photos and letters from our current sponsored children below!) If 30% of you still choose this option, it simply means we're going to be adding twice as many kids to our little Sponsored Family than we were before, twice as fast. How can you not love that?
Thank you so much for coming along with us on these efforts, and helping make it even easier for us to be an ethical company, dedicated to what we like to call 'purpose beyond profits'. It may seem like a drop in the bucket to help only a small handful in a world overflowing with people in need, but your donations give these children opportunities they might not have ever dreamed of otherwise. Thank you for your generosity, and keep bringing the love!
For more information about the CHER organization, or if you are interested in sponsoring your own child, please visit the CHER website. To make a donation directly to our child sponsorship program, please mail a check or money order (payable to Vitamin A Industries, Inc.) to the address on the Contact Us page and indicate its use for Child Sponsorship. Knotty Boy does not profit from these donations - all funds are used to directly sponsor children in need.
Meet all of our little cuties here!
Profiles are continually added/updated for each child here, so keep checking back to see exactly how your 100 pennies are going toward relieving suffering on this planet. Thank you to everyone that has donated so far!
Alicia Banda {Blantyre, Malawi (Africa)}
Alicia was born on April 8, 1997 to parents living in a rural area with eight children. Her mother died during childbirth, and Alicia nearly died at only 3 months old from malnutrition before being placed in an orphan home school. Her father and other relatives were unable to care for her.
Since going to school, Alicia has done very well, with sponsorship allowing her to continue her education and remain living in a nurturing, caring environment. We currently have no photo of Alicia, but will post it soon as we do!
David Bara {Bolivia}
David comes from a very dysfunctional background and has lived only with his mother, not knowing where his father is. His mother was physically attacked by her landlord, and when David tried to help, he was hurt very badly and ran away with no desire to return home. David lived on the streets until being admitted to a drug rehabilitation center for street children in March 2009, where he is now happy and making good progress. David enjoys playing marbles and soccer, spinning tops and drawing.
Sponsorship allows David to continue living in this safer environment, receiving education and learning a positive way of life.
Indhumanthy Murugan {Matric Periyakulam, India}
Indhumanthy's mother works as a single mother and labourer. Earning about $18/month left little extra money to provide Indhumathy with education, and at times food and clothing. Now that she's in school, Indhumanthy's favourite subject is English, she loves playing with her friends and her hobbies include reading and painting.
Since Indhumathy's sponsorship in 2006, she's continued to write us sweet letters, and her love of English is evident in how neat her handwriting has become! Her letters reflect her caring nature: "It is very unfortunate that I lost my grandmother recently. Since I have no father, only my grandmother was helping my mother. Now she is left alone. So I have decided to study well and help my mother in future. Thank you once again for your help."
Jhordi Mamani Aratea {Bolivia}
Jhordi's parents left him under the care of his grandmother while they lived in another city. While living with his grandmother, he spent a lot of time on the streets, where he became drug-dependent and as a result did not want to leave. Jhordi eventually was taken into a children's rehabilitation centre, and despite having a difficult start due to addiction and learning disabilities, is now doing very well. He enjoys soccer and climbing trees.
Through sponsorship, Jhordi is able to remain in this positive environment, learning to overcome his past and looking forward to a brighter future.
Justino Choque Buendia {Santa Cruz, Bolivia}
Justino comes from an alcoholic family in which he suffered physical abuse from both parents. After leaving home and living on the streets for a few years, he was invited to join a rehabilitation center for street children suffering from addiction and abuse. After some struggle, he accepted the offer of help and has been making great improvements since. Justino now enjoys playing soccer, marbles and going to the river, and his favourite subject is Math.
Since sponsoring Justino, he has sent us tons of awesome crafty cards in appreciation. Check out his talent!
Mansoor Abraham Ali Shaikh {Pune, India}
Mansoor has one brother and two sisters and comes from a family who is very poor. His father earns less than $9/month and finds it very difficult to support the family. Mansoor loves playing soccer and helping his mother and sisters. With sponsorship, he is now able to go to school and receive meals every day.
The notes we get from Mansoor often have very nice pictures of animals he has drawn. Looks like we have a budding artist on our hands!
Mia Pagapulan {Pasaka, Philippines}
If you can believe it, this little girl has seven brothers and three sisters, and her parents, both laborers, only earn a combined income of approximately $35/month to provide for this huge family. They were in desperate need of help, barely able to provide adequate meals, let along clothing and education for Mia.
Mia is now a very good student and wants to continue going to school. Sponsorship - all with your help, Knotty kids - goes toward making this possible for her. Mia for President? Maybe!
Rathiga Ambika {India}
Rathiga has two sisters and enjoys playing soccer. Both of her parents do odd jobs to earn around $30/mo, but work is unsteady, therefore making it very difficult to manage their family's expenses.
Rathiga recently wrote us saying her parents are very happy she is able to go to school now. They would like for her to receive a good education, which is being made possible through sponsorship!
Raykarl Julien Cordova {Phillipines}
Raykarl's father is unemployed and his mother works as a pharmacy clerk. Although she works hard, their income is low and it is difficult for them to manage the family's expenses.
Through sponsorship, Raykarl now gets a chance to get a good education and have a brighter future. He enjoys painting and reading books, and his favourite subjects are Math and Science. He's making excellent progress in school, with all of his marks in the 90s, and may even have a poetic streak. He began his last letter to us by writing, "May you feel the soft blow of the wind upon you when you receive this letter..." How beautiful!
Sumit Roy {Khunti, Ranchi (Bihar), India}
Sumit's father works as a labourer and his mother is unemployed. With only $25/mo income, they have a very difficult time managing expenses.
Sumit now gets a chance to receive a good education at a school that, judging by his letters, he really enjoys attending! He writes us long, descriptive letters about his time at school that are a joy to read. Sumit also enjoys farming, reading and playing games.
Sunethra Sanjeewani {Sri Lanka}
Sunethra lives in a coastal area with her brother, sister and parents, in primitive conditions with no electricity. Her father is a fisherman who suffers from a hearing disability, and her mother in unemployed.
Sunethra's local church pastor recommended her for sponsorship so she could go to school and hopefully enjoy a brighter future. She's very grateful for the opportunity she's received through sponsorship to learn and follow her dreams! Sunethra enjoys reading, and wrote us that her future ambition is to become a nurse.
Memory Kalieka - Rest in Peace {Malawi, Africa}
We are heartbroken to report that Memory, our first little Sponsored Child from 1999, passed away in the Spring of 2007 from complications related to malaria - a disease so easily treated if only she had access to the medicine. We had heard her health was not good and hunger was prevalent in her school, and tried multiple times to contact CHER in order to find out what we could give or do to help. We were devastated that the next communication we received informed us of Memory's passing, along with another classmate.
In their honour, Knotty Boy requested CHER Canada create a fund in Memory's name, specifically for treating the medical needs of her fellow schoolmates in an attempt to ensure this would not happen again. Knotty Boy contributed $675 and the CHER Board of Directors decided to match the donation, sending a total of $1,350 to the Malawi school, specifically for medical aid.
After over eight years of sponsorship, communication and friendship, we say goodbye to our first Sponsored Child, Memory Kalieka.