February 2011

Returning from a recent trip to Haiti, I reflect on both the Haitian resilience and the uphill battle that lies ahead. A year after the devastating earthquake that shattered so many lives and shook this already troubled country, it still is hard to look at the rubble, collapsed buildings and tent camps. The images of an area so totally and horrifically destroyed are difficult to see and describe, even a year later. 

As my aircraft approached Port Au Prince I felt a sudden sadness. My last trip to Haiti was before the earthquake, and I didn’t know if I was prepared for the devastation and the impact on people’s lives. As we filed into the immigration hall, however, a cheery Haitian band was playing. The Haitian spirit is alive and well, though the subsequent drive through town to the CBM office showed the first taste of the grimness of the situation.  

The earthquake itself killed about 230,000 people, left about 300,000 with disabling conditions and displaced millions. It decimated government agencies and services.  Then the cholera epidemic struck, which has killed more than 3,000 people and, more recently, the government elections were disputed and political riots erupted. It’s just one thing after another. 

I wonder when the Haitians will ever get a break. They’ve experienced much despair and destruction. The government, local and international organizations are trying hard to make progress, and CBM is supporting an incredible array of work. 

Despite the tragedies they have encountered, the Haitians are wonderful people with great spirits. There are thousands of local people working hard under stressful situations with little resources to do what they can to put their country back together and to help their fellow citizens. The local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), many of which were destroyed and had to rebuild themselves after the quake, have continued to provide services for children and adults with disabilities. 

The CBM-country coordinating office is doing a fantastic job providing support to partners on the ground and helping Haitians make great strides under difficult situations. CBM’s office in Haiti is staffed with an excellent team of individuals. It is, as always, a pleasure to meet the competent and caring people that make up our expatriate and local staff in our different offices around the world.   

Following the initial emergency response phase, CBM and its partners formulated a strategic plan for moving from the relief stage to development and working to make sure that plans and projects will lead toward good redevelopment in Haiti, specifically for people with disabilities. CBM’s focus turned to five core areas:  health care, inclusive education and child protection, advocacy and accessibility, Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and disaster preparedness. 

Out of the rubble, Haiti can become a better place than it was before the quake. We are helping that happen by working closely with numerous Haitian Disabled People Organizations (DPOs) and the State Secretariat for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities on an advocacy project to advise and ensure that rebuilding efforts are accessible to people with disabilities. For example, while in Haiti I attended an education workshop that brought together government officials, special education and regular education agencies, the Disabled People’s Federation, and other partners to map out a viable plan to ensure that children with disabilities go to school. 

CBM also is working directly with our partners to ensure that the needs of children and adults with disabilities are met through medical services, rehabilitation services, education and child friendly spaces in slums and tent camps. A year later, more than 1 million Haitians remain displaced as a result of the earthquake. 

Life was difficult in Haiti before the earthquake and it is more difficult now…many children lost one or both of their parents, people with disabilities are neglected then are often forgotten about, tens of thousands of people injured during the earthquake face a long road to recovery, and many have become disabled due to the lack of proper healthcare following their injuries. 

Returning to the United States from my recent trip to Haiti, I am still troubled by all that remains to be done. Millions are still displaced; more than 90 percent of the rubble still needs to be cleared, and basic services still need to be restored.  However, I am hopeful at the progress that has been made. I am hopeful of the  commitment of so many people and organizations to transform Haiti into an inclusive society--where all people have equal rights and are empowered to improve the lives of their families and communities, including people with disabilities.  

Together with our Haitian partners we are working hard. Your support and partnership is critical to the ongoing progress in Haiti and in other troubled areas around the world. 

CBM is committed to Haiti for the long-term. We have been in Haiti for more than 30 years, and we will be there for the years to come to support persons with disabilities, making sure their needs are met and ensuring their voices are heard in decision making about Haiti’s future. 

 By: Karen Heinicke-Mostch, Director of International Programs for CBM-US

January 2011

Over Christmas, I was blessed to be able to spend time with my children and grandchildren, time that is invaluable to me especially in today’s increasingly hectic world. I was also able to indulge in one of my favorite past times—basketball. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am an avid basketball fan. Perhaps it stems from my Kentucky roots. Having come from a state where college basketball rivalries are the number-one topic of conversation, I naturally have a love of the sport. And though basketball is entertaining to watch, the sport also provides some valuable lessons on leadership and teamwork—lessons that are applicable in the larger world around us. The late great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” I can’t help but think that this statement is especially true of CBM’s (Christian Blind Mission) outreach to the most vulnerable group in the world—people with disabilities living in dire poverty—especially our work in Haiti.

            For more than 100 years, CBM has changed the lives of people with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world because of our donors’ belief in us and our mission. Despite the ever fluctuating economy, our donors have continued to unselfishly extend their generosity and compassion. Because of this, 10 million people have received sight-restoring cataract surgery with millions more—mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren—directly benefitting. Families living in 99 countries worldwide have been given a chance to start a business, to grow, sell and store food, to keep their children safe from disease and malnutrition (and the disability that they bring). And, in one year of service alone, CBM donors make it possible for millions of people to walk, see, hear, or live full, productive lives. That’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?

Yet in addition to these services, CBM donors have also extended their support to help people with disabilities in the wake of devastating natural disasters like last year’s earthquake in Haiti and flooding in Pakistan. Since the earthquake struck in January of 2010, CBM and its partners have worked to not just rebuild Haiti, but to continue making it a stronger, more sustainable society where people with disabilities are fully included. We’ve assisted more than 63,000 survivors, many of whom suffered debilitating injuries that could have led to life-long disabilities if not for the intervention of CBM Haiti staff. With our partners, we’ve faced enormous challenges including the overall lack of infrastructure, political instability, the cholera outbreak, and the riots after the recent elections. But despite these challenges, CBM remains committed, just as it has for over 30 years, to building capacity and long-term sustainability in Haiti.

            That’s where I find Wooden’s quote so profound in relation to CBM’s work. Long after the cameras have gone, we remain in Haiti, quietly determined to ensure that people with disabilities receive the support they need. Even though there has been some recent criticism from the international community and from locals in Haiti that non-profit organizations have been slow to spend money to help, CBM is committed to wise investment. We do not spend our donors’ contributions unless we are confident that the funds are going toward a project with measurable impact and long-term benefits. From building a school for children with disabilities to lessening the spread of cholera in Haiti, every life we touch is possible because of our donors’ generosity.

            As we look toward the new year ahead, my promise to our donors is that CBM will remain a vigilant steward of your trust. We will continually evaluate our projects to ensure that they are making the greatest impact for those people most in need. Thank you for the lives you’ve touched. I look forward to what we will accomplish together in 2011.

May you experience God’s richest blessings.  

December 2010

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

December marks a wondrous time on our Christian calendar: the celebration of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. It’s a time when we reflect upon God’s greatest gift to us, and we symbolically honor this gift by sharing presents with those we love.

I don’t know about you, but in recent years, I’ve become overwhelmed with Christmas gift-giving. It seems that each year, retailers begin advertising Christmas specials even earlier than the year before. Everywhere you go, retailers proclaim that they have the biggest, best gift. It just seems that somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten why we really celebrate Christmas in the first place.

That’s why this year, I’m determined to honor the real meaning of Christmas and the spirit of selfless giving. And, I’d like to ask you to do the same by making a gift  to CBM.

Believe me, I know that you, too, are receiving pleas for help from a variety of organizations in need. And while they are all worthy causes, I truly believe that the needs of those CBM serves are the greatest. You see CBM reaches out to the poorest of the poor around the world—people with disabilities living in developing countries. These folks are society’s forgotten. They have limited—and most often—no access to the basic necessities of life including adequate healthcare, livelihood, or education. Sadly, many also struggle to find enough food to eat. For these people, help is nowhere to be found. There are no social service programs. No free clinics or food banks. They live each day on the edge of survival.

This Christmas, you have the wonderful chance to make a remarkable difference for the millions of people with disabilities living in crushing poverty. Now, you can ensure that they have the opportunity to be fully included in society. That a single mother receives a micro-credit loan to start a business to support her child with a disability. That a child’s future isn’t over simply because of a broken leg.

I’d like to share Shibre’s story with you because it illustrates just how vital your gifts to CBM really are. Shibre, 8, lives in Adama, Ethiopia. Like children everywhere, she loved to use her imagination to explore and discover. Her favorite activity was climbing trees and rocks. But in the poorest parts of the world, a child’s imagination can also mean disaster.

When she was just three, Shibre slipped and fell, wedging her foot between two rocks. In a split second, her tiny leg cracked below the knee and the bone splintered through her skin.

Though her grandmother, Bissa, wanted to help her, with no money, she did the unthinkable: nothing.

That’s how quickly a life can change. A simple childhood accident can lead to a lifetime of disability and poverty.

Shibre never received any treatment for her injury, and her wounds “healed” to leave her leg horribly deformed. The girl who once enjoyed the freedom of playing and running around was now forced to crawl on her hands and knees. She wasn’t able to go to school. Children in her village cruelly taunted her.

Desperate to help, Bissa sold everything she could to pay for treatment, but it seemed no one could help…until CBM. Workers found Shibre on a routine outreach visit, and she was referred to a specialist hospital where she had surgery. Shibre received in-home therapy and is now in school again. With education, she has a real chance to escape poverty.

Though Shibre is grateful for CBM’s help, it’s Bissa who is overwhelmingly thankful for CBM’s priceless gift. Elated, she told us, “I am happy and joyful. I can say that you are my granddaughter’s savior.”

This is the impact your gift this Christmas can have. Just as God gave us the greatest gift through Jesus, I pray that you’ll give a child like Shibre the greatest gift: new life.

May you and yours experience God’s richest blessings this Christmas season, and best wishes for a joyous new year.

 

In Christ,

 

Loretta Dodgen
Chairman of the Board, CBM-US

 

November 2010

This month, all of us at CBM continue to celebrate a remarkable milestone: the performance of the 10 millionth CBM-supported cataract surgery, an unprecedented accomplishment. On October 28, at a hospital in Moshi, Tanzania, Joyce Kayaa symbolically became the 10 millionth person to undergo the 20 minute operation, an operation that would undo heartache and sacrifice.

Watch our video about Elysee's cataract surgery in the Congo

Since our first cataract-surgery in Afghanistan more than 40 years ago, we have emerged as a world leader in the global fight to end preventable blindness. But the harsh fact is that there are approximately 18 million people worldwide who are blind from cataracts, the leading cause of low vision and blindness. And, each year, more than a million more go blind due to cataracts. This leads to devastating economic and quality of life effects on people who are already living in extreme poverty. Their chances of physical survival drastically spiral downward. In fact, in the developing world, more than half of the children who go blind will die within two years, according to the World Health Organization.

That’s why CBM’s goal is to reduce curable blindness even further. Yet our focus isn’t just on numbers but on each and every person whose fate we can change. People like Joyce.

One of Ten Million

Nine months ago, Joyce’s quality of life began to suffer as her vision grew increasingly worse. Each day, she became more dependent upon the help of family members. Before long, she could no longer dress herself or read from her Bible. Taking care of the livestock she owned was not only difficult, it was dangerous. When she accidentally injured a cow with a knife she couldn’t see hidden in the grass, it became clear that Joyce needed full-time assistance.

Though her family stepped in to help, they did so at a high cost. Her son gave up his training to become a gardener, and her niece quit her job. This loss of income stressed the family’s finances.

Yet just when Joyce had almost given up hope, she was screened by CBM health-workers who gave her incredible news: she had cataracts, and there was a simple surgery that would restore her sight.

Today, Joyce is recovering and looking forward to doing the things she once loved, especially reading from her Bible. What’s more, her son can continue his training, and her niece can return to work. They too have benefited from Joyce’s surgery.

When I think about Joyce and the millions more whose lives have been transformed, I am so thankful for the CBM donors who have made this remarkable milestone possible. Currently, CBM supports about 200 eye hospitals and eye departments worldwide. Because of our intervention—made possible by the generosity of our faithful donors—a blind person can see again every minute. This is truly something to be proud of!

With a gift of $35, you can give the gift of sight to someone with cataracts. Yet beyond surgery, your gift provides so much more. In fact, of the 10 million surgeries we’ve performed through the years, there are millions more whose lives have been dramatically improved.

I hope that you will take a moment now and join us in our continuing efforts to bring sight and renewed life to the millions of people suffering from preventable blindness. Together, we can make a profound difference.

September 2010

Brian Hatchell, CBM’s Emergency Communications Coordinator, recently spent time in Pakistan in the wake of last month’s devastating monsoon floods. Here is an account of his travels.

As I sit in the comfort of my own home, all I can think about are the people in Pakistan who lost theirs. I met so many people on my trip: young, old, male, female, rich, poor. And they all have one thing in common—they lost everything to the floods.

Mother Nature doesn’t discriminate. But neither does the spirit of survival.

Everyone I met, from the four-year-old boy who lost his father, to the 50-year-old man who lost his saw mill, to the widow who doesn’t know where she will live once the waters recede. All they want is a chance. A chance to return home, a chance to rebuild their lives, a chance to regain their independence.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the size of a disaster affecting more than 20 million people. But when you look at it as one family at a time, it seems more manageable. You feel like you are actually making a difference in the lives of survivors.

In one particularly hard-hit area in a village north-east of Peshawar, we visited a mother/child health clinic run by the Diocese of Peshawar, one of the eight dioceses of the Church of Pakistan and one of CBM’s local partners. Though the clinic was very basic, the health care being provided was truly life saving. The doctors see about 30 to 40 patients a day, and most of them have skin disease, tuberculosis, diarrhea, gastro-intestinal illnesses and even some cases of cholera and malnutrition. The staff working in the clinic were truly dedicated. Many of them had lost their homes in the flood, but continued to come to work to help those less fortunate.

I met one woman, Laviza, is who 35 years old and married with 6 children between the ages of 6 and 20. She is blind in one eye. When the floods came in the early hours of the morning, she awoke to the sounds of screaming. When she and her husband jumped out of bed, there was already water on the floor of their house. Because she could not see well in the darkness, she could do little to help. Terrified, she could only depend upon her husband to take their children to safety.

The next morning, the family traveled to a Diocese relief camp where they were given life-saving supplies of food, water, shelter and medical care. Yet after a month, the family desperately wanted to return home. What they saw when they returned was devastating. All of their belongings had washed away, the foundation had shifted, and all of the walls had large cracks. However, the family decided to stay there. “It is our home, where else could we go?” Laviza said. With no money to rent a house or repair the damages, Laviza and her family literally had nowhere else to turn. Despite having lost everything, Laviza told us that she feels incredibly blessed. No one in the family was injured, and the Diocese has been a tremendous help. They’ve been given basic clothing, household items, and cooking supplies. The Diocese hopes to help them repair their house or rebuild if they can raise the funds needed.

In our travels throughout Pakistan, everywhere you looked was water. Under this water were some of the best crop lands in all of Pakistan. In its wake, the water spared no one, rich or poor. Natural disasters devastate everyone.

By nature, all of us are grateful for assistance when we need it, but the basic human instinct is to make one’s way in this world. The residents of Pakistan are no different. Their will to survive and start over is strong.

When I arrived in Pakistan and saw the magnitude of the floods, I honestly thought, “How will Pakistan ever recover from this?” But the more people I met, the more stories of hope and courage I heard. The country, and its people, will recover, rebuild, and be better for it.

If you’d like to help, please give now.

 

 

 

 

 

Some officials in Pakistan say that the economy has been so badly damaged they worry even micro-enterprise projects won’t be able to help as no one has any money to purchase goods. For now, they may have to go back to the barter system while people try to get back on their feet and reintroduce money at a later date.

 

July 2010

Every year, CBM compiles a comprehensive report of achievements from the previous 12 months. This year, as I read through this lengthy document, I could not help but be immensely proud of our work. In light of last year’s recession and financial uncertainty, we were challenged with the seemingly insurmountable task of providing critical services to more than 23.7 million people—a substantial increase from 2008. Yet despite the bad economic times facing our country last year, which resulted in lower income for CBM, we did not have to make the difficult decision to stop funding critical projects in the developing world. This was truly an amazing accomplishment—an accomplishment made possible through the ongoing generous support of investors like you, coupled with a short-term reduction in some of our own key infrastructure expenses, such as not filling open staff positions. Among our many successes in 2009 are:

· +920,000 eye operations were performed.

· +380,000 people received Vitamin A tablets.

· +1.1 million eyeglasses were dispensed.

· +165,000 people were enrolled in empowerment activities including self-help groups

· +64,000 children were enrolled in education programs.

· +675,000 people have had their sight restored through a cataract operation.

· +480,000 received medical treatment for hearing problems.

· +17,000 hearing aids were distributed.

· +96,000 people received support through CBM’s Community Mental Health programs.

· +66,000 people benefited from vocational training and employment programs.

· +2,600 doctors and more than 3,100 nurses/assistants received critical medical training.

· +16,000 teachers learned how to fully include children with disabilities in the classroom.

When we look at these statistics, we must not forget that behind these numbers are real people—men, women, and children who desperately need our help. Children like Hans.

Tucked deep inside the vast slums of northern Lima, Peru, amid endless rows of ramshackle houses, filth and trash, Hans lives with his family. Born with Cerebral Palsy, or CP, a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement, muscle coordination, and often mental capacity, Hans spent most of his days in isolation, lying in a simple plastic tub watching.

Having a child with a disability makes life for families already existing in extreme conditions of poverty even more difficult. With few resources, Hans’ parents did not know what to do to help him. The harsh truth is that people living with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world have little access to rehabilitation and other services. In fact, 98 percent of children with disabilities in the developing world do not attend school. The mortality rate for these children under the age of 5—like Hans—is as high as 80 percent.

Yet in just a short amount of time, Hans’ life has completely transformed. One of CBM’s Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers found him and began at-home physical therapy sessions. She enrolled him in a local preschool, and with the assistance of a special chair provided by CBM, Hans now sits upright at the table with the other school children. This child, who could once do little more than lie on the floor, now is considered the brightest in his class.

Hans is one of the more than 23 million people with disabilities annually whose lives have been changed for the better thanks to the generous gifts of CBM supporters. I’d like to ask you to take a few moments to review what we accomplished this year (LINK). Here, you’ll find other inspiring stories and view real evidence of the monumental impact your investment with CBM can make.

 

 

June 2010

Ron Nabors, CEO of CBM-US, recently was invited to speak at the Global Health and Innovation Summit, a conference with more than 2,000 attendees from 55 countries, held at Yale University. He presented on the subject “Sustainable Development of Persons with Disabilities Living in the Poorest Countries of the World.”

It was an honor to be a guest speaker at the Global Health and Innovation Summit this past spring. CBM’s inclusion on the agenda of this conference with such a wide-reaching audience was a significant step in our efforts to build an inclusive society by addressing the relationship between poverty and disability.

The World Bank (2002) estimates that one in six people living on less than a $1 a day has a disability. A disabled person is more likely to be poor due to lack of access to health care, education, livelihood and other opportunities. In turn, people living in abject poverty are more likely to develop disabilities as the result of lack of access to adequate sanitation, nutrition, health care and other vital resources.  It’s a Catch 22, and you can’t separate the two. Poverty can never be fully addressed until we address disability.

Providing disabled people with access to services is a major key to breaking this seemingly never-ending cycle of poverty and disability. Addressing poverty as a cause and consequence of disability is fundamental to CBM’s mission. Together with its global network of partners, CBM works to make comprehensive healthcare, education, and rehabilitation services available and accessible to people with disabilities in the poorest areas of the world.

I’m reminded of a clinic I visited in Zimbabwe several years ago. Each day, patients would line up to receive treatment. Yet at the end of each day, there sat a group of people, waiting, but never able to see a doctor. This particular clinic sat atop wooden stilts, and patients had to climb a steep set of stairs. For people with physical disabilities, this was an impossible task. Being unable to climb the stairs meant that they had no access to critical healthcare services. They were simply left out—forgotten.

Because disability is a topic that is often “forgotten” or hidden away, CBM recognizes it as a basic human rights issue. CBM advocates for the inclusion of disabled people into their societies. That’s why CBM is committed to empowering persons with disabilities to have a voice in all areas of society, especially in government. In addition to helping persons with disabilities become involved in their local governments, the legal framework provided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008), allows CBM and other international partners to ensure that disability remains on the international development agenda as well.

As we strive to build an inclusive society, we must continue our multi-pronged approach to providing access for people with disabilities. By doing so, we can begin to break the debilitating cycle of poverty and disability.

March 2010

550 million people in the developing world live with disabilities. Of this figure, 50 percent of these disabilities are preventable and directly linked to poverty.

In my travels to CBM projects around the world, I’ve met the individuals—children, women, and men— behind these statistics. Children with disability due to lack of access to proper vitamins, nutrition and healthcare. Women with horrific physical disabilities because of inadequate maternal healthcare. Elderly folks abandoned by family, blind as the result of cataracts, a condition easily treatable through surgery. Yet with barely enough money for food to eat, there is no room for this type of luxury.

The link between poverty and disability creates a cycle that is extremely difficult to break. People who are poor are more likely to become disabled because of lack of access to healthcare, unsafe working conditions, and improper hygiene and sanitation. In turn, those who are disabled are more likely to be poor because of limited access to healthcare, education, and gainful employment.

This link is so strong that the World Bank estimates that one in six people living on less than $1 a day has a disability. We also know that people who live on less than $1 a day are never far from starvation.

If you can imagine, the situation for women and girls with disabilities is even worse. Of the billion people in the world who live on $1 or less a day, 900 million of them are women and girls. They are the most vulnerable group and are more likely to be illiterate and less likely to have jobs. Women and girls with disabilities are also at much greater risk of becoming victims of physical and sexual abuse.

For Marita, in Nigeria, having a disability almost robbed her of her dreams. She contracted polio as a toddler, and the disease left her leg damaged, virtually useless. As a young girl with disability, she was not able to go to school. With no education, she had few opportunities to earn a living. But she was bright, energetic, and had strong will to “be somebody.” Everything changed for Marita when she received a loan from CBM to purchase a knitting machine. Marita began making clothing for people in her community, and her business soon began to take off allowing her to repay her loan in full. Now, Marita has so much business that she’s recently hired an apprentice, 18-year-old Christiana who is profoundly deaf. Not only has Marita found confidence and independence through CBM’s programs, she has reached out to other women with disabilities, providing them with the opportunity for new lives as well. She says,

“I am so very grateful. If you are disabled, and have no-one to help you, then you can only pray to God. Your help makes us feel strong, so we are no longer disabled.”

I wanted to share Marita’s story with you because it illustrates the connection between poverty and disability. However, her story also shows us the extraordinary impact that CBM’s outreach programs have on lives. When people who have been marginalized are given the opportunity to earn a livelihood, that impact goes far beyond basic poverty alleviation. Women with disabilities gain greater equality in the household and community. People with disabilities are called by their names not by their disabilities. And, because they are contributing to the overall prosperity of their communities, the stigma and prejudicial attitudes that have marginalized people with disabilities begin to disappear.

February 2010

In the days following last month’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, one could not help but be overwhelmed with sadness. Images of broken bodies, ruined homes, and shattered lives covered our television screens. I must admit that even though I am a man of faith, I couldn’t help but ask the question “why?” How could something this terrible happen to a country already plagued by suffering?

 You see, I believe that God’s love is a powerful, all-encompassing love. He performs miracles each and every day. And though the situation in Haiti is devastating, that’s exactly what He continues to do—perform miracles.

Unbelievable compassion and generosity has poured in from CBM friends around the world allowing us to serve those in critical need of help. CBM was in Haiti in the days right after the earthquake, providing for victims’ immediate needs. But our work didn’t end there. Now, over a month later, our work is really just beginning.

One group of people in particular need of help is children. In fact, experts estimate that 50% of those injured in the earthquake are children. Like me, I know you’ve seen the disturbing reports of the increasing problem of child trafficking Haiti. Amid the chaos in this country, children are more vulnerable than ever before.

The sad truth of the matter is that children with disabilities—both those with pre-existing disabilities and those with new disabilities as a result of the earthquake—are even more at risk. 

That’s why I’m so proud of the work CBM is doing in Haiti. With long-time partner in Haiti, Centre d’Education Specialise, and ChildFund, an organization with extensive experience in creating child-centered spaces during emergencies, CBM-US is leading a project to create 10 child daycare centers for vulnerable children. These centers will target 10 affected communities in the capital of Port-au-Prince and will enroll 1200 children with disabilities and injuries. Here, children will have a safe place to stay and will receive education, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support. 

These daycare centers are much-needed for children with disabilities, but they also provide an additional benefit to their mothers as well. Just the knowledge that their children are in a safe place is a true blessing for these mothers. Now, they are free to look for work, finding ways to earn livelihood and slowly piece their lives back together.

CBM will work closely with the Haiti Ministry of Health and other government agencies to assure the children’s whereabouts are known, keep their parents involved, and make sure the children don’t fall into the wrong hands. Through our medical assistance, counseling, coordination with appropriate government agencies, and rehabilitation we hope the children will be able to pursue rich, full lives.

I hope that you’ll continue to join with us in praying for all of those affected by this unimaginable tragedy. I also hope that you will follow our progress in the months ahead. There is much to do, but I know that through your continued partnership we can make a real difference for the people of Haiti.

January 2010

Having spent much time with my young grandchildren recently, I found my mind wandering this morning to the story of The Little Engine That Could. As I reflected upon the tale (and the well-known lines, “I think I can, I think I can…”), I realized that the message of the story – having the belief that one can prevail – is very relevant to CBM.

At CBM, we have been able to change the lives of people with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world because of our donors’ belief in us and our mission. Even with a difficult economy this past year, our donors’ giving reflected a spirit of love, compassion, and selflessness. They made investments that weren’t subject to the ebb and flow of the stock market, but rather they invested in the lives of other human beings.

Because of this generosity, sight-restoring surgery was brought to men and women in Malawi who were blind for years because of cataracts. Families in Ethiopia were given a chance to start a business, and grow and store food, so they could keep themselves and their children safe from hunger and famine (and the disability famine brings). And, numerous moms, dads, and children now walk, see, hear or live fully – all because someone said a prayer or gave a gift. As I look back at CBM’s accomplishments in 2009, I can’t thank our donors and investors enough.

I feel so privileged that I get to see and hear about these life-changing transformations on a regular basis. The gifts we have received have changed lives, built vibrant, loving communities, and have helped to shape the world of people living with disabilities….into a world where people have hope, are shown mercy and justice, and experience love.

Thank you to all our donors who have given those living with disabilities a piece of a better world. I look forward to what we can accomplish in 2010. Together, “I know we can…I know we can” make a difference!

Have a very happy New Year and may God richly bless you.