Friday, April 17, 2009

Benvenido a México!

By David Hylton, Public Relations Specialist

With nearly 20 teams of five people each, our Walk Across the World initiative has gotten off to a quick start – we’ve already made it to Mexico! As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, collectively as a staff we are walking across the world to “visit” some of the 31 countries where we work. We started at our International Office in Richmond,Va., and ventured more than 1,800 miles to our first stop in Mexico.

Team Fabulous Five collected the most miles on the first portion of the trek, logging more than 220 miles in one week. Two other teams also passed the 200-mile mark. To put this mileage figure in perspective, 1,800 miles is also about the same driving distance from San Diego, Calif., to Memphis, Tenn., and from Key West, Fla., to Portland, Maine.

Team Fabulous Five received special recognition from Mexico’s National Director Virginia Vargas for collecting the most miles so far: “I am sure you all enjoyed the journey and had a lot of fun, but more than that, this team effort proves your love for CCF. During your ‘stay’ in Mexico you will find 45,000 children that recognize the hard work all of you do every day in order to have better opportunities in life. Also you will enjoy tacos and enchiladas with the company of Mariachis!”

Christian Children’s Fund has worked in Mexico since 1955. One program highlight there is our Early Childhood Development program to provide education to children age 5 and under. More than 7,000 children are enrolled in this program. More than 180 educators monitor the child's development, train mothers on how to help their child overcome learning delays, make home visits, discuss early child development strategies with parents and coordinate with local governmental ECD programs. Other community volunteers, known as Guide Mothers, also play an important role in helping children’s cognitive learning.

For the next stop in our Walk Across the World journey we continue to head south to Brazil, which is more than 3,500 miles away. How quick will we get there?

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