Expansion of the HFK Deworming Program

Last Tuesday was an exciting day for me and for those of us who work with the Hope for Kidz Child Sponsorship Program because we rolled out phase two of the Deworming Program.  Earlier in the year, we rolled out phase one of the program.  I wrote a report in March on all the reasons we believe deworming (one pill, once per year) is an important part of the HFK program.  To read about that again, go here. 

For the 2012-2013 school year we dewormed 9,000+ kids in 33 schools.  This year, we were able to add all the satellite locations that have sponsored kids as well as a few new sister church schools.  That alone is a huge expansion. For the 2013-2014 school year, we dewormed 12,000+ students and teachers! The deworming program is not just for the sponsored kids, but for every child in all of our schools that have sponsored kids. 

 

For phase two, in addition to the increased number of students treated, we added an important aspect to the program: worm prevention education.  Last week, we asked all the school administrators to come in for a meeting.  We reviewed with them the process of distributing the meds to the students, went over how we want them to keep records and distributed 12,000+ pills and cups.  Then each school received an educational illustrated flip book.  Much thanks goes to those from The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Chicago’s NW suburbs who developed most of the educational materials that we use for the deworming program!  It is a priceless resource.  We taught the administrators the information in the flip books including how you catch worms, symptoms and how to prevent catching worms.  There were many questions and dialogue.  At the end, we taught them all a catchy song about worm prevention that they can use with the kids.  The information and materials were well received. We now require that the educational materials are taught to every class in every school each year.

Overall, the HFK Deworming Program is just a small part of the child sponsorship program.  The one pill per year and prevention education once per year is a tiny financial part of the puzzle, but is having a huge impact in the health of these students.

To those of you who sponsor a child, we want to say a big THANK YOU!  Your sponsorship is impacting more than just the single child you sponsor—it’s impacting the whole school. 
~Becky