#savethebabies: Help Children Rise out of Poverty

From the beginning, Jake’s Diapers has leveraged partnerships with established organizations already serving people in need. It’s made it possible to easily connect with populations living in poverty, and create a wide-reaching impact around the world.

It’s also a source of inspiration, to realize the stories that come from the ripple effects our partnerships are creating.

HEAL Ministries in Uganda is one of our Diaper Drop partners. The organization’s aim is to “empower vulnerable, abandoned women and children in Christ-centered programs that teach sustainability and family preservation,” according to its website. 

Here’s an example of the lives they are saving, as summarized from HEAL’s website:

Imagine a 14-year-old mom kicked out of her family and village. She wants to end life because she is pregnant from rape but doesn’t. She chooses hope and family and love. That same 16-year-old, two years later, skips joyfully through HEAL’s gates with her 2-year-old child to drop her off in childcare, because she has to hurry off to High School — choosing education and hope.

HEAL Ministries considers this a success, and we do, too, thanks to your generous support. With diapers, her child can attend childcare, and she can attend school. 

Thank you for making moments like this possible. 

~ Stephanie

Locked in generational poverty. 

That’s how Dawn Hicks of the Focus on Babies Diaper Resource Center of West Plains, Missouri, describes the majority of the families they serve.

“Over the years as manufacturing jobs have been lost, we have seen low-paying service jobs become the mainstay for the majority of low-skilled workers in the area, leading to the difficulty of earning a living wage,” she said. 

“Working multiple jobs to make ends meet is common,” she continued. “Affordable childcare is hard to find and maternity leave is almost nonexistent. Eighty percent of students in the West Plains Schools qualify for free and reduced lunch. There is little access to public transportation and owning and maintaining a vehicle is an expense beyond the means of many, especially those who are earning minimum wage.”

Dawn connected with Jake’s Diapers late in 2018 to join as a Diaper Drop partner and extend their ability to serve the local Missouri families. Dawn said they had received about 20 cloth diaper kits in early 2016, and have wanted to expand that program since – but have not had the funds or resources.

“As of October (2018) we have distributed over 86,000 disposable diapers and we would love to get more cloth diapers to families to reduce the monthly need and to help our environment,” Dawn said. ““Using cloth diapers helps our local families to redirect funds that would be spent on disposables, besides being more environment-friendly.”

We’re happy to add Focus on Babies Diaper Resource Center to our list of Diaper Drop Partners and have already shipped products to the organization. Dawn said it’s already made an impact, and shared one comment from a recipient.

“I am a grandma, I have my granddaughter 4 to 7 days and nights per week,” the recipient said. ”I am disabled. Her dad is not well and lives with me, and money is tight.  This will help.”

About Our Diaper Drop Partners

Focus on Babies Diaper Resource Center is just one of our many Diaper Drop partners Jake’s Diapers features regularly to shed light on the stories of the people we serve in order to increase awareness about the impact a donation of hygiene products can have on a single individual.

Thanks for helping babies! 

~ Stephanie

It is a joy to introduce you to Cedar, a joyous silly child who calls our Diaper Drop Sarah's Covenant Homes home. We've been partnering with SCH for nearly 5 years now, providing cloth diapers to children with special needs who were previously abandoned; now living in foster style homes while they wait to be re-unified with their biological families or adopted into Forever Families. 

When Cedar, who is functionally blind and has Autism, first arrived at SCH in December 2009, he had been hospitalized on multiple occasions because he was so weak and was having difficulty eating. He was struggling to walk or even sit up.

Today, Cedar is known as the resident acrobat. He is known for his wild contortions and trapeze-like antics. At some point during the day, you’re bound to catch this sweetheart hanging upside down off of any elevated surface in the home. Cedar is giggly and tender-hearted--well beloved by the caregivers, teachers, and staff of Courage Home. Cedar is functionally blind and attends our on-site homeschool program, Anjali School for the Blind. Daily, this little guy is making excellent progress in his orientation and mobility by using his guide cane, sensory exploration, and communication skills.

Thanks for helping Cedar, and the other children at SCH! 

~ Stephanie 

She traveled from around the world with her family of eight, seeking a safe place to raise her children. The family had lived in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo for many years; when they left, her youngest was just eight months old.

The family’s final destination would be a community in Pima County, Southern Arizona, a region in the northernmost section of the Sonoran Desert. Many indigenous families live here, and it is a popular place for refugee families from Africa and the Middle East. This in part because of the weather and the affordable cost of living, said Leslie, at our Diaper Drop the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona.

The area, however, is also riddled with hardship: 1 in 3 children in Pima County are living in poverty; families not living in poverty most often live paycheck to paycheck.

“It’s notoriously hot for 6 months of the year, our winters are temperate,” Leslie said. “The climate ... attracts families who struggle economically. You can survive a winter here, even if you cannot afford heating, or are homeless.”

The Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona currently serves Pima and 9 other surrounding counties. It works in partnership with the University of Arizona's Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology (BARA) on providing resources to such families, tracking the impact and collecting recipient feedback, Leslie said. Through this partnership and with the help of Jake’s Diapers, the diaper bank launched a pilot program to provide cloth diaper kits to interested families, providing a sustainable solution to families who struggle with chronic diaper shortage.

The refugee resettlement process is a stressful time for mothers, Leslie said. Within just 3 to 6 months, refugees must become financially self-sufficient, an especially difficult task for parents balancing both their own and their children’s needs.

“Meeting the needs of your child during the resettlement process can be an emotional experience because there are few choices parents get to make on behalf of their children’s material needs,” Leslie said. “This is because clothing, diapers and other necessities are donated to them or bought for them through the government. Until recently, refugee parents had to use disposable diapers because there was no cloth option provided to them.”

With the donation of cloth diaper kits from Jake’s Diapers, the diaper bank was able to immediately provide cloth kits to families in starting its pilot program with BARA, Leslie said.

Jake’s Diapers’ continued support has made it possible to carry on with the pilot with BARA, include more families in the research, and develop a strategy for the development of a cloth distribution program.

More than 40 families have been using the kits, she said, and have been reporting economic relief, and a significant reduction in family stress, as they are never OUT of diapers. The mother who traveled with her children from that refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo had only used cloth diapers, and revealed obvious relief with the donation.

“When she was given the cloth diaper kit, her eyes brimmed with tears, noting how ‘beautiful’ her new cloth kit was,” according to BARA researchers. “She was overjoyed that her baby could be kept in cloth diapers. She was holding her baby and smiling as she walked away with her new cloth kit.”

Thanks for helping families!

~ Stephanie

P.S. Did you know GlobalGiving is matching all new recurring donations? Join our Circle of Change and help make stories like this possible all year round! 

Thanks for helping Kato, and other kids just like him. Kato lives in Jinja, Uganda with his loving Mom Rehema, and thanks to you, they know have an ample supply of diapers to keep Kato clean, dry, healthy and in school. Ekisa Ministries, one of our Uganda Diaper Drops,  shares Kato's story:

At only two weeks old, Kato suffered from a severe case of cerebral malaria which caused him to develop cerebral palsy. His mom, Rehema, was determined that his diagnosis would not define him, or their life as a family. 

She knew with access to the right support that Kato would not just survive, but thrive. They joined Ekisa Ministries Community Care Program in 2014, and Rehema has proudly watched as Kato has made progress from his hard work in physical, occupational, and speech and language therapy.

Today she beams whenever she shares how proud she is to be his mom. Her love for Kato is undeniable. She shared with us that her greatest source of joy in life is seeing her children happy. She said that getting to go to school for the first time has changed Kato's life. He is in Yellow Class at Ekisa Academy. Rehema shared,

 "On school days Kato wakes up at exactly 5:00am to prepare for school… whenever he's told he's going to school he's very happy. On weekends or public holidays when he’s told he isn’t going to school, he becomes upset. He really enjoys school. He has learned so much. For him, there’s no need to sit at home!"

We wish everyone could get the chance to meet Rehema and visit her home. The moment you walked through her door you would see that her home is filled with love. She is a resilient mother who believes wholeheartedly in her son's God-given potential and worth. She is giving Kato the opportunity to flourish and grow in a loving, supportive home.

Thanks for helping Kato and other kids just like him.

~ Stephanie