Children International HQ
Bringing people together to end poverty for good.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
One billion children worldwide are living in poverty, and without assistance they face a difficult battle to escape the generational cycle of poverty.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Nutritional Monitoring and Rehabilitation
Sponsored children who are moderately or severely undernourished are enrolled in a feeding program to facilitate rapid improvements in health and nutritional status. Parents and other caregivers are enrolled in a nutrition education program and receive instruction on the nutritional value of locally available foods, low cost meal preparation and prevention of malnutrition through proper care of sick children. Children will stay in the program for at least two months or until they have maintained at risk or normal weight.
Empowerment Programs
Empowerment programs for children and youth are designed to teach life skills and social responsibility. CI partners with Aflatoun (Child Savings International) to implement its social and financial education program. The age-appropriate curriculum focuses on the development of pertinent life skills, the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, social responsibility and community service, and civic education. Sport for Development: Children and youth develop life skills and healthy behaviors by participating in physical activity, sport and play (including but not limited to soccer, basketball, volleyball, Zumba, running, Judo, Ping Pong and Chess). It also provides ample scenarios which coaches can build upon to teach life skills like, teamwork, problem solving and communication.Leadership Training provides children and youth with a hands-on learning experience so that they can practice important life skills, including interpersonal communication, public speaking, teamwork, problem analysis and decision making, conflict resolution and resource management. Participants learn the meaning of leadership and how to identify and strengthen leadership qualities in themselves and in their peers. Youth trainees also investigate and evaluate community problems and then identify possible solutions, and analyze the resources required to implement those solutions. The culminating activity for the youth participants is the implementation of a small-scale community service activity. Youth Councils: Participants elect other youth to represent them, promote their interests and implement community-improvement projects. Arts programming helps children and youth develop life skills and protective behaviors through a variety of art forms including music, dance, theater, and painting. The art classes develop cognitive and psycho-motor skills in the participants while specific activities and teaching moments support the development of essential life skills such as communication, teamwork, and self-esteem. The program also instills core values such as dedication, perseverance, discipline and respect.
Health Care
Children International ensures access to basic medical services for the entire sponsored population. This is accomplished through direct provision of services within CI's community centers or through coordination with public and private partners when possible. Services include free exams, free basic medicines and supplies, free and low-cost referral services for children and youth requiring specialized care and financial support to families during medical emergencies. CI also seeks to increase demand by building awareness around the importance of using health services when needed, this may include educational sessions, home visits, support in signing up for insurance plans or advice on availing their rights to health care.
Educational Support
This program is designed to help children and youth overcome barriers to school enrollment and completion (for pre-school, primary and secondary school). Beneficiaries receive material assistance items that are most needed in their local context in order to attend school. The most common types of material support given include: school supplies, school fees, uniforms, textbooks, transportation fees and financial aid (which could be used for any school-related expenses). In some locations, all school-going children and youth receive some type of benefit while in other locations, school-related benefits are given to selected beneficiaries based on level of need. The specific types of benefits given and the value of the benefits given vary by location. In addition to the material assistance, agency staff and volunteers may conduct follow-up visits to verify children’s school status and provide guidance to families for children who are not in school.
Dental Services
Children International provides dental care to children and youth through free cleanings, fluoride treatment, sealants, and restorative care and extractions. Most of the field locations use the Basic Screening Survey (BSS) methodology which was developed by ASTDD and has been used in CI's University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) for several years. This methodology includes two steps: first children are assessed by a basic screening survey to determine their need for care, next children are prioritized for exams to receive a treatment plan. The treatment plan is carried out by CI clinics or through referrals from CI. This ensures that children and youth receive early treatment when needed instead of waiting for people to come in once the damage has worsened. Programs will often include educational components and activities that create demand for the services, because visiting the dentist is not a very habitual practice.
Scholarships
The Scholarship program is designed to assist youth with enrollment and completion of secondary school. Youth are required to apply for the scholarships and typically must meet certain requirements in order to maintain the scholarship, such as minimum grades, completion of the academic year and in some cases, volunteer service hours. Preference is given to youth who meet certain criteria such as: Is a minority, indigenous or a member of another economically or socially disadvantaged population; Is female in a country where girls face additional barriers over boys in acquiring an education; Is an “out-of-school” youth, who has left school prematurely to pursue employment; Has a large number of siblings or is a member of a single-parent household; Achieves high academic scores according to local standards;
Exhibits exemplary leadership skills and/or a tendency toward positive community involvement, either within or outside of the sponsorship program; Alongside the provision of the scholarships, staff members engage with the youth and their parents to help increase parental support and involvement in their children’s education. The value of the scholarships vary by location and are renewable.
Computer Centers and Computer Course
This program is designed to provide participants with basic computer literacy and internet navigation skills. The majority of participants in the courses are youth ages 12 and older; however, some locations do offer the program to children as young as 8. Participants receive hands-on instruction in the use of basic applications and computer programs such as: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; Email; Internet Navigation; and Internet Safety and Security. Some locations also provide advanced instruction on the use of computers and technology for business, marketing, employment and entrepreneurship. Through a partnership with Intel, Children International is using an Intel-developed curriculum in the computer skills courses that can be adapted to the context and need of each location. In addition to the formal computer skills program, all sponsored children and youth have access to the computer centers for learning and school-related activities, such as online research, homework and digital literacy and numeracy programs.
English as a Second Language (ESL
Children International currently implements the ESL program in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The program targets youth who have completed secondary school and wish to use English as their primary skill to enter the job market. The ESL program is designed to help youth improve their English comprehension, speaking, reading and writing, with the goal of increasing their marketable skills for employment.
Economic Assistance
This program distributes direct assistance to help families meet urgent needs.
Emotional Well-Being
Programs that help children and youth develop emotional well-being with a focus on resilience. These programs teach children and youth how to self-care, self-calm and identify emotions and help young people build vital life skills, so they can stay mentally healthy and on the path out of poverty.
Where we work
Awards
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Millions of dollars of economic assistance distributed to children and families.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our families needed economic assistance to replace lost income due to the pandemic.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is to eradicate poverty in the life of every child and person we meet. We connect people all over the world, facilitating strong relationships and partnerships across socioeconomic and cultural boundaries. Because we believe everyone shares the basic human right: to live free from poverty for good.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In reaction to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the face of huge challenges, Children International reorganized our program structure in 2020 to continue to carry out our mission to affect the lives of children living in poverty.
Economic Assistance: This program distributed direct assistance to help families meet urgent needs. All sponsored families received a minimum of two economic assistance packages in 2020 and 2021.
Connecting With Families: This program is an effort for quarterly direct communication with Children International families with the goal of reaching 75% of the population and strengthening ties to the organization.
Health Services: These programs help connect families to health services. Our strategy employs demand generation, providing access to telehealth services, developing partnerships with government services, and improving our referral networks.
Access to Education and Continued Learning: With a focus on virtual access, these programs provide both informal and formal learning opportunities and support continued education. These programs helped thousands of children and youth learn healthy behaviors, continue their education remotely and build empowering life skills during a global pandemic.
Emotional Well-Being: These programs help children and youth develop emotional well-being with a focus on resilience.
Youth Employability: These programs help older youth enter the formal job market. Children International’s employment programs transitioned to virtual programming when the lockdowns began and adapted their employability strategies to changing economies and labor markets.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In partnership with our supporters, we offer a data-driven, long-term and holistic program designed to end poverty for the children and youth we serve. We establish roots where we work, building safe community centers and trusted teams that focus on learning, leadership and growth. Children and youth who graduate from our program develop comprehensive educational, social and leadership skills, enabling them to alter the course of their lives and impact their communities.
Children International has 67 community centers in 10 countries around the world. These community centers are where most of our programming takes place. We have a team of dedicated, in-country staff who oversee the day-to-day operations of each center and the programming that takes place. Not to mention, we also have a team of 9,000 volunteers around the world who believe passionately in Children International's mission and help us deliver our programs and services.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2020, Children International’s health strategy prioritized demand generation, telehealth consults, partnerships and referrals to continue serving tens of thousands of children and youth during the pandemic. For example, we provided 31,000+ telemedicine consults and paid for 33,000+ outside medical services.
With a focus on virtual access, program teams helped thousands of children and youth continue their educations remotely. For example,11,000+ students received scholarships, 65,000+ students received educational support grants, and Tutoring and Technology Skills programs helped 4,000+ students bridge the online learning gap.
When the pandemic forced community centers to close, program teams helped children and youth stay connected and build life skills through remote programming. For example, Sport for Development programs kept 4,000+ home-bound young athletes moving with virtual activities while 3,000+ young people learned vital life and financial skills virtually through online Aflatoun classes.
Children International’s employment programs transitioned to virtual programming when the lockdowns began and adapted their employability strategies to changing economies and labor markets. We helped more than 50 percent of our employment programs’ participants find jobs, despite the challenges of closed businesses, hiring freezes, and recessions.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Children International
Board of directorsas of 02/18/2022
Mr. Brad Cloverdyke
Retired/American Century Invenstments
Term: 2019 - 2022
Susana Eshleman
President & CEO of Children International
David Cacioppo
President of Emfluence, Inc.
Tara Frank
Owner Tara Jaye Frank Co.
Liderman Duin
Owner, Bluepoint2
Brad Cloverdyke
Retired
Steve Berger
Partner, A.T. Kearney
Aviva Ajmera
CEO, SolveKC
Roland Paanakker
Principal, Paanakker & Co.
Adam Newsome
CEO, Lazer Spot
Marvin Irby
CFO, National Restaurant Association
Ena Williams Koschel
COO, Casey's General Stores
Tara Frank
President and CEO of TJF Career Modeling LLC
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data