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Christel House From Poverty to Possibility
November 19, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · Leave a Comment
It’s a global recession, but chances are you’re still living in a beautiful home, driving a comfortable car, dining out and vacationing pretty much as usual. Although many of us have been impacted by the economy, we are not poverty stricken by any means. Poverty is an ugly word, and a problem so complex we
simply dismiss it as beyond our control. But, you haven’t yet met 15-year-old Kyle – living proof of the potential hidden away in slums and squatter camps around the world.
Kyle, the youngest of three siblings, lives with his parents in the Manenberg community of Cape Town, South Africa– an area so rife with crime, gangs, drugs and violence that it is not safe to go outside after dark. But, rather than succumbing to this environment, his life has been transformed by a non-governmental organization called Christel House, where he has been attending school since third grade.
Not only does this NGO give him academic instruction equivalent to that offered by elite private schools, but it also provides him with a nutritious breakfast and lunch every day, regular medical checkups and education about HIV/AIDS prevention. Kyle has learned to live by the Christel House core values of respect, responsibility, independence and integrity. He has developed a life plan, career goals and demonstrates exemplary qualities of good citizenship. And, he knows the importance of giving back to his community through service projects. If you didn’t know better, you’d imagine Kyle came from a privileged family
with the financial means to nurture his talents and aspirations. Instead, the reality is that society often sees children like Kyle as “throw away” kids simply because of the conditions into which they were born.
But, Kyle is a musical wunderkind. Even before coming to Christel House as an 8- year-old, he’d taught himself to play the trumpet by ear. Now, he reads sheet music and has mastered the piano, trumpet, tuba, trombone, saxophone, drums and guitar. He‘s also a talented actor and singer, performing with renowned soprano, Angela Brown, in the Cape Town Opera. While he excels in sports and is a top student in his class, Kyle’s goal is to become a professional jazz musician—and his teachers say that he has the talent to become a star.
What would Kyle’s future have been like had he not attended Christel House? He doesn’t have to look far for the answer. School dropouts, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS are all around him. Kyle is fully aware of the magnitude of the opportunity he’s been given. When asked recently what he’d tell other students about Christel House, his response was, “Ah, Christel House…It will definitely change your life, it’s a guarantee.”
The Christel House story began in 1998 when Christel DeHaan, a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur and philanthropist from Indianapolis, Indiana, received a request to support an orphanage in Mexico City. Upon visiting the facility, DeHaan was humbled by what she found-children warehoused in cramped quarters, sleeping head-to-toe in twin beds, living without electricity or running water, and eating food most of us would call garbage. DeHaan knew that financial resources could provide better living conditions for the children, but would do nothing to resolve the long-term problem. Out of that experience, Christel House was born. Today, twelve years later, Christel House is transforming the lives of over 3000 children, in countries as diverse and far-flung as India, South Africa, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States.
Kyle’s rise to success is not unusual. All five Christel Houses show high attendance and retention rates, and boast test scores that meet or exceed those of neighboring schools. DeHaan says what sets Christel House apart from other charities is its ability to effect lasting change through its holistic approach. “We address the causes and debilitating effects of poverty on these children—poor health, isolation, abuse, abandonment and lack of opportunity,” says DeHaan. These students, many of whom are the first generation in their families to attend school, are challenged daily to achieve their potential—and, like Kyle—they are exceeding expectations.
For more information, please visit www.christelhouse.org.
Meet Kyle
Kyle, a fifteen-year-old student,lives with his parents in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa. He has attended the Christel House learning center in Cape Town since the third grade. A top student, Kyle has a passion for music and hopes to pursue a career as a jazz musician. Hear Kyle’s incredible talent on the trumpet at www.christelhouse.org/video
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