Canada Day is a time to celebrate and reflect upon our country’s rich history, diverse culture, and an opportunity to honour a nation that embodies the values of generosity, resilience, and empathy. At Children Believe, we are proud to celebrate our organization’s strong Canadian roots, over 60 years, and pay tribute to our many supporters across the country who make Canada great, as well as make our work possible.
The journey started with our founder, Dr. Verent Mills, who left an engineering career in Canada to answer the call to help others in 1931. He is still an inspiration to Children Believe as we maintain a commitment to Canadian values in international aid. At a time when other global leaders have stepped back from helping vulnerable populations around the world, we are grateful to our supporters, and proud to join our fellow Canadians to celebrate Canada Day.
Canadians rise above global uncertainty
Canada has a long history of helping others in their time of need, including our support of allied forces in the world wars, helping in the aftermath of the September 11th attack, sending firefighters and aircraft to help combat the California wildfires and continued help to the people of Ukraine. Canada stands firm in its commitment to providing aid where it is needed.
Currently though, there is an upheaval in the world due to shifts in support from world powers, especially in the United States where funding cuts of $60 billion to USAID have had severe effects on people relying on humanitarian aid. With these cuts to critical programs, consequences are showing in places such as Ethiopia where the healthcare system has seen 5,000 staff cuts leading to children losing critical care. Many food assistance programs have stopped and that has left millions of children vulnerable to malnutrition, resulting in a projected 163,500 deaths per year.
The aid cuts globally have had a devastating impact and while Children Believe is not directly affected, there is a ripple effect in the communities we serve. Among these are cancellations of lifechanging education programs that provide opportunities for children to shape their own future and make their own choices. Choices that are being stolen from them.
But Canadians refuse to sit back and stay silent. While there is upheaval in aid efforts worldwide, Canadians continue to step up to build a better future for children, to create long term impact.
A nation of kindness
We extend a deep and heartfelt “thank you” to all our Canadian donors who play a crucial role in shaping the impact of Children Believe’s innovative programs. Thousands of child sponsors help families and communities through monthly donations.
For us to continue to create and grow programs that help thousands of people, Children Believe is expanding our impact over the next seven years through a new strategic plan, with the goal to help twice as many children. This is only possible thanks to collaborations with the Canadian government and longtime Canadian donors, such as the Perera family, who for more than 33 years have made generosity a family tradition.
Children Believe is proud to be a means for Canadians to spread good will in the world in times when others are pulling back. Our projects at Children Believe would not be possible without each and every Canadian donor as they continue to help to shape a brighter future.
United in celebration
As the country gathers to celebrate Canada Day, we invite everyone to reflect on the values that make our nation so great. Let’s all be dedicated to creating a world where every child has a voice and the ability to achieve their full potential. Happy Canada Day to all Children Believe donors, supporters, and our fellow Canadians.