Meet Shirlyn Meliza in U.S. | Children International | Child Sponsorship in Africa, India, South America, & USA

About me & my family

Name: Shirlyn Meliza
Gender: Female
Age: 12
Personality:
Interests: Doing general housework, Socializing with friends, Drawing, painting, or coloring
Siblings: 0
Lives with:
Language: Spanish
School: Yes
Child ID: 1815385

Learn more about education in this child's country.

About my house

Learn more about homes in this child's country.

Learn more about water in this child's country.

Poverty in the United States

Children growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, face challenges we may not think about in other parts of the country. Children with nowhere to go after school are at risk of falling into bad behaviors and dropping out, health care gaps mean easily preventable illnesses push kids further behind, and the struggles of getting post high-school education can drain hope out of even the most optimistic.

That is why we focus on providing programs and camps to give kids a safe place to learn and have fun. We provide access to the health services they need and specially designed youth programs to help equip them with the skills they need to achieve their dreams.

See how our program works and why we focus on health, education, empowerment and employment.

Learn more about our work in the United States.

How does child sponsorship work?

Your $39 monthly gift gives kids like Shirlyn Meliza access to life-changing benefits, like:

medical care
educational support
life skills
job-training before graduation.

More about child sponsorship:

+ When you sponsor, what do you receive? Click to find out.

When you sponsor, we'll send you more info about your child, including a photo and a quick-start guide to child sponsorship. You'll also:

Receive photos and updates about your child on a regular basis.
Receive letters from your child, and many letters will contain pictures drawn by your child.
Have access to MyCI, your online account where you can view photos of your child, learn more about him or her, read and write letters and cards, manage your giving, and join our online community of sponsors.
Be able to visit your child and tour our amazing community centers
Subscribe to receive emails and our Journeys magazine to see your impact in action.

+ Need to make a change? We can help.

You can make changes to your monthly giving anytime. Please contact our Care Team to adjust, delay or cancel. And because we've made a commitment that we'll be a part of our kids' lives until they graduate, your sponsored child will continue to receive benefits from the program, and we will work to find a new sponsor as soon as possible.

How sponsorship helps Shirlyn Meliza

Our programs focus on four key outcomes: for CI kids to graduate healthy, educated, empowered and employed. Why these four? Because they're all interconnected and essential to achieving the big goal: helping to break the cycle of poverty.

Health

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to getting and staying healthy. So our health programs focus on two important things: 1) developing healthy habits and 2) connecting kids with services when they need help.

how this works and why

Education

Education doesn't have a one-size-fits-all solution. Your support is invested in helping kids complete secondary school using a wide range of tools to make it happen: providing school fees, uniforms, supplies, tutoring and scholarships.

how this works and why

Empowerment

Through empowerment programs that build leadership, teamwork and confidence, you're not only making a brighter future possible, but you're also creating a positive ripple effect on kids' communities.

how this works and why

Employment

Mock interviews, résumé writing, connecting with jobs, earning scholarships for college or vocational training — CI teens are focused on developing workplace and technical skills to help them change their lives for good.

how this works and why