Children’s Gift Catalogue
Hello, friends! My name is Leroy Lemur and I live in Madagascar, an island off the coast of southeastern Africa. In the region where I live, we haven’t been getting much rain and all the crops have dried up, so people don’t have enough to eat. World Renew is helping families by giving them food so they can eat right away. But World Renew is also teaching them about new ways to grow food and plant trees so they never have to go hungry again. Did you know God likes us to learn? When we learn it helps us to become the best version of ourselves and creates ways for us to live more joyfully as God wants us to.
World Renew works in about 30 countries around the world, teaching communities how to become more resilient. Do you know what resilient means? It means being able to handle challenging times. I would like to travel to some of the countries where World Renew works and learn alongside the families. Can you help me find some of these countries? If you read through this catalogue, you will discover some ways World Renew is working to teach communities how to grow more food, become healthier and more resilient, and live more joyful lives.
Discover how animals become helping heroes to families struggling with hunger.
Learn how to build the same type of handwashing station that World Renew builds with communities to protect their health.
Find out some of the ways World Renew equips families to grow more food.
Discover why some kids don’t go to school and how you can help communities access learning opportunities.
Meet two kids who came up with a fun way to help support World Renew.
Animals are Amazing
It can be fun to play fetch with a dog or to cuddle up with a kitten, but there are some animals that are good helpers. A helping animal might provide food for a family or help the family earn money. Can you think of some helping animals?
In communities where World Renew works, when families are struggling to earn enough to pay for things they need, like food and medicine, kind-hearted people help World Renew to provide these families with animals. World Renew then teaches the families how to care for the animals and shows them ways the animals can help them to earn extra money. Here are some helping animals that World Renew supporters can gift to a family:
I grow fast, but I don’t need much space! Families get a good price for my piglets.
Like magic, two rabbits become 20 and families hop with joy when they earn money selling all those bunnies.
Families enjoy my nutritious eggs and use my droppings to help their crops grow big and strong.
My delicious milk helps keep bones healthy and can be used to make yummy cheese!
Prayer
Creator God,
Thank you for the animals: the ones that are cute and cuddly; the ones that provide us with meat, eggs, and milk; and the ones that live in the wild.
Protect the animals that are treated cruelly and bless the hearts of those entrusted with the care of animals with compassion and gentleness. Please open doors so families who would benefit from owning animals can receive them. May these animls help families become healthy and thrive! Amen.
Water is a Blessing
The word water appears 722 times in the Bible! And the Bible shows us that water is a blessing, from quenching our thirst, to cleaning, to giving fish a home—and for baptism. Can you think of more ways we use water? There are so many ways! We use water for cooking, helping plants to grow, and, in industry, water is used for making things like paper and steel. Water really is useful. And clean water is essential for staying healthy.
Would you drink dirty water? Probably not! Drinking dirty water could make you sick. But around the world, there are 2.4 billion people who have a hard time finding clean water and as a result they often struggle with illnesses they get from drinking dirty water. When grownups get sick, it can be difficult for them to work and take care of their families. And when kids get sick, they can’t go to school. So it’s important to make sure everyone can have clean water.
World Renew works to help communities access clean water in different ways. Sometimes we help them build wells or water systems that carry water from streams. Sometimes, we provide them with special pods that clean water and make it safer for drinking. We also help communities to stay healthy by teaching them about how important it is to wash fruits and vegetables before eating, and how washing their hands often helps us stay healthy. If you would like to help a family in a community facing challenges accessing clean water and protecting their health, here are some gifts that will make a splash:
Visit worldrenew.ca/kids to learn how to make your own tippy tap.
FUNdraising
In communities where families do not have access to running water, World Renew helps build tippy taps to keep hands clean. Just a jug of water, a foot pedal, and some soap, all suspended on a wooden frame, ensure clean hands and prevent the spread of disease.
Your school can have loads of fun with a Tippy Tap Challenge. Have each class raise donations for materials, then see which class can build their tippy tap the fastest. The winning class gets bragging rights (or a pizza party) and any extra funds raised can go towards helping World Renew provide families with the materials to build tippy taps of their own!
Where did the farming tools go?
About 80 percent of the food that we eat is grown. Rice grows in rice paddies. Fruits like apples and pears grow on trees. Grapes and pumpkins grow on vines. Vegetables like carrots and potatoes grow in the ground. And wheat that is grown in fields becomes the flour that is used to make pasta, bread, and cupcakes!
Some families depend on what they grow to survive. They not only eat whatever vegetables, fruit, or grain that they grow—they also sell any extra to pay for other things they need, like clothing and medicine.
But what happens to the crops if there isn’t enough rain ... or if there’s too much rain? The crops don’t grow properly! And what happens to families when their crops don’t grow? Sadly, many of those families go hungry.
Fun Fact
After going through a drought, a tree remembers the experience for its whole life. And if there is another drought, the tree remembers to use water more carefully.
Oh no! The farmer misplaced his tools! Help the farmer by circling the tools. Go to worldrenew.ca/kids to see if you found all the missing tools.
Around the world, extreme weather conditions, like droughts and floods, are causing crops to fail and farming communities to struggle with hunger. World Renew works in many of these communities to teach families about climate-smart ways to grow food, including: putting waste or clippings on the soil to keep in moisture and nutrients so crops can grow stronger; planting seeds that are better able to grow in extreme weather; and growing a variety of crops so if one crop fails, a farmer does not lose his entire harvest. We also teach families who don’t have much land to plant a kitchen garden (a garden in their backyard where they grow fruit and vegetables). If you would like to help a family to grow food, consider these great gifts:
$5 $105 PLANT A TREE 400512 TOOLS FOR FARMING 400804 $31 KITCHEN GARDEN KIT 400605
Green manure (a natural compost that enriches the soil), a jab planter (a tool to sow seeds), and a loop hoe (for weeding and turning the soil).
5 growing sacks and 5 seed packets to grow nutritious vegetables. Help a family grow good health with the gift of a fruit tree!
Let’s Encourage Learning
Do you know that not every child gets to go to school? Sometimes kids don’t go to school because their family cannot afford to send them and so the children stay at home to help with farming or other money-making activities. In some places, parents think girls don’t need to go to school. But school is so important!
At school, we get to make friends, learn new skills, and understand more about the world. As we keep learning, we can even start to understand how we can be God’s light through our work someday. Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? How can you show people God loves them in that job?
Teaching is a big part of the work World Renew does to share God’s love with communities facing hunger and poverty. We teach about God’s love, about eating properly, about lots of different skills, and so much more. If you want to help a child and their family with learning, here are some great gift ideas:
Children in remote villages often live too far from school to walk. A child’s bicycle helps make going to school possible and safer.
400885
$95 CHILDREN’S BOOKS FOR MOBILE LIBRARY
Provide learning materials to help students build reading habits that will influence their learning journey all through their lives.
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” –Margaret Fuller
FUNdraising
A second-hand book sale is a great way to raise money and to add new books to your collection. Every kid in your class, school, or kids’ club can donate some of the books on their bookshelves at home that they have read already. Choose a time and place to sell those used books and invite everyone to buy a book or two!
A Gnome-ble Idea
Brooke, 9, and Jessica, 10, made these cute gnomes out of yarn and sold them for $2 each to raise money for charity. “When World Renew visited our GEMS group, we thought, 'That’s a good place to give the money,'" says Jessica. “We chose rabbits because they’re cuddly and they can make manure and have lots of babies. You can sell them, and then you’d be able to build up your house or buy food.” Read more about Brooke and Jessica's story at worldrenew.ca/stories!
Do you have a tale of generosity to share? You could be featured in next year’s World Renew Children’s Catalogue! Write to info@worldrenew.ca with your story! Give online at worldrenew.ca/gifts
Payment Method
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GCCA241059 Make out your cheque and mail it with your order form to: World Renew 3475 Mainway P.O. Box 5070, STN LCD 1 Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8
Note: In 2024, World Renew Canada anticipates raising $25 million in total revenue for its community development, disaster response, and peace and justice work, of which approximately 6% will be used for fundraising and 9% for administration. If funds received by World Renew exceed the funding goal, or if the project goals are no longer achievable, as determined by World Renew, World Renew reserves the right to apply the funds made toward other similar projects, objectives, or programs, or as required by World Renew in pursuit of its overall purpose, as determined by World Renew acting reasonably. World Renew Canada is incorporated in Burlington, Ontario. For more information, or for a copy of our latest audited financial statements, please visit our website at worldrenew.ca or contact our Constituency Services Specialist at 1-888-975-3769. World Renew does not receive ministry shares from the Christian Reformed Church.