There has been a lot of talk about what is going on with the Kenya Presidential vote in the news. It can be hard to understand without the context from a local. So our CHOICE Kenya team has put together an update on the situation. 

Paul recently returned from an expedition to Mexico where he observed the path that the village of La Concha in Guanajuato, Mexico is taking to create sustainable income opportunities for their residents. 

On behalf of the staff, Board of Trustees, and the tens of thousands of villagers whose lives you have helped improve thank you for being a part of the CHOICE Humanitarian family. Together, we reached new heights in 2016, and we owe this success to you for two reasons. First, you believe that extreme poverty can and should end in our lifetime. And second, you trust that CHOICE Humanitarian is the organization best suited to achieve this goal. Quite simply, you are the reason CHOICE continues to flourish and, on behalf of the entire CHOICE team, we can't thank you enough. Impact highlights. 

The Advancing Life Foundation, the charitable giving entity of ASEA LLC, has partnered with us to build a vocational school in rural Ecuador. This school will be the first of its kind in this area and give opportunities that will have life changing implications. 

I have a good idea of what it might feel like to be royalty. Upon arrival in the village of Chiti in the remote western stretches of Nepal where we would be living and serving for the next week, we received a king's welcome. From the moment we stepped off the mountain bus we were welcomed by dozens of eager, smiling villagers ready to greet us with vibrant flower leis, smearing our foreheads with bright red tikkas accompanied by loud, celebratory music. Before we knew it we were carried down into the village centre in a sea of jubilance, quite literally on parade. We were then given seats as honoured guests at the head of the village square as if at a special assembly. It was an amazing spectacle, and a moment we’ll not soon forget. 

Heidy is 21 years old and lives in rural Guatemala. She is a mentor for Accent, our language learning program built by Microsoft Edge. Heidy wanted to be a doctor, but couldn't afford to go to school. 

The United Nations has established June 5 as World Environment Day. Guatemala is a country with a great diversity of climates, landscapes, soils and ecosystems. The Guatemalan biodiversity is distributed throughout the country with 34% of the national territory being covered by forest area, but this has been affected in recent years due to the high rates of deforestation and pollution that are generated in the country.

Maria raises and sells ducks to support her family. Maria became a mom at 16 years old. She speaks of the discrimination due to being pregnant at such a young age. However, despite the suffering and the financial problems her husband Elmer have a strong marriage. 

International Labor Day is celebrated around the world and Guatemala is no exception. This day commemorates the struggle of workers to enforce their labor rights. Thanks to these struggles today workers have fair working conditions. However, there are sectors that continue to fight for job opportunities that allow them to meet their needs and be able to develop in an environment of equality.

Shipping Charity International in partnership with XPO Logistics Global Forwarding has donated a shipping container to be sent to Peru. We’d love your help filling the container!  

While the flooding in Peru has stopped, relief efforts in the region are far from finished. The CHOICE Peru team has been working with local partners to help drive, fund, and implement relief and reconstruction efforts. The CHOICE Peru team reports that the damage in the Piura is severe, with more than 800,000 people displaced and 100,000 homes destroyed. The relief efforts on the ground are struggling to provide basic relief supplies to the displaced, which are living in massive tent cities while homes are rebuilt. In these cities there is never enough shelter or food; many tents host 3 or more families, and most of the displaced people are only receiving one meal a day.