March Break Photo Challenge

Ready to head outside with the kids for some fresh air and fun?

Hope Story’s March Break Photo Challenge promises fun for kids aged 3 to 12 especially (but families with teens are very welcome to join too). Fast Facts accompany every photo clue for some teachable moments. Follow the photo clues here and send in the 10 pics your family discovers. Email all 10 to [email protected] by April 4th, 2022 with the subject line “March Break Photo Challenge.”

Please feel free to include your children in any of the photos – only if you wish to do so – and parents too (selfies welcome!) If you give your consent for photos to be used on social media, selected photos may be posted. Share the fun on social media yourself, if you can, and tag three friends to complete the challenge! The event registration link is posted here.

10 families will be randomly chosen to receive a $25 e-card to Pizza Pizza. And the 5 families with the most creative photo collections will receive a $50 e-card to Mastermind Toys. (In April)

To qualify for eligibility to receive one of these 15 prizes, families need to provide proof of participation by emailing their 10 photo finds to [email protected], and be Canadian residents. Sharing your completion of the challenge on social media and tagging 3 friends is optional and does not affect prize eligibility. But your chance at winning one of the 10 random draw prizes of a $25 Pizza Pizza e-card will double if you post on social media and send us a screen shot of your post (Gift cards have been donated by a Hope Story supporter)

Here are your photo clues – and HAVE FUN!

Fast Fact: Many children around the world are coping with very difficult circumstances. For instance, about 1 in 6 children globally do not always have enough to eat, maybe for days at a time. And here in Canada about 300,000 children and their families regularly use food banks in order to get enough to eat. At Hope Story we believe that through the compassionate response of caring people acting as the hands and feet of Jesus to make a difference in the world both at home and around the globe to champion hope for at-risk kids (which can include providing a tasty school lunch!), that there is truly Hope for every child’s story.

Fast Fact: In addition to being child-focused, Hope Story is Christ-centred and church-led, meaning that everything we do is for God’s glory. And we work with local in-country church partners to bring tangible hope to children in need. Hope Story partners with local churches around the world who provide programs meeting the needs of the children in their own community. We believe that Zambians know best what Zambian children need to thrive, Nepalese know best what Nepalese children need to thrive, Colombians know best what Colombian children need to thrive, etc. What would you say it means “to thrive?”

Fast Fact: Can you think of what children living in vulnerable circumstances might need most? Food? Clean water? School? Medicine? Those things are all certainly very important. We partner with churches who run programs that have a whole-person approach to care, which means that not only do they work to meet the physical needs of children, such as food, water and medical care, but they also work to meet educational, discipleship and community needs, things that help nurture an individual as a whole. This whole person approach is illustrated in our impact model (the way in which we hope to have a positive impact) by clicking here.

Fast Fact: When children and young people are able to get a complete education, they have a better chance to go on to find good jobs and take care of their own families one day. This is often part of what we mean by “breaking the cycle of poverty.” Did you know that less than 4 out of 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa attend high school? It is especially difficult for those who live in small villages that are far from the closest school - which may be too far to walk – and many families in remote, rural villages have no access to public transportation such as a bus. The Amani School in Tanzania just opened the community’s first new high school which will give students, both girls and boys alike, the chance to look forward to a brighter future. Hope Story supports education in many different ways including school fees & uniforms, before & after school programs for early childhood education, and the new Zambia After School Clubs with computer classes & tutoring for kids in all grades.

Fast Fact: In order to support children’s physical and health needs, Hope Story supports water projects, meal programs and medical care. During these past two years of the pandemic, Hope Story and our supporters have also provided much needed emergency food relief through many of our church partners, as more families were struggling to put food on the table. For example, quite a few Zambians rely on tourists coming to visit Victoria Falls in the city of Livingstone and would usually depend on hosting the tourists in hotels and at restaurants to earn their living. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors were not traveling to Zambia for a long time and many Zambian moms & dads lost their jobs, with nothing to fall back on. But our church partners in Zambia helped ensure the children in their community did not go hungry.

Fast Fact: Shepherd images are common throughout the Bible, and Jesus is referred to as “The Good Shepherd.” We often see a depiction of a shepherd’s crook (a long stick with a hook at the end to catch wandering sheep) in Bible illustrations – and just think about the Christmas story! Hope Story’s church partners provide many discipleship opportunities for both children and their families and teach life truths from Scripture - which is often called 'shepherding.' Bible study is a core element in the lives of the children that live at SARA Ministries in Nepal, for example. Right now, the boys’ group at SARA is following a self-directed Bible course which started with a deep dive into the Psalms and Proverbs. Each day they memorize a new Bible verse to be recited to the group the next day. Have you memorized a Bible verse recently? What was it?

Fast Fact: We believe in helping build stronger families and communities in order to support the vulnerable children living within them. For example, Hope Story’s partner in Colombia, Tiempo de Paz (which translates to “Peacetime”) offers parents the opportunity to attend parenting workshops. At the Gampela Centre in Burkina Faso, youth and members of the community are invited to take classes about sewing, weaving and masonry at the centre’s vocational school so that they can learn valuable skills that can get them jobs, and support their families. Community is so important!

Fast Fact: While most of us have cozy homes to live in, this isn’t necessarily the experience of every child around the world. Kenya, for instance, has a population of just under 58 million people, but has about 3 million orphaned children (no mother or father), which is a very high proportion of orphaned children for a country. At Creation of Hope in Kenya around 80 orphaned children currently live at the “Rolling Hills Residence” and are cared for by loving individuals that have become like family to them. Led by a lady whom many call “Grandmother Ruth” the team at Creation of Hope also reaches even more orphaned children living in the community with grandparents or other family members and that helps make home life more comfortable for those who do not have much.

Fast Fact: Hope Story works with church partners in seven different countries: Colombia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Nepal and most recently Canada too! We recently started supporting the New Hope Youth Centre which is located in Thunder Bay. Run by New Hope Fellowship, a First Nations-led church in Thunder Bay, New Hope Youth Centre provides a safe, fun, nurturing drop-in centre for local teens to gather and fellowship. At Hope Story we care about kids around the world – and here at home too!

Fast Fact: Hope Story’s logo is a tree featuring leaves that represent the many children and communities that we are investing in, to ensure that more children thrive with local church-led support, and the love, prayer & support of God’s people. Think of this Bible verse when you see the Hope Story tree - or any tree:

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord his hope and confidence.
He is like a tree planted along a riverbank, with its roots reaching deep into the water.”
(Jeremiah 17:7-8 – Living Bible translation)

Social Media Post Templates

Use these templates to complete the challenge by sharing the fun on social media and tagging 3 people

Facebook Post Template

We did it! We completed @Hope Story’s March Break Photo Challenge! It was a lot of fun taking fun pictures and learning about how Hope Story serves vulnerable children around the world.

We challenge @___________, @__________ and @__________ to complete the challenge with their families! You can register at the following link:

Check out @Hope Story’s Facebook page to learn more about the organization!

Download Graphic

Instagram Post Template

We did it! We completed @Hope Story’s March Break Photo Challenge! It was a lot of fun taking fun pictures and learning about how Hope Story serves vulnerable children around the world.

We challenge @___________, @__________ and @__________ to complete the challenge with their families! You can register via their website – hopestory.ca.

Check out @Hope Story’s Instagram page to learn more about the organization!

Download Graphic