Kaitlin Riffel was visiting her father at work – at that time, the Fresno Rescue Mission, a Christian shelter for the homeless and those in need.
“I had never seen poverty before. I was 8,” recalls Kaitlin, who is now 16. “I never realized there were people in the world who didn’t have a home or food. I knew there was something I had to do about that.”
The work overseas started when Kaitlin, then 13, visited El Salvador and saw people starving and families living in flimsy shelters made of cardboard and mud bricks.
She’s led three Kids on a Mission trips: two to El Salvador and one to Costa Rica. Another Costa Rica trip is planned late this year. She chose these countries in part because of connections her family has with people already doing charity work there, including partner organization Loving with Mercy Ministry.
In the U.S., Kids on a Mission has donated backpacks, school supplies and zoo passes to children in need in North Fork and Kerman, and as far away as Chicago, through a partnership with Convoy of Hope.
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