We talk a lot about the work Amway people do for children around the world … because there is a lot going on!

What we’ve learned is that our peers in the direct selling industry are doing a lot for their local communities too.

Here’s a video from the Direct Selling Education Foundation highlighting the collective work of our industry:

Almost one in five people in Australia have some form of disability. This issue has been a focus of Amway Australia through the Freedom Wheels program over the past few years, providing modified bicycles for children with disabilities.

Recently, Amway and champion cricket player Adam Gilchrist extended their support to a new program, 4 Learn and Loan, which provides sports equipment packs so children with disabilities can play with safer sports equipment.

Adam Gilchrist, Amway’s Nutriway Ambassador in Australia, was on hand to present a donation to the West Australia Disabled Sports Association at the Carson Street School.

“Playing sport can help keep you happy and healthy and everyone should be able to have a go,” Adam said. “I was thrilled to meet some of the students … some real champions here!”

The equipment packs give children with disabilities the opportunity to participate in sports and recreation activities with their peers. The equipment is designed for children with high support needs but can be modified to cater for all children.

Thanks to Kevin Lowe for sharing this story.

Amway was the only private enterprise to receive an award from the Taipei City Government earlier this month.

The Amway Hope Maker program received recognition for providing job opportunities to underserved populations and sponsoring educational resources for disadvantaged students in remote areas.

The award ceremony was held in the Taipei City Government Hall on January 10, 2012.

Congratulations to Amway Taiwan and all of its Hope Maker partners!

Closing out a week of stories about homes, we travel to Guatemala. However, this story encompasses many countries, because many Amway distributors and employees were part of this project.

It started with a group of Amway distributors from the United States, who travel to Guatemala every year to help build homes through Habitat for Humanity.

Last February, the program was brought to a greater scale, when Amway distributors and Amway Guatemala invited the wider Amway family to participate. Amway distributors and employees from the United States, Mexico, Barbados, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador took part in the project, constructing 12 homes for families.

Amway also contributed $500,000 toward the purchase of land, matching the $250,000 gift of Tim Foley, longtime Amway distributor and Amway Founders Council member. This will enable more than 40 homes to be constructed over the next 5 years.

This program was the inspiration for the launch of a formal partnership between Amway and Habitat for Humanity that stretched among the five other countries whose stories we covered this week.

Look for more projects in 2012!

In November, the Amway-Habitat for Humanity campaign extended to Costa Rica through a campaign that raised funds from the sale of select Amway products and through donations of a portion of annual renewal fees.

In total, $15,000 was collected by Amway Costa Rica and donated in November toward the construction of homes for families in Peñas Blancas, San Ramón de Alajuela. Amway volunteers helped in the construction of those homes.

Stay tuned for one of our largest Habitat for Humanity projects in Guatemala, which we will cover tomorrow!

Today’s story takes us further north to Central America – in La Libertad, in the municipality of San José Villanueva.

Amway El Salvador worked with Habitat for Humanity to hold a “Buy a Brick” campaign, where Amway matched donations by its distributors and employees.

More than $14,000 was raised for the project, covering the construction of two homes for families in need.

In October, Amway distributors and employees dedicated three days of volunteer time to build with the families, who now live in their own homes.

Check in tomorrow to see our next project in Costa Rica!

The next story we are following this week is from Cundinamarca, in the municipality of Soacha, near Bogotá.

Here, Amway Colombia partnered with distributors and employees to build two houses through Habitat for Humanity in October. A fundraising campaign raised $16,000 for construction costs.

More than 25 Amway distributors and employees participated two days of construction, working alongside the families.

Tomorrow we visit El Salvador for the next Habitat for Humanity project!

Continuing our series on home building in Central and South America, today we travel to São Paulo, Brazil for a Habitat for Humanity project that took place in September

At the Jardim Vale das Flores (“Garden Valley of the Flowers”), Amway distributors and employees renovated two homes for families in need.

Amway volunteers participated in the renovations, as well as donated $4,700 to cover the expenses.

Amway Brazil is also working with Habitat for Humanity to identify projects to support families that were devastated by severe flooding in Rio de Janeiro, with new homes to be built in 2012.

Watch for our next story from Colombia tomorrow!

There have been so many home building and renovation projects through Habitat for Humanity for families in need over the last year, that we are dedicating an entire week to follow the stories across six countries.

Our first stop is in Argentina, in La Matanza, a province of Buenos Aires. There, Amway Argentina worked with its distributors to launch a “Buy a Brick” campaign to raise money for family homes. They raised money by selling special Amway cleaning kits, as well as donating a portion of the annual renewal fees to the campaign.

They raised $8,000 to go toward the construction of a new home for a family, which took place in September.

Watch for our next story from Brazil tomorrow!

Children tend to follow the patterns of their parents, even if those paths are not the best for their future.

The New Initiatives program in India is introducing a new path for children whose parents are incarcerated, or who have been in trouble with the law themselves.

Working through the Amway Opportunity Foundation and partner Kishore Greh, Amway and its Business Owners established a new Computer & Technical Center in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The Center is set up inside the premises of a juvenile home. There, children are trained in the use of computer technology and other mechanical and electrical skills.

This training will provide new opportunities when the children are released from juvenile court, and will provide a new path for a better life.

Thanks to Raj Narain for sharing this story.