Would you like to help sponsor a little boy named Francisco from Colombia? He is the child on the far left in the photo. He lives in Cartagena, Colombia with his sister, baby brother, mother, and eight other people in horrible living conditions. Steve, a CI sponsor, recently visited family when he visited his sister, Steve's sponsored child in April. During the visit, Steve had an opportunity to take Francisco and his sister out to have a great time and to buy some new clothes and food. Steve also had a chance to revisit the place that they call home and from his video clips, you can see the poverty that these children live in.
When I saw the photos of the terrible living conditions of the home, I wondered if something could be done to help by getting a group of interested sponsors together to do a group sponsorship of little Francisco. I would like to sponsor him, but my funds are running low. He seems to be a sweet little boy who who is need of the same kind of assistance that his sister is receiving through sponsorship. His baby brother, Sammy, is too young for a sponsor and all of the children are in desperate need of support especially now that a new baby is on the way. Their mother is very young, unemployed, and there is no father to assist.
I know that many of us sponsor multiple children and a group sponsorship would help ease the burden as well as possibly provide additional assistance for this needy family. I have seen the positive effects of a group sponsorship. If you are interested in helping out, please visit the Yahoo Group below that is being set up to help sponsor Francisco. Details on how this can be done will be forthcoming as soon as I hear back from Alissa, one of the CI representatives. If we can get 12 people to commit, then each person will only need to contribute $22/year. This will make a difference in the young life of this child and for this family. Thank you.
I had seen this sweet boy on the website before, and had dismissed him based on the fact that he doesn't "fit" most of my "guidelines"... wrong country, two parent home, not as low of an income as I usually look for... When I saw him again, I just couldn't get him out of my mind. Last night I even dreamt about the difficulties of parenting a special needs child. Needless to say, he's been on my mind! Today I decided to call and just get some info on him. I found out that he had one sponsor before, but has been waiting for quite a while now for another. Does not attend school due to physical or mental disabilities. Two parents, one brother... they do have a toilet and running water in the home, as well as two beds. So he's not as bad off as some kids we've seen in the program, but still... the thought of him not having a sponsor to write to him and tell him he's handsome and loved and that someone outside of his family is rooting for him, it just got to me! Needless to say, I decided to sponsor him! He was added to my account while I was still on the phone with CI! Also I was able to request medical and educational reports (assuming the parents approve), and a report for what they might need (for a SNG).
This is Josep, 12-years old, from Gautemala! I will have to upload his older pics - they actually date back to 2002, so he's been in the program for quite awhile! Maybe Debbie can confirm how many sponsors he's had prior to me, and how long he's been waiting for a new sponsor? (Debbie, are you reading this??? LOL) I'm sure the woman on the phone said he had one sponsor, so either that one sponsored him for a very long time, he really has been waiting for awhile! Anyways, his photos are sooooooooooooo adorable! Also, I don't know if this is the work of CI, but his younger photos, his teeth are just rotting and horrible, and his new photos, they are very nice looking! Great to have access to dental care!!!
Is is very strange how some stuff cross your path of life.
One night of June 2010, I was dreaming about a very sweet and funny girl, we were playing on the beach and all she wanted was to be near me, I did not know who she was but she made me feel loved. As the dream continued she started crying and all she said was, "please help me".
When I woke up It just felt very real, so as usual, first thing I do in the mornings is turn on my tv, there it was, a Children International TV spot, and by then I knew it, I logged into the site and start looking (it was like being guided by some strange but strong feeling) for the child of who I had dreamed about, around 5 minutes of looking for her I started thinking to myself that I was crazy and that it was not possible to meet someone on your dreams, but for my surprise, hundred of pictures after there she was, THE SAME GIRL I HAD DREAMED ABOUT. It hit me, call it God, call it destiny, call it faith, but whatever it is, im sure it feels so good, it did not took me more than 5 minutes to start sponsoring her.
Her name is Delanyelis, it has been 3 months and I received her first letter, she wrote it herself, she likes to draw and to play with dolls, she has the sweetest smile ever and I only hope to meet her once again, but this time, on real life.
We all can contribute somehow to help children, it might be via CI, but it can be in your community, do something for others, the feeling is one of the best feelings you can ever get.
For Delanyelis that sweet little angel who found me on my dreams ....
This is Erika, 8 years old from Tabaco, Philippines, and with Jackeline, my most recent sponsored child. She has the typical interests and activities, and is in second grade. She apparently is both left-brained and right-brained, liking both Math and Writing. The whereabouts and history of Dad is unknown, and she lives with her mom and five siblings on $44 a month. There is an interesting age divide with the children. She has two brothers and a sister aged 14, 16, 20, she is 8, and there is a 1 year old brother and 2 year old sister. She has never been sponsored before. They live in a 3 room concrete block home with corrugated metal roof, running water, no electricity available, a coal stove, and an outdoor latrine. They sleep on the floor on mats.
I had been looking at the Philippines and India after hearing from several people the importance given education in those cultures. I wanted to help someone in poor enough circumstances that they could really need the help of CI to stay in school and do well.
Erika's family size and income made her stand out from the rest, but so did her wonderful expression. I confess to knowing little about the different ethnicities in the Philippines, so I can't surmise anything about her background, but while other little angelic-faced kids disappeared from the site, Erika hung out waiting on me. She was quite patient, all things considered. That's my good luck! She looks so frail and pensive in this shot, I want to not only help her with school, but maybe even fatten her up a little and put a big old smile on that awesome face!
This is my blog for Sohail! He is currently my only male sponsored child. His name on file is Mohammad Sohail, but with his welcome letter I learned that he actually goes by Sohail (it's not his last name like the report implies - apparently Indians do not always have last names). I began sponsoring Sohail at the beginning of June 2010. He had already been in the program since 2006 and had 2 sponsors before me. But I intend to be the last!
He is 11 and will be 12 in January. I was drawn to him because of his gigantic smile! He has just begun grade II. He seems to have gotten a late start on his education but he's doing well in school and progressing at a normal rate.
He lives with his parents and 3 siblings - one older brother, and two younger sisters. His income looks like it's dropped about $10 since June though, very unfortunate. His father is the breadwinner and works as a daily worker so monthly income is not going to be consistent.
July 2010
I got a welcome letter! It looks like Sohail still isn't writing yet. However, I'm hoping that will change this year now that he's staring grade II. That seems like a year most kids start putting together sentences in school. We shall see!
Letter:
"Dear sponsor, Ms. Clinton.
Hello, how are you. Sohail and his family welcomes you in this sponsorship programme. Sohail is reading in class II. He likes to play football and also likes to watching cartoon programmes im TV. He likes to eat cake, Magi, fruits etc. Sohail wants to know about you. Please send him letters.
Mira Shah on behalf of Sohail"
I did send him a letter the week after sponsoring him so hopefully I shall be getting a letter in reply to that as well! I'm surprised that he watches cartoons. A TV is not something I would have imagined him to have...I'm always learning something! I wonder if he watches and Bollywood. I'd love to mention it but I want to make sure it's something he does.
Oh and on the back he checked of that He likes to play with "bat and ball" and that he likes learning "rhymes". Does anyone know what Magi is? I tried to look it up. The closest I got is that it may be some sort of pre=packed noodles? I think I'm going to learn a lot from his letters!
August 2010
8/30/10 - I received my first non-welcome letter from Sohail! Again this one is written by a volunteer as he is not far enough in his studies to write yet (he's in Grade II). This was in response to a letter I sent him they day I began sponsoring him:
"Dear sponsor Dorothee auntie,
Please accept love from Sohail & his family. There are well & hope all of you are well. Sohail is very happy to get your nice letter. His is very happy to know that you stay in New York. Sohail stays in Kolkata which is very nice also. Sohail has 2 brothers & 2 sisters. He is very happy to know that your birthday is in October. He will pray for your long life & well-being. I convey his best wishes for your birthday. His parents also send best wishes to you. Sohail is very happy to know about you. His nick name is Paltu. He is happy to know about you. He has drawn a picture of home for you.
Yours sincerely,
(volunteer name...can't read off the scan so will fill in when I actually have it in my hands)"
He seems very happy to have heard from me. I'm not sure if that's just common phrasing, but I'm thinking that perhaps his last two sponsors never wrote him? And I love that he keeps talking about my birthday even though it's still far off and must have been very far off when this letter was written. Still the sentiment is very sweet.
I did learn from this letter though that he must have one more brother (only 1 brother, 2 sisters on his sheet). I'm guessing he's an older brother that must have moved out for one reason or another. Usually the sons stay in the same house, so I'm rather curious about what he moved for. Not that I'll ask as I don't feel like it's any of my business, but still...curiosity rules! I tried to see if his nick name means anything and from what I gather it means 'pet'? Like a pet animal. Seems like a cute affectionate nick name.
The drawing of the house is interesting as well. It looks like a 'normal' hosue but it has two side-by-side doors. I wonder if he lives in a two-family home. His place does seem very small, and I think I've gathered that he's actually in the city as opposed to the rural regions, so it's possible that he lives in some sort of multi-family building.
I was browsing the CI site which is a big no no for me. I came across this little girl who I believe may have cancer. She has a bald little head. She is 7 years old and from Columbia. There is no way to know if she does have cancer (and I totally hope I am wrong!!!!) but if she does I think she could really benefit from sponsorship. And the support especially if there is a group. I know there are a few group sponsorships already but if anyone is interested in getting into this new sponsorship please let me know! Here is her profile:
If we get 6 people it would be $44 a year. If we can get 12 it would only be $22 a year. If interested please message me. I will be putting this group together.
has anyone else ever done that ha. Back when I started sponsoring Gerson there was a little boy from Chile that caught my eye,I debated long and hard between him and Gerson and ended up taking on Gerson,at the time my plans were to just sponsor out of the 3 countries I already had children in which would be Ecuador,Guatemala,and The Philippines. Well a couple of months passed and of course I found myself back on the CI site looking at children well automatically Allan and Lucero jumped out at me and I just could not say no even though Lucero was not in a country I was already sponsoring in. After I confirmed my sponsorship with them I noticed that the little fella from Chile was still waiting for a sponsor well of course it broke my heart but I knew at that time I couldn't take him on too since I just took on two more children. So anyways I told myself as I do everytime that I had to avoid the CI site because it was becoming dangerous for me lol. Well the avoiding went well for about a month,last night I decided just to see if any new kiddos has been added and some had,but also in the midst of them was the little guy from Chile,I didn't have the heart to leave the site without sponsoring him,so here I am now with 9 kids,I hope and pray that I can make a difference in the lives of these 9 kids even if it means I have to do without. Anyways I would like to introduce 13 year old Cristofer Andres to you. He lives in Valparaiso,Chile with his mom,dad,and two little brothers,their monthly income is $97. He will be turning 14 in August and so I will be sending him a package soon,does anyone know of anything to give a boy of that age? My oldest sponsored boy is 8 so I am not really sure what to buy for a boy this old,any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God bless!!
Victoria's birthday is coming up, and I want to send her a little present. She is 9 years old living on Honduras. I am planning on sending via USPS in a Priority Flat Envelope (I think that's the cheapest), so I want to put as many things as possible. Some of the things I had in mind were:
* Stickers * Photos * Printed photoshopped images of her throughout her years in the program * Colored pencils
But as I guy, I will admit that I could use more suggestions for this.
In fact, I think CI should put a page on their website, suggesting items that sponsors can send to their child, according to the child's location, age, gender, and interests. Even though they warn sponsors about packages being lost. We still want to!
I know we can send the Special Gift too, but it is still neat if we package small things ourselves.
Thelolos and I have been talking about sponsoring twins together for quite some time now, and finally had the opportunity to do so! So we are proud new sponsors of Elizabeth and Sandra! This is my last kid (actually for real, but that doesn't count Penzo, the little sister I've been waiting for, she's already mine in my heart so I'm still excited to sponsor her, and anxiously check my account daily to see if she's on there yet!) and Thelolos third kid! She is sponsoring Sandra (in green) and I am sponsoring Elizabeth (in pink)!
The twins live with both of their parents (unemployed mom and "driver" dad who brings in $30 a month), and three siblings, which appears to include 13-year old twin brothers!
Their home has one bedroom and one multi-use room, with concrete block walls, concrete floor and corrugated metal roof. They have access to community faucets and latrines, and electricity is available. They sleep on the floor on a mat.
The girls are too young to attend school or have chores. Both enjoy playing with dolls and playing with friends, as well as singing and dancing! Oh what I wouldn't give to see these two putting on a little number! One day!!!
I'm so excited to be sponsoring side-by-side with Thelolos!! This is going to be fun, and great to watch these two little ones grow and blossom!
Today I received word from CI in response to the email I sent them about Elizabeth, in Zambia, who does not attend school because her family/guardian cannot afford to send her. Well, I am so happy to say that CI visited with Elizabeth's family and gathered the information for me, and all it will take to enroll Elizabeth in nursery school will be $135! This will cover school supplies, a school uniform and sweater, shoes and socks, PE clothes, and the school fees. What great news! It makes me so happy to know that soon, Elizabeth will be able to start school. which is SO important for her future. And I'm so fortunate that I'm able to help her with this!
Our mailman has crept around our mailbox in the last weeks trying avoiding us and our tedious inquires as the poor mailman in Mrs Hyacinth. We have been even worse than her! In the 7th week after starting sponsoring Geraldine we received the first letter from her. I can tell it's all worth the waiting. She is sponsored by my husband ("godetomater"). For strange reasons we chose to sponsor a child each and not together as my husband wanted to sponsor a girl and I wanted to sponsor a boy. I am sponsoring Daniel from Chile and still awaiting his first letter But of course Geraldine is 'my girl' too, and I will make this blog for her knowing that my husband will make her an even fancier one. So I am sure you will get to know Geraldine, La Princesa de Guayaquil!! Her story is heartbreaking: We asked CI for the sponsor history, as the photos in the album was dated from 2007 and the last picture was taken in Dec 2009. CI replied that Geraldine had NOT been sponsored before and Debbie was so kind to clarify the answer on the Message Board. She wrote: I did a little more digging on this Geraldin and Daniel and found that Geraldin was enrolled in our program on 5/31/2007. We sent her information to to 17 potential sponsors and no one wanted her. On January 13, 2009, we assigned her to sponsor whose first child had left the program. On that date we notified our staff in Guayaquil to begin giving Geraldin benefits. So she waited about 18 months from the time she enrolled until she began receiving benefits. As jenkinsg (a Lifter here) explained, out staff would have visited her home to make an appt. for her to come to the community center to update her personal information, have a new photo taken and get her first medical check-up. Unfortunately for Geraldin, the sponsor she was assigned to did not want to sponsor her either, so she was placed back on our waiting list. We did not find another sponsor for her until June of this year ( We were the lucky ones to find her!). However, because we had notified our field staff that she had a sponsor, she began receiving benfits in January 2009 and they continue to this day. ----------------------------- Further to this the family record tell us that the mother abandoned family! and the father is listed as separated and not present and with an empty line for "Occupation"Geraldine has an older sister listed on the record. They live with relatives. It still bring tears to my eyes, and even more when we received the letter. She is such a strong, intelligent, lovely girl. I hope she has received the SNG we sent end June. My husband asked the staff to find something personal for her, that would make her happy and the reply from CI was very personal and warm as if the staff have kept an eye on her?(Our confirmation on the SNG for Daniel was more formally, maybee just different standard letters from the different fields but we WANT to believe that she is treated specially, she deserves it so much!) Her name is Geraldine but she is listed at CI as Geraldin, so I have spelled her name wrong from time to time. That will not happen again ;) We sent an online letter to her early after we sponsored her, but I dont think she replies to that, this is more a presentation of herself. She has the most beautiful handwriting. I will scan the letter as soon as I can. Her first letter in translation: I thank you for choosing me as your sponsored child! I live in Guayaquil and I am writing these lines from my beautiful city. Let me tell you(this was the pre-printed part) that I am in the 7th year of school (which is explained as 6th grade, equivalent as 7th basic year). I have good grades. My favorite subjects are: Mathematics, Language and Science. I like very much to study at school. I have many friends (amigos y amigas) with whom I share my emotions and games, for example I ride bycicle and play with the dolls. I also play in the park and other games. My favorite food is rice with beans and roast chicken. I also like Ceviches de Camaron and Encebollado (pictures) I like animals like dogs.
It's official! I'm going to the Dominican Republic to meet Patricia and Nayeli!
I was waiting from confirmation from the field office there that the girls would be available during the dates I had in mind, and I got that confirmation yesterday. Bought the plane tickets/hotel reservations today!
I'll be going for a short trip Oct 27 - 31 (spending one day with each girl on the 28 & 29), and I'll be taking my 8-year old daughter, Jessie, and 11-year old son, Michael!
I need to make some decisions on what I want to do with the girls, based on the email, and get back to them. They ask if I want to visit their homes, take them shopping, take them out to eat, or take them to an activity! What fun!
As most of you know, I recieved FIVE letters from sponsor kids last week! Three of them, I quickly wrote back, included stickers, photos and all that fun stuff!
But I'm wondering if I should wait on replying to the next two...
1) Dianne's letter of thanks for her birthday gift. Before she sent this, I had sent my first letter to her (which was a reply to her FIRST letter), and I'm sure she recieved my letter after her gift, so I expect that she'll be sending a response to my letter soon. Do I wait until I receive that, so we don't cross letters?
2) Remar's letter in response to my first letter to her. After she sent this, I'm sure she received her birthday gift from me, so I'm expecting a thank you letter from her soon (basically just the opposite of Dianne's circumstances! LOL!) Do I wait here, too, so letters aren't crossed?
Of course it's exciting to send out letters, and I hate to make the kids wait! But I don't want to add any confusion with crossed letters!!! Oh both girls are from The Philippines (one in Legaspi and the other in Quezon). WWYD?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who is thankful for having such a great community of people to be with! I wanted to let you all know how much your support and encouragement means!
Yesterday, as I was out of town most of the day, I came home and uploaded some things both here and on Facebook - info about Joseph leaving, news of Amina, Dianne's letter, and photos of my own kids.
After uploading all of those things here and n FB, I spent the next 1 1/2 hours reading and responding to messages from Lifters! Your comments, replies, understanding, etc means the world to me, and it really felt so good to hear from people who really care about my sponsorship experience, as well as me as a person! Now in contrast to all those messages from Lifters, I had only 2 or 3 Facebook "friends" (people who are supposed to be best friends, family, people I've known for 20 years, etc) respond to the same things, and with much less interest or enthusiasm. I would have found that disenheartening in the past, but not now, as I was filled with such joy from all of my interactions with you wonderful Lifters, and nothing can bring that down!
Just makes me feel like I've really found my own little place in the world here at LiftOne, with such a great group of like-minded compassionate, caring, giving people!
In 1987, when I was 26, my father died, leaving me some life insurance and a few thousand dollars in property (my mother had died 9 years earlier). The group house where I'd been living with friends since college graduation had broken up recently, I'd been working a "real" (if low-paying) job at a publishing company for 2.5 years, and it was time to establish adult finances. Over the next year, I used my inheritance to pay off my (admittedly small, compared today's) student loans and my car loan, set money aside to finish my Masters degree, put a down payment on a 75 year-old townhouse in a run-down area of Washington, DC, started contributing to the profit-sharing plan, and created a plan for charitable contributions. One of the things I wanted to do was sponsor a child in India, so (if I'm not making things up in a haze of rememberance), that became my New Year's resolution for 1989.
Easier said than done. With no internet, of course, my resources for choosing a sponsorship organization were magazine advertisements. To my surprise, only one organization seemed to be operating a sponsorship program in India, Children International. I sent in the little coupon, which gave choices for sponsoring a girl or a boy, in Asia or Latin America. I chose "girl" and next to "Asia" wrote in "India." Monthly sponsorship payments were $12 per month--considerably less than the organizations, which ran closer to $20 at the time. Sponsors could write as frequently as desired, but only received 2 letters per year from their child, which was one way that costs were contained.
Last year, I learned for the first time that the official launch date for the Sahay project was March, 1989 when Jim Cook blogged about the 20th anniversary celebration (a posting I can't link to because they didn't move the old posts to LiftOne, but the url redirects here). So I must have been one of their earliest sponsors.
1989 (Age 5-6)
In due time, my Sponsorship packet arrived (very much like the one you get today; in fact I don't think much has been edited since then, which is why the information conflicts with what's on the web site). I was assigned a 6 year-old girl named Rina Rani Samanta, born June 16, 1983, who lived with her parents and her older brother and sister. A second sister was married and out of the house. Her father was in his 50s and her mother was in her late 40s, older than you would expect. But my parents were older when I was born, so I identified with that. Her brother was only 6 years younger than me.
Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to save the Progress Reports, so I can't say for sure what her father earned, but I think it was $6 or $7 per month. I think his occupation was listed as "bricklayer" (I don't know why I'd think that if it wasn't), although Rina would later say he was a farmer. But my grandfather, a small farmer who struggled to feed his children, worked in the nearby brickyard in addition to the coal mines. So it makes perfect sense to me. Her mother kept the home, of course.
The first letter was written on 3 sheets of ruled newsprint, size A4. It read:
Dear Sponsor, Writer of this letter Mr. Chandan Mandal, Case Worker, expresses the feelings of Rina Samanta your sponsored child. She sends you her thanks. Rina tells you she always obey her parents advice and respect them very much. She likes to hear funny stories. She [is] presenting you with a picture drawn by herself [misplaced] and a page of alphabets and numbers written by herself which attaches with this letter. She invites you to see her. If you come she will be very happy. Rina sends you her love and her family sends you their greetings. Your's sincerly, Chandan Mandal, Case Worker.
In the fall, a new photo and the next letter arrived on 2 pieces of newprint, trimmed down to size to save postage costs. With 4 months or so of school under her belt, Rina had already mastered Bengali script and spelling and wrote for herself, partly with a fountain pen: Dear Sponsor, I am so happy you will be my sponsor and my friend. I think you for my good thinking for my future life. I am very much pleasure to get your greetings card. I love to learn and play. My parents and my teachers love me also. Please come to my house one day. It will be a great fun. I end my letter here with love. Please take my salutations and pray to God for best wishes. Love from your child, Rina Samanta.
At the time I had a co-worker whose parents were from West Bengal, and who had learned to read and write Bengali as a child. A little skeptical that a child would learn to write so well so fast, I showed her the letter and asked whether the translation was correct and whether the language was age-appropriate. Her Bengali was rusty, but she was able to verify those things.
1990 (Age 6-7)
April
Dear Sponsor,
I have one brother and two sisters. I love them. I obey my parents. I go to school in new dresses, shoes, and keeping books in new box.[That must have been their Easter gift.] I wish you a happy [Indian] New Year. Thank you for your charitable mind. The whole of my family expresses thanks for the same. With love your child, Rina Samanta
The translation was typed (manual typewriter) with some translation errors corrected by hand. Some had crossed out "advice" after parents (similar to the phrasing in the case worker's letter). "Thank you" was originally "Congratulations" [for your charitable mind]. And "child" started out as "son." Also attached was a drawing of a flower growing in a flower pot, a motif known as a "buta" that is very common in Indian art and on Indian textiles. Rina really, really likes butas, because another one arrived with her August letter (text missing) and many more thereafter.
1991 (age 7-8)
April
With her April letter, Rina branched out (literally) to a "gamta buti," which is a more sophisticated potted plant with different kinds of flowers. Also a common Indian motif. Additionally, she's added a boat, and what is probably a rice paddy.
Dear Sponsor: This letter will bring you the happy news that I am well. And every day I go to school. My parent[s] love me very much. We play in the afternoon at BANI MANDIR PARK. In the evening I learn my lesson attentively. I like to see and draw the picture. Pray to God a happy and prosperous life to you and your family. With love, your child, Rina Samanta
Of course, back in 1991 there was no internet. But a few years ago, while organizing my old letters, I googled BANI MANDIR PARK. I found the web page for BANI MANDIR, which partners with CI in the village of Khordanhala. Searching the CI site for Khordanhala produced these results: Alumni Update and Sponsorship Produces Results, which are Part 1 and Part 2 of the same story. So, I have inferred that Rina lives or lived in Khordanhala
August
Dear Sponsor, Hope you all are quite well there. We are quite well. I have been getting benefit from the programme. I go to school every day. I play with my friends in the afternoon. I shall be very glad if you come to us. With love your son [er, child/daughter], Rina Samanta
And for something different, a drawing of a house with a tiled roof, window grilles, and a parrot.
1992 (age 8-9)
April
Dear Sponsor, Hope you are in sound body and mind. We are all well. I learn my lesson attentively. I go to school every day. I am interested to read Bengali. Play with my brother and friends. [Brother is 23 years old now...] At night I take my meal with my parent[s] and brother and sister. I am receiving all the benefits from this programme. If you come here I will be very pleased. I convey my sincerest love and gratitude. Your loving child, Rina Samanta
August
Dear Sponsor, First I convey my love and best wishes to all. I hope everybody is fine. Every morning I get down to study[at the project center] and at midday I go to school. In the afternoon, I play with my friends in the park. In the evening, I study again. I like drawing pictures. I draw whenever I have time. We are all fine. Please convey my love and respect to all. I will be writing more letters in future. Please do write to me also. Yours lovingly, Rina Samanta
1993 (age 9) -- The 1993 photo and September letter are missing. I'm hoping I have a cache (or caches) of items put away somewhere that I will find one of these days...
March (Note the tidy handwriting and picture of my cat)
Dear Sponsor,
Hope you are all well. We are all fine. Every morning I study and then go to school in the afternoon. I have many friends in school. We all study, play and chat together. There is a flower garden in our school. We plant trees there and water them. In my leisure time I help my mother in household work.
I end my letter with love and regards to you all. I will write to you again later.
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
1994 (Age 10-11)--Photo missing
March
Dear Sponsor,
We are fine. Hope you are also well. I get all sorts of facilities from this project. I have my health checked regularly. I go to school every day.
My father works in the fields of cultivation. My mother works at home throughout the day and I help my mother. I bring water from the tube-well of our locality and collect fuel for cooking.
Hope you and the rest of your family are fine. I convey my love, thanks and greetings to all at the end.
Yours ever, Rina Samanta
September
Dear Sponsor,
Hope you and your family are well. We are all well. I go to school every day and study attentively. At home I look after my younger brothers and sisters [I think she means relatives; cousins or nieces and nephews. Her siblings are all much older than she.] In my free time I help my mother. I like to do household work. In the evening I study. Then we all go to bed after listening to stories from my father. I end my letter here. I convey my regards to your family.
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
1995--Age 11-12
March--Found in the '96 Folder!
Dear Sponsor.
At first I convey my hearty love and best wishes. Hope you are all fine. We are all fine here. I am studying every day dilligently. I am getting the benefit of this prgramme regularly. I go to school every day. I have many friends there. I study and play with them. We livein a village. There are green field[s], muddy roads, huts and many ponds here.
With respect and love to you all,
Yours ever,
Rina Samanta
September--The inauguration of Stationery...
Dear Sponsor. We fine. I get all the benefits of this project. I study attentively and go to school regularly. Our school is within our village. Here 300 students study. Hope you are all well. I convey my love and regards to you all. Yours sincerely, Rina Samanta
(I think this is a pineapple, but it has leaves at both ends so maybe someone can correct me...)
1996--Age 12-13
March
Dear Sponsor,
Hope all of you are well. We are well. There are many mango, jackfruit, tamarind trees and ponds in our viallage. We grow paddy and vegetables in our village field and we use the brick road to got to school and market. During the village fair, I enjoy very much with my friends.
With lots of love and regards,
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
Prior to 1996, I think I had begun sending more than the requested amount for holiday gifts, and getting photos back of what was purchased. The fact that I don't have ANY of these photos at hand suggests I carefully organized them away... somewhere...But I remember there were photos of Rina in "festival" clothing that had been purchased, different from the salwar kameez that they buy now. It was very ornate and looked very heavy, more like something Native American or North Asian than what one thinks of as Indian. (There's an example coming up in the next post, but the outfit is cotton and not as heavy and she's not such a little girl anymore!)
There were also photos of her father with a lantern on one occasion, and a big heavy-duty water pump on another. That was the first IGP--he was going to use it on his land, then rent it out to other farmers to get their land properly irrigated (or dried out, as necessary). Another gift, which I think was for $100, bought big wooden window and door frames something like the ones Sahida's family bought, but more ornately carved around the frame I think, and with wooden/bamboo vertical bars to deter intruders.
However, in 1996 it looks like I decided to start sending additional money with my quartely sponsorshp payments. I made my charitable contributions quarterly then, and as my income increased I had increased the amount I was giving to my local charities. I probably wanted my CI contributions to keep pace. (And with no web site, sponsoring an additional child wouldn't have occurred to me.) I imagine the monthly contribution was about $16 then, making the quarterly amount $48, and I added $100 and rounded it up to $150. Which prompted THE LETTER.
Now, I'm sure Mr. Gripkey (Jim Cook's predecessor) is a very nice man and remembered affectionately by everyone at CI. But something about his Dickensian/Rowlingesque quality of "Gripkey" (combined with the geneal overkill of a 2 page letter) makes the main point of the letter sound that much more dramatic:"Thank you for your generous gift of $150....
"I understand that you wish to provide additional gifts for Rina. We wish we were able to do that but, because of conditions which are unique to our project in India, we have had to establish a policy which prohibits sending additional presents of any kind for sponsored children and their families in those areas.
"In these projects, singling out one child in the community, even with a small present, could cause serious harm to that child and his or her family. Because people are so poor and live in such crowded conditions--more so than in any other project--they often become jealous of families or children who receive more than they do.
"When one family is favored in any way, others in the community often become violent, destroying the family's home and causing personal injury to family members.
"I know you may wish to provide an extra treat [$150?] for your sponsored child from time to time, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to cause her or her family any undue suffering.
"Please be assured, however, that gifts you send to purchase presents for holiday occasions such as Christmas, Easter and birthdays do not cause problems for the children and their families. This is because we provide every child with a gift on these occasions, so no one feels left out." Then he explains the Emergency Fund for another 10 paragraphs. I've never quite understood why getting "even a small present" outside holiday periods would cause problems, but getting a much larger present than everyone else didn't. Unless the presence of an actual donor behind the holiday gifts was particularly well-understood--kind of ironic, since all children get gifts whether their sponsors contribute for them or not. And I guess someone caught the fact that part of the money was for the regular payment.
But anyway, I do have a photo for one gift sent that year (I have 2 actually, but they're basically the same), which purchased the almirah that has become so familiar, a clock, and an elaborate salwar kameez for Rina.
Dear Sponsor, I hope you are well. My family has been able to buy a steel almirah, [and] a wall clock with your donation. I have bought a pretty set of clothes for myself. Thank you for your kindness. We are all very grateful to you. Your loving child, Rina Samanta
I think there was a report that kind of made it clear that family didn't have a clock before, so finally having one would be very useful. I like the way Rina asserts that "I have bought...for myself." Growing up. And she drew a picture of some sort of fowl--chicken, pigeon, goose, I'm not sure.
1997--13-14
This is my absolute favorite photo of Rina. She looks so pretty, and happy and confidant.
March
Dear Sponsor, Hope all of you are well. We are also well. I get all benefits regularly from this project. When we are sick we go to the project clinic where project doctor checks us & gives medicines from clinic. While examining the doctor gives us advice on cleanliness and proper use of latrines and water. We try to follow his advice. Please accept my love and regards, yours lovingly, Rina Samanta.
April - SNG Report completed by S. Banerjee, Administrative Officer, Sponsor Services
The special donation that was sent for Rina Samanta is being utilised to purchase the following items:
A. Clothing - $12
B. Shoe/Slipper - $2
C. Bedding - $52 - (mattress, pillows, bedsheets, pillow covers, give them a better sleep than sleeping on plain wooden bed.)
D. Kitchen Utensils - $34 - (These utensils help them in cooking and keeping their food in them safe and clean.
Total: $100
Dear Sponsor, We are all fine. I have bought a lot of things for myself and my family. Thank you very much for your help. We appreciate it. We are very happy. May God always bless you & keep you happy. I end here with all my love. Your loving child, Rina Samanta
September
Dear Sponsor,
I wish you and your family success and good health. As for me and my family, we are fine. My school is near our village. I go to school regularly walking. I am grateful to this Project as I get books, pen, school dress and other necessary things. I study in the Project Coaching Centre. Besides school books I like reading the newspaper and story books.
I thank you for everything, with love and respect,
Your loving child,
Rina Samanta
1998--14-15
March
Dear Sponsor,
I hope you are all fine. We are all fine here. I would like to share with you how I spend my day. I wake up at 6 a.m., have breakfast, then go to the Project Coaching Centre to study. I come home at 9 a.m. and help in the housework. Then I get ready and go to school at 11 a.m. After school, i play with my friends and study in the evening. At 9:00 p.m. we have dinner together and then go to bed.
I thank you for all the help you send me through this programme. I end here with love, Your sponsored child, Rina Samanta
July--SNG Report completed by U. Mitra, Administrative officer, Sponsor Services (Birthday)
"The Special Gift Donation sent to Rina has been used for buying a milk cow. The family use some of the milk, while some will be sold as an Income Generating Project."
1 milk cow = $100
Dear Sponsor,
I am well. We have been able buy a cow, with donation that you have sent. We shall sell part of the millk, while the rest will be consumed at home.
Thank you very much for your kindness and generosity. We shall never forget it. Gratefully yours, Rina Samanta
I think the outfit she's wearing in the photo was purchased with one of the smaller gifts. It seems to be her favorite, since she's either wearing it or the shawl from it in almost every photo afterward.
September
Dear Sponsor, strong>Greetings! We are all fine here. I live in a village of West Bengal in India. We have six seasons-summer, winter, monsoons, pre-autumn, autumn, and spring. The summers are not very hot.[Ha!--or maybe she means compared to spring.]There is a lot rain during monsoons when rice is cultivated. Autumn is the festive season and in winter you get a lot of vegetables. I have greatly benefitted through this programme and I thank you for all your help. Your loving child, Rina Samanta
If you've been wondering how long blog postings can can be, it's THIS long. Story continued here.
I have always wanted to sponser a child. Since I was a child myself and saw images of children living in poverty, even to my youthful sensibilites this seemed like an incredible injustice in this world. Years went by...recently, after having my own children, the idea of sponsoring a child kept returning to me again and again. I discussed it over and over with my husband and researched different organizations offering sponsorship opportunities. I kept coming back to Children International because of their mission and examples of success in the field. Finally, my husband must have gotten tired of me just TALKING about sponsorship, because at Christmastime, he surprised me with a girl he sponsored in my name from Columbia. What is even more special, is that this little girl has the same birthday as me! I've corresponded a few times, mostly with her mother because Nyelis is still so young (and adorable!) I'm so excited to continue along this sponsorship journey and have it enrich my life and share this journey with my own two boys as well.
Every Monday afternoon our Sponsorship Relations Department receives a package from our headquarters’ office with news for fortunate sponsored children.
What’s the news about? It is correspondence from sponsors, and it brings different sorts of surprises that children enjoy. The most important thing is that, for a sponsored child, receiving a letter from his or her sponsor is something meaningful.
Like Jonathan says: “When I received the letter I felt joyful because I was going to learn about my sponsor. I think my sponsor writes to me because he also wants to know about me and that makes me feel very good.” So here he is proudly showing that letter he received.
Children also like writing back to their sponsors, like Yomaira mentioned: “I like that my sponsor writes to me because I can get to know her. She writes to me and I can also write her lots of letters. To me, that shows affection and love. I feel happy for having her as a friend.” That is why Yomaira took her time to write nice words to her sponsor.
These letters, photos and cards sponsored children receive make them feel very special, most of all when they get them on special occasions. The Sponsorship Relations Department receives an average of 120 correspondences a week. That makes 5,760 a year. But at Quito Agency, there are about 22,500 sponsored children, which means there are 16,740 children wishing to receive news about their sponsors! And that is just the Quito Agency.
I bet there are many children in all of our Agencies eager to get a photo or a note, just to feel closer to that person they are writing and smiling to every time they have the chance to show how grateful they are.
And I also bet it would be great to let your sponsored child know you think of him or her.
Would you take a minute to send a note or a photo to make your sponsored child feel nice?
I was so touched by the letter from Liseth in response to her birthday gift, I called CI to see if she had any siblings that needed sponsoring. I mainly just wanted to find a way to assist the family in any way possible. She did have a brother still waiting sponsorship, but as it turned out, so was she. Apparently, she wasn't removed from the web site because she was sponsored; she was just part of the regular rotation off the site.
It took me approximately 1.238 seconds to communicate that I wanted to sponsor her. It only took that long because there is some delay required to actually formulate words in such a way as to be clearly understood.
I have no idea how I will do this if they come back and tell me that Karen's sister is available -- I am sponsoring two children with other organizations as well -- but I'll find a way to make it work.
I admire the Spanish tax system. No matter how hard you try to avoid unexpected results, they will always and always bring huge surprises into your life.. I think it's a part of the system.
But this year was different - still surprising though - to put it mildly! In fact I had to google-translate and ask my Spanish collegues what the sentence at the bottom line in the tax letter said. We got money BACK?!
My little family and I walked around for some days looking like three yellow smileys and then it was time for sending two SNG's for Geraldine and Daniel. SNG's are not in our budget as a common thing, this will possibly be the only one for a loooong time, but wow, it felt good!
In the meantime Geraldine's photo was updated the 12th of August. We got the first real smile from La Princesa de Guyaquil! And now I know that she smiles to us (and a little bit to the Spanish tax system) because she is wearing the blouse which was in the SNG!!! (we got the report yesterday, it took 8 weeks, but who is counting!)
The letter (our third from her, we are the spoiled ones here :-)) gave us an idea of what an amazing girl we have got.She thanks us for the gifts (lots of clothes for her, CI had free hands to decide what to buy) and then she wrote:
I can tell you that I have done very well at school, and in all my exams. I want to have good grades because I want to show them to you when you come (!) I want to be a great doctor. This is my goal, and this is why I study so hard. I know that I am going to be someone in life. I want to be able to take care of my own children in the future.
And the the preprinted goodbye...
Geraldine
Her mother abandoned family, her father is not present. She lives with relatives. SHE wants to make a difference for her own children in the future.
It's late but I just found a new photo of Dianne in my online account, and thought this is the perfect opportunity to write a blog about her! Although I have only been sponsoring her since April of this year, Dianne is already one of my favorite sponsor kids (shhhh, don't tell the others!) Aside from being as cute as a button, she writes such wonderful letters and is such a sweet and smart young lady! There are deep thoughts going on behind those thoughtful eyes of hers!
Dianne just turned eight-years old, and lives withher single father and nine-year old brother. The mother's absence is unexplained, but from Dianne's letters, it sounds like she may still have contact with her mother. Her father is a daily laborer and brings in about $60 a month. Dianne has been a part of C.I. since at least early 2009, although I am unsure if she has had a sponsor prior to me or not.
Dianne and her family live in a one multi-use room home wihth wood walls, thatch roof and concrete floor. They have a community pump for water, non-regulated electricity and latrine. Dianne sleeps on the floor with a matress. She is a teeny tiny little thing at 3' 8" and 37 pounds. She attends school and from her letters, it seems as if she is learning well and takes in everything she is taught! She enjoys art, playing wtih friends, and dancing. Her chore is running errands.
My favorite thing that Dianne has told me in her letter, aside from the happy advice to "smile", is that she knows that studying leads to a bright future and that "knowledge is the only thing that cannot be steal from me". This girl indeed has a bright future ahead of her, no matter what her environmental circumstances are! To me, she is a shining star across the skies and into my life!
Blog Posts With the Most Comments
Let's Lift One More Together Let's Lift One More Together
Would you like to help sponsor a little boy named Francisco from Colombia? He is the child on the far left in the photo. He lives in Cartagena, Colombia with his sister, baby brother, mother, and eight other people in horrible living conditions. Steve, a CI sponsor, recently visited family when he visited his sister, Steve's sponsored child in April. During the visit, Steve had an opportunity to take Francisco and his sister out to have a great time and to buy some new clothes and food. Steve also had a chance to revisit the place that they call home and from his video clips, you can see the poverty that these children live in.
When I saw the photos of the terrible living conditions of the home, I wondered if something could be done to help by getting a group of interested sponsors together to do a group sponsorship of little Francisco. I would like to sponsor him, but my funds are running low. He seems to be a sweet little boy who who is need of the same kind of assistance that his sister is receiving through sponsorship. His baby brother, Sammy, is too young for a sponsor and all of the children are in desperate need of support especially now that a new baby is on the way. Their mother is very young, unemployed, and there is no father to assist.
I know that many of us sponsor multiple children and a group sponsorship would help ease the burden as well as possibly provide additional assistance for this needy family. I have seen the positive effects of a group sponsorship. If you are interested in helping out, please visit the Yahoo Group below that is being set up to help sponsor Francisco. Details on how this can be done will be forthcoming as soon as I hear back from Alissa, one of the CI representatives. If we can get 12 people to commit, then each person will only need to contribute $22/year. This will make a difference in the young life of this child and for this family. Thank you.
Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sponsorsforfrancisco/
You Tube Clips from Steve's Visit
Francisco gets a new top from his sister's sponsor.
You Tube Clips from Steve's Visit- Francisco with his sister on a visit to a store with Steve. It would be great if he could have some new toys too!
The entrance to the family's home:
Inside of the home:
I've joined the Central Americ I've joined the Central America ranks
I had seen this sweet boy on the website before, and had dismissed him based on the fact that he doesn't "fit" most of my "guidelines"... wrong country, two parent home, not as low of an income as I usually look for... When I saw him again, I just couldn't get him out of my mind. Last night I even dreamt about the difficulties of parenting a special needs child. Needless to say, he's been on my mind! Today I decided to call and just get some info on him. I found out that he had one sponsor before, but has been waiting for quite a while now for another. Does not attend school due to physical or mental disabilities. Two parents, one brother... they do have a toilet and running water in the home, as well as two beds. So he's not as bad off as some kids we've seen in the program, but still... the thought of him not having a sponsor to write to him and tell him he's handsome and loved and that someone outside of his family is rooting for him, it just got to me! Needless to say, I decided to sponsor him! He was added to my account while I was still on the phone with CI! Also I was able to request medical and educational reports (assuming the parents approve), and a report for what they might need (for a SNG).
This is Josep, 12-years old, from Gautemala! I will have to upload his older pics - they actually date back to 2002, so he's been in the program for quite awhile! Maybe Debbie can confirm how many sponsors he's had prior to me, and how long he's been waiting for a new sponsor? (Debbie, are you reading this??? LOL) I'm sure the woman on the phone said he had one sponsor, so either that one sponsored him for a very long time, he really has been waiting for awhile! Anyways, his photos are sooooooooooooo adorable! Also, I don't know if this is the work of CI, but his younger photos, his teeth are just rotting and horrible, and his new photos, they are very nice looking! Great to have access to dental care!!!
A dream ... A dream ...
Is is very strange how some stuff cross your path of life.
One night of June 2010, I was dreaming about a very sweet and funny girl, we were playing on the beach and all she wanted was to be near me, I did not know who she was but she made me feel loved. As the dream continued she started crying and all she said was, "please help me".
When I woke up It just felt very real, so as usual, first thing I do in the mornings is turn on my tv, there it was, a Children International TV spot, and by then I knew it, I logged into the site and start looking (it was like being guided by some strange but strong feeling) for the child of who I had dreamed about, around 5 minutes of looking for her I started thinking to myself that I was crazy and that it was not possible to meet someone on your dreams, but for my surprise, hundred of pictures after there she was, THE SAME GIRL I HAD DREAMED ABOUT. It hit me, call it God, call it destiny, call it faith, but whatever it is, im sure it feels so good, it did not took me more than 5 minutes to start sponsoring her.
Her name is Delanyelis, it has been 3 months and I received her first letter, she wrote it herself, she likes to draw and to play with dolls, she has the sweetest smile ever and I only hope to meet her once again, but this time, on real life.
We all can contribute somehow to help children, it might be via CI, but it can be in your community, do something for others, the feeling is one of the best feelings you can ever get.
For Delanyelis that sweet little angel who found me on my dreams ....
Meet Erika Meet Erika
This is Erika, 8 years old from Tabaco, Philippines, and with Jackeline, my most recent sponsored child. She has the typical interests and activities, and is in second grade. She apparently is both left-brained and right-brained, liking both Math and Writing. The whereabouts and history of Dad is unknown, and she lives with her mom and five siblings on $44 a month. There is an interesting age divide with the children. She has two brothers and a sister aged 14, 16, 20, she is 8, and there is a 1 year old brother and 2 year old sister. She has never been sponsored before. They live in a 3 room concrete block home with corrugated metal roof, running water, no electricity available, a coal stove, and an outdoor latrine. They sleep on the floor on mats.
I had been looking at the Philippines and India after hearing from several people the importance given education in those cultures. I wanted to help someone in poor enough circumstances that they could really need the help of CI to stay in school and do well.
Erika's family size and income made her stand out from the rest, but so did her wonderful expression. I confess to knowing little about the different ethnicities in the Philippines, so I can't surmise anything about her background, but while other little angelic-faced kids disappeared from the site, Erika hung out waiting on me. She was quite patient, all things considered. That's my good luck! She looks so frail and pensive in this shot, I want to not only help her with school, but maybe even fatten her up a little and put a big old smile on that awesome face!
Sohail Sohail
He is 11 and will be 12 in January. I was drawn to him because of his gigantic smile! He has just begun grade II. He seems to have gotten a late start on his education but he's doing well in school and progressing at a normal rate.
He lives with his parents and 3 siblings - one older brother, and two younger sisters. His income looks like it's dropped about $10 since June though, very unfortunate. His father is the breadwinner and works as a daily worker so monthly income is not going to be consistent.
July 2010
I got a welcome letter! It looks like Sohail still isn't writing yet. However, I'm hoping that will change this year now that he's staring grade II. That seems like a year most kids start putting together sentences in school. We shall see!
Letter:
"Dear sponsor, Ms. Clinton.
Hello, how are you. Sohail and his family welcomes you in this sponsorship programme. Sohail is reading in class II. He likes to play football and also likes to watching cartoon programmes im TV. He likes to eat cake, Magi, fruits etc. Sohail wants to know about you. Please send him letters.
Mira Shah on behalf of Sohail"
I did send him a letter the week after sponsoring him so hopefully I shall be getting a letter in reply to that as well! I'm surprised that he watches cartoons. A TV is not something I would have imagined him to have...I'm always learning something! I wonder if he watches and Bollywood. I'd love to mention it but I want to make sure it's something he does.
Oh and on the back he checked of that He likes to play with "bat and ball" and that he likes learning "rhymes". Does anyone know what Magi is? I tried to look it up. The closest I got is that it may be some sort of pre=packed noodles? I think I'm going to learn a lot from his letters!
August 2010
8/30/10 - I received my first non-welcome letter from Sohail! Again this one is written by a volunteer as he is not far enough in his studies to write yet (he's in Grade II). This was in response to a letter I sent him they day I began sponsoring him:
"Dear sponsor Dorothee auntie,
Please accept love from Sohail & his family. There are well & hope all of you are well. Sohail is very happy to get your nice letter. His is very happy to know that you stay in New York. Sohail stays in Kolkata which is very nice also. Sohail has 2 brothers & 2 sisters. He is very happy to know that your birthday is in October. He will pray for your long life & well-being. I convey his best wishes for your birthday. His parents also send best wishes to you. Sohail is very happy to know about you. His nick name is Paltu. He is happy to know about you. He has drawn a picture of home for you.
Yours sincerely,
(volunteer name...can't read off the scan so will fill in when I actually have it in my hands)"
He seems very happy to have heard from me. I'm not sure if that's just common phrasing, but I'm thinking that perhaps his last two sponsors never wrote him? And I love that he keeps talking about my birthday even though it's still far off and must have been very far off when this letter was written. Still the sentiment is very sweet.
I did learn from this letter though that he must have one more brother (only 1 brother, 2 sisters on his sheet). I'm guessing he's an older brother that must have moved out for one reason or another. Usually the sons stay in the same house, so I'm rather curious about what he moved for. Not that I'll ask as I don't feel like it's any of my business, but still...curiosity rules! I tried to see if his nick name means anything and from what I gather it means 'pet'? Like a pet animal. Seems like a cute affectionate nick name.
The drawing of the house is interesting as well. It looks like a 'normal' hosue but it has two side-by-side doors. I wonder if he lives in a two-family home. His place does seem very small, and I think I've gathered that he's actually in the city as opposed to the rural regions, so it's possible that he lives in some sort of multi-family building.
I also love that he's already calling me auntie!
This little girl may need our This little girl may need our help
I was browsing the CI site which is a big no no for me. I came across this little girl who I believe may have cancer. She has a bald little head. She is 7 years old and from Columbia. There is no way to know if she does have cancer (and I totally hope I am wrong!!!!) but if she does I think she could really benefit from sponsorship. And the support especially if there is a group. I know there are a few group sponsorships already but if anyone is interested in getting into this new sponsorship please let me know! Here is her profile:
https://www.children.org/childDetail.asp?cid=1088560&sid=078418B-5F8A-431B-99A1-1687F71450041
If we get 6 people it would be $44 a year. If we can get 12 it would only be $22 a year. If interested please message me. I will be putting this group together.
So I did what I said I wasn't So I did what I said I wasn't gonna do
has anyone else ever done that ha. Back when I started sponsoring Gerson there was a little boy from Chile that caught my eye,I debated long and hard between him and Gerson and ended up taking on Gerson,at the time my plans were to just sponsor out of the 3 countries I already had children in which would be Ecuador,Guatemala,and The Philippines. Well a couple of months passed and of course I found myself back on the CI site looking at children well automatically Allan and Lucero jumped out at me and I just could not say no even though Lucero was not in a country I was already sponsoring in. After I confirmed my sponsorship with them I noticed that the little fella from Chile was still waiting for a sponsor well of course it broke my heart but I knew at that time I couldn't take him on too since I just took on two more children. So anyways I told myself as I do everytime that I had to avoid the CI site because it was becoming dangerous for me lol. Well the avoiding went well for about a month,last night I decided just to see if any new kiddos has been added and some had,but also in the midst of them was the little guy from Chile,I didn't have the heart to leave the site without sponsoring him,so here I am now with 9 kids,I hope and pray that I can make a difference in the lives of these 9 kids even if it means I have to do without. Anyways I would like to introduce 13 year old Cristofer Andres to you. He lives in Valparaiso,Chile with his mom,dad,and two little brothers,their monthly income is $97. He will be turning 14 in August and so I will be sending him a package soon,does anyone know of anything to give a boy of that age? My oldest sponsored boy is 8 so I am not really sure what to buy for a boy this old,any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God bless!!
Birthday Gift Ideas Birthday Gift Ideas
Victoria's birthday is coming up, and I want to send her a little present. She is 9 years old living on Honduras. I am planning on sending via USPS in a Priority Flat Envelope (I think that's the cheapest), so I want to put as many things as possible. Some of the things I had in mind were:
* Stickers
* Photos
* Printed photoshopped images of her throughout her years in the program
* Colored pencils
But as I guy, I will admit that I could use more suggestions for this.
In fact, I think CI should put a page on their website, suggesting items that sponsors can send to their child, according to the child's location, age, gender, and interests. Even though they warn sponsors about packages being lost. We still want to!
I know we can send the Special Gift too, but it is still neat if we package small things ourselves.
Sharing Twins! Sharing Twins!
Thelolos and I have been talking about sponsoring twins together for quite some time now, and finally had the opportunity to do so! So we are proud new sponsors of Elizabeth and Sandra! This is my last kid (actually for real, but that doesn't count Penzo, the little sister I've been waiting for, she's already mine in my heart so I'm still excited to sponsor her, and anxiously check my account daily to see if she's on there yet!) and Thelolos third kid! She is sponsoring Sandra (in green) and I am sponsoring Elizabeth (in pink)!
The twins live with both of their parents (unemployed mom and "driver" dad who brings in $30 a month), and three siblings, which appears to include 13-year old twin brothers!
Their home has one bedroom and one multi-use room, with concrete block walls, concrete floor and corrugated metal roof. They have access to community faucets and latrines, and electricity is available. They sleep on the floor on a mat.
The girls are too young to attend school or have chores. Both enjoy playing with dolls and playing with friends, as well as singing and dancing! Oh what I wouldn't give to see these two putting on a little number! One day!!!
I'm so excited to be sponsoring side-by-side with Thelolos!! This is going to be fun, and great to watch these two little ones grow and blossom!
Elizabeth can attend school! Elizabeth can attend school!
Today I received word from CI in response to the email I sent them about Elizabeth, in Zambia, who does not attend school because her family/guardian cannot afford to send her. Well, I am so happy to say that CI visited with Elizabeth's family and gathered the information for me, and all it will take to enroll Elizabeth in nursery school will be $135! This will cover school supplies, a school uniform and sweater, shoes and socks, PE clothes, and the school fees. What great news! It makes me so happy to know that soon, Elizabeth will be able to start school. which is SO important for her future. And I'm so fortunate that I'm able to help her with this!
YEEIIHHAAAA!! FIRST LETTER!!!! YEEIIHHAAAA!! FIRST LETTER!!!! :-)
Geraldine, age 11, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Our mailman has crept around our mailbox in the last weeks trying avoiding us and our tedious inquires as the poor mailman in Mrs Hyacinth. We have been even worse than her!
In the 7th week after starting sponsoring Geraldine we received the first letter from her. I can tell it's all worth the waiting.
She is sponsored by my husband ("godetomater"). For strange reasons we chose to sponsor a child each and not together as my husband wanted to sponsor a girl and I wanted to sponsor a boy. I am sponsoring Daniel from Chile and still awaiting his first letter
But of course Geraldine is 'my girl' too, and I will make this blog for her knowing that my husband will make her an even fancier one. So I am sure you will get to know Geraldine, La Princesa de Guayaquil!!
Her story is heartbreaking: We asked CI for the sponsor history, as the photos in the album was dated from 2007 and the last picture was taken in Dec 2009. CI replied that Geraldine had NOT been sponsored before and Debbie was so kind to clarify the answer on the Message Board. She wrote:
I did a little more digging on this Geraldin and Daniel and found that Geraldin was enrolled in our program on 5/31/2007. We sent her information to to 17 potential sponsors and no one wanted her. On January 13, 2009, we assigned her to sponsor whose first child had left the program. On that date we notified our staff in Guayaquil to begin giving Geraldin benefits. So she waited about 18
months from the time she enrolled until she began receiving benefits.
As jenkinsg (a Lifter here) explained, out staff would have visited her home to make an appt. for her to come to the community center to update her personal information, have a new photo taken and get her first medical check-up.
Unfortunately for Geraldin, the sponsor she was assigned to did not want to sponsor her either, so she was placed back on our waiting list. We did not find another sponsor for her until June of this year ( We were the lucky ones to find her!). However, because we had notified our field staff that she had a sponsor, she began receiving benfits in January 2009 and they continue to this day. -----------------------------
Further to this the family record tell us that the mother abandoned family! and the father is listed as separated and not present and with an empty line for "Occupation"Geraldine has an older sister listed on the record. They live with relatives.
It still bring tears to my eyes, and even more when we received the letter. She is such a strong, intelligent, lovely girl. I hope she has received the SNG we sent end June. My husband asked the staff to find something personal for her, that would make her happy and the reply from CI was very personal and warm as if the staff have kept an eye on her?(Our confirmation on the SNG for Daniel was more formally, maybee just different standard letters from the different fields but we WANT to believe that she is treated specially, she deserves it so much!)
Her name is Geraldine but she is listed at CI as Geraldin, so I have spelled her name wrong from time to time. That will not happen again ;)
We sent an online letter to her early after we sponsored her, but I dont think she replies to that, this is more a presentation of herself.
She has the most beautiful handwriting. I will scan the letter as soon as I can.
Her first letter in translation:
I thank you for choosing me as your sponsored child! I live in Guayaquil and I am writing these lines from my beautiful city. Let me tell you(this was the pre-printed part) that I am in the 7th year of school (which is explained as 6th grade, equivalent as 7th basic year). I have good grades. My favorite subjects are: Mathematics, Language and Science. I like very much to study at school. I have many friends (amigos y amigas) with whom I share my emotions and games, for example I ride bycicle and play with the dolls. I also play in the park and other games. My favorite food is rice with beans and roast chicken. I also like Ceviches de Camaron and Encebollado (pictures) I like animals like dogs.
Says good-bye with affection (cariño)Geraldine.
And no one wanted her????????????
Annette
Going to the Dominican Rep.! Going to the Dominican Rep.!
It's official! I'm going to the Dominican Republic to meet Patricia and Nayeli!
I was waiting from confirmation from the field office there that the girls would be available during the dates I had in mind, and I got that confirmation yesterday. Bought the plane tickets/hotel reservations today!
I'll be going for a short trip Oct 27 - 31 (spending one day with each girl on the 28 & 29), and I'll be taking my 8-year old daughter, Jessie, and 11-year old son, Michael!
I need to make some decisions on what I want to do with the girls, based on the email, and get back to them. They ask if I want to visit their homes, take them shopping, take them out to eat, or take them to an activity! What fun!
Write now or wait? Write now or wait?
As most of you know, I recieved FIVE letters from sponsor kids last week! Three of them, I quickly wrote back, included stickers, photos and all that fun stuff!
But I'm wondering if I should wait on replying to the next two...
1) Dianne's letter of thanks for her birthday gift. Before she sent this, I had sent my first letter to her (which was a reply to her FIRST letter), and I'm sure she recieved my letter after her gift, so I expect that she'll be sending a response to my letter soon. Do I wait until I receive that, so we don't cross letters?
2) Remar's letter in response to my first letter to her. After she sent this, I'm sure she received her birthday gift from me, so I'm expecting a thank you letter from her soon (basically just the opposite of Dianne's circumstances! LOL!) Do I wait here, too, so letters aren't crossed?
Of course it's exciting to send out letters, and I hate to make the kids wait! But I don't want to add any confusion with crossed letters!!! Oh both girls are from The Philippines (one in Legaspi and the other in Quezon). WWYD?
Thank you to my LiftOne friend Thank you to my LiftOne friends
I'm sure I'm not the only one who is thankful for having such a great community of people to be with! I wanted to let you all know how much your support and encouragement means!
Yesterday, as I was out of town most of the day, I came home and uploaded some things both here and on Facebook - info about Joseph leaving, news of Amina, Dianne's letter, and photos of my own kids.
After uploading all of those things here and n FB, I spent the next 1 1/2 hours reading and responding to messages from Lifters! Your comments, replies, understanding, etc means the world to me, and it really felt so good to hear from people who really care about my sponsorship experience, as well as me as a person! Now in contrast to all those messages from Lifters, I had only 2 or 3 Facebook "friends" (people who are supposed to be best friends, family, people I've known for 20 years, etc) respond to the same things, and with much less interest or enthusiasm. I would have found that disenheartening in the past, but not now, as I was filled with such joy from all of my interactions with you wonderful Lifters, and nothing can bring that down!
Just makes me feel like I've really found my own little place in the world here at LiftOne, with such a great group of like-minded compassionate, caring, giving people!
*Hugs* to you all! You all rock!!!
:~) Kelly
Rina, Age 27, sp. 1989-2002 Rina, Age 27, sp. 1989-2002
My first sponsored child...
In 1987, when I was 26, my father died, leaving me some life insurance and a few thousand dollars in property (my mother had died 9 years earlier). The group house where I'd been living with friends since college graduation had broken up recently, I'd been working a "real" (if low-paying) job at a publishing company for 2.5 years, and it was time to establish adult finances. Over the next year, I used my inheritance to pay off my (admittedly small, compared today's) student loans and my car loan, set money aside to finish my Masters degree, put a down payment on a 75 year-old townhouse in a run-down area of Washington, DC, started contributing to the profit-sharing plan, and created a plan for charitable contributions. One of the things I wanted to do was sponsor a child in India, so (if I'm not making things up in a haze of rememberance), that became my New Year's resolution for 1989.
Easier said than done. With no internet, of course, my resources for choosing a sponsorship organization were magazine advertisements. To my surprise, only one organization seemed to be operating a sponsorship program in India, Children International. I sent in the little coupon, which gave choices for sponsoring a girl or a boy, in Asia or Latin America. I chose "girl" and next to "Asia" wrote in "India." Monthly sponsorship payments were $12 per month--considerably less than the organizations, which ran closer to $20 at the time. Sponsors could write as frequently as desired, but only received 2 letters per year from their child, which was one way that costs were contained.
Last year, I learned for the first time that the official launch date for the Sahay project was March, 1989 when Jim Cook blogged about the 20th anniversary celebration (a posting I can't link to because they didn't move the old posts to LiftOne, but the url redirects here). So I must have been one of their earliest sponsors.
1989 (Age 5-6)
Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to save the Progress Reports, so I can't say for sure what her father earned, but I think it was $6 or $7 per month. I think his occupation was listed as "bricklayer" (I don't know why I'd think that if it wasn't), although Rina would later say he was a farmer. But my grandfather, a small farmer who struggled to feed his children, worked in the nearby brickyard in addition to the coal mines. So it makes perfect sense to me. Her mother kept the home, of course.
Dear Sponsor,
] and a page of alphabets and numbers written by herself which attaches with this letter.
Writer of this letter Mr. Chandan Mandal, Case Worker, expresses the feelings of Rina Samanta your sponsored child. She sends you her thanks.
Rina tells you she always obey her parents advice and respect them very much. She likes to hear funny stories. She [is] presenting you with a picture drawn by herself [misplaced
She invites you to see her. If you come she will be very happy. Rina sends you her love and her family sends you their greetings. Your's sincerly, Chandan Mandal, Case Worker.
I am so happy you will be my sponsor and my friend. I think you for my good thinking for my future life. I am very much pleasure to get your greetings card. I love to learn and play. My parents and my teachers love me also. Please come to my house one day. It will be a great fun.
I end my letter here with love. Please take my salutations and pray to God for best wishes.
Love from your child, Rina Samanta.
At the time I had a co-worker whose parents were from West Bengal, and who had learned to read and write Bengali as a child. A little skeptical that a child would learn to write so well so fast, I showed her the letter and asked whether the translation was correct and whether the language was age-appropriate. Her Bengali was rusty, but she was able to verify those things.
April
Dear Sponsor,
With love your child, Rina Samanta
The translation was typed (manual typewriter) with some translation errors corrected by hand. Some had crossed out "advice" after parents (similar to the phrasing in the case worker's letter). "Thank you" was originally "Congratulations" [for your charitable mind]. And "child" started out as "son." Also attached was a drawing of a flower growing in a flower pot, a motif known as a "buta" that is very common in Indian art and on Indian textiles. Rina really, really likes butas, because another one arrived with her August letter (text missing) and many more thereafter.
1991
(age 7-8)
With her April letter, Rina branched out (literally) to a "gamta buti," which is a more sophisticated potted plant with different kinds of flowers. Also a common Indian motif. Additionally, she's added a boat, and what is probably a rice paddy.
Dear Sponsor:
This letter will bring you the happy news that I am well.
And every day I go to school. My parent[s] love me very much. We play in the afternoon at BANI MANDIR PARK. In the evening I learn my lesson attentively. I like to see and draw the picture.
Pray to God a happy and prosperous life to you and your family.
With love, your child,
Rina Samanta
Of course, back in 1991 there was no internet. But a few years ago, while organizing my old letters, I googled BANI MANDIR PARK. I found the web page for BANI MANDIR, which partners with CI in the village of Khordanhala. Searching the CI site for Khordanhala produced these results: Alumni Update and Sponsorship Produces Results, which are Part 1 and Part 2 of the same story. So, I have inferred that Rina lives or lived in Khordanhala
August
Hope you all are quite well there. We are quite well. I have been getting benefit from the programme. I go to school every day. I play with my friends in the afternoon. I shall be very glad if you come to us.
With love your son [er, child/daughter],
Rina Samanta
And for something different, a drawing of a house with a tiled roof, window grilles, and a parrot.
1992 (age 8-9)
Dear Sponsor,
Hope you are in sound body and mind.
We are all well.
I learn my lesson attentively. I go to school every day. I am interested to read Bengali. Play with my brother and friends. [Brother is 23 years old now...] At night I take my meal with my parent[s] and brother and sister.
I am receiving all the benefits from this programme. If you come here I will be very pleased.
I convey my sincerest love and gratitude.
Your loving child,
Rina Samanta
August
First I convey my love and best wishes to all. I hope everybody is fine. Every morning I get down to study [at the project center] and at midday I go to school. In the afternoon, I play with my friends in the park. In the evening, I study again.
I like drawing pictures. I draw whenever I have time. We are all fine. Please convey my love and respect to all. I will be writing more letters in future. Please do write to me also.
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
March (Note the tidy handwriting and picture of my cat)
Dear Sponsor,
Hope you are all well. We are all fine. Every morning I study and then go to school in the afternoon. I have many friends in school. We all study, play and chat together. There is a flower garden in our school. We plant trees there and water them. In my leisure time I help my mother in household work.
I end my letter with love and regards to you all. I will write to you again later.
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
1994 (Age 10-11)--Photo missing
March
Dear Sponsor,
We are fine. Hope you are also well. I get all sorts of facilities from this project. I have my health checked regularly. I go to school every day.
My father works in the fields of cultivation. My mother works at home throughout the day and I help my mother. I bring water from the tube-well of our locality and collect fuel for cooking.
Hope you and the rest of your family are fine. I convey my love, thanks and greetings to all at the end.
Yours ever, Rina Samanta
September
Dear Sponsor,
Hope you and your family are well. We are all well. I go to school every day and study attentively. At home I look after my younger brothers and sisters [I think she means relatives; cousins or nieces and nephews. Her siblings are all much older than she.] In my free time I help my mother. I like to do household work. In the evening I study. Then we all go to bed after listening to stories from my father. I end my letter here. I convey my regards to your family.
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
March--Found in the '96 Folder!
At first I convey my hearty love and best wishes. Hope you are all fine. We are all fine here. I am studying every day dilligently. I am getting the benefit of this prgramme regularly. I go to school every day. I have many friends there. I study and play with them. We livein a village. There are green field[s], muddy roads, huts and many ponds here.
With respect and love to you all,
Yours ever,
Rina Samanta
September--The inauguration of Stationery...
Dear Sponsor. We fine. I get all the benefits of this project. I study attentively and go to school regularly. Our school is within our village. Here 300 students study. Hope you are all well. I convey my love and regards to you all. Yours sincerely, Rina Samanta
(I think this is a pineapple, but it has leaves at both ends so maybe someone can correct me...)
1996
--Age 12-13
March
Dear Sponsor,
Hope all of you are well. We are well. There are many mango, jackfruit, tamarind trees and ponds in our viallage. We grow paddy and vegetables in our village field and we use the brick road to got to school and market. During the village fair, I enjoy very much with my
friends.
With lots of love and regards,
Yours lovingly,
Rina Samanta
Prior to 1996, I think I had begun sending more than the requested amount for holiday gifts, and getting photos back of what was purchased. The fact that I don't have ANY of these photos at hand suggests I carefully organized them away... somewhere...But I remember there were photos of Rina in "festival" clothing that had been purchased, different from the salwar kameez that they buy now. It was very ornate and looked very heavy, more like something Native American or North Asian than what one thinks of as Indian. (There's an example coming up in the next post, but the outfit is cotton and not as heavy and she's not such a little girl anymore!)
There were also photos of her father with a lantern on one occasion, and a big heavy-duty water pump on another. That was the first IGP--he was going to use it on his land, then rent it out to other farmers to get their land properly irrigated (or dried out, as necessary). Another gift, which I think was for $100, bought big wooden window and door frames something like the ones Sahida's family bought, but more ornately carved around the frame I think, and with wooden/bamboo vertical bars to deter intruders.
However, in 1996 it looks like I decided to start sending additional money with my quartely sponsorshp payments. I made my charitable contributions quarterly then, and as my income increased I had increased the amount I was giving to my local charities. I probably wanted my CI contributions to keep pace. (And with no web site, sponsoring an additional child wouldn't have occurred to me.) I imagine the monthly contribution was about $16 then, making the quarterly amount $48, and I added $100 and rounded it up to $150. Which prompted THE LETTER.
Now, I'm sure Mr. Gripkey (Jim Cook's predecessor) is a very nice man and remembered affectionately by everyone at CI. But something about his Dickensian/Rowlingesque quality of "Gripkey" (combined with the geneal overkill of a 2 page letter) makes the main point of the letter sound that much more dramatic:
"Thank you for your generous gift of $150....
"I understand that you wish to provide additional gifts for Rina. We wish we were able to do that but, because of conditions which are unique to our project in India, we have had to establish a policy which prohibits sending additional presents of any kind for sponsored children and their families in those areas.
"In these projects, singling out one child in the community, even with a small present, could cause serious harm to that child and his or her family. Because people are so poor and live in such crowded conditions--more so than in any other project--they often become jealous of families or children who receive more than they do.
"When one family is favored in any way, others in the community often become violent, destroying the family's home and causing personal injury to family members.
"I know you may wish to provide an extra treat [$150?] for your sponsored child from time to time, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to cause her or her family any undue suffering.
"Please be assured, however, that gifts you send to purchase presents for holiday occasions such as Christmas, Easter and birthdays do not cause problems for the children and their families. This is because we provide every child with a gift on these occasions, so no one feels left out." Then he explains the Emergency Fund for another 10 paragraphs. I've never quite understood why getting "even a small present" outside holiday periods would cause problems, but getting a much larger present than everyone else didn't. Unless the presence of an actual donor behind the holiday gifts was particularly well-understood--kind of ironic, since all children get gifts whether their sponsors
contribute for them or not. And I guess someone caught the fact that part of the money was for the regular payment.
But anyway, I do have a photo for one gift sent that year (I have 2 actually, but they're basically the same), which purchased the almirah that has become so familiar, a clock, and an elaborate salwar kameez for Rina.
I think there was a report that kind of made it clear that family didn't have a clock before, so finally having one would be very useful. I like the way Rina asserts that "I have bought...for myself." Growing up. And she drew a picture of some sort of fowl--chicken, pigeon, goose, I'm not sure.
This is my absolute favorite photo of Rina. She looks so pretty, and happy and confidant.
Dear Sponsor, Hope all of you are well. We are also well. I get all benefits regularly from this project. When we are sick we go to the project clinic where project doctor checks us & gives medicines from clinic. While examining the doctor gives us advice on cleanliness and proper use of latrines and water. We try to follow his advice. Please accept my love and regards, yours lovingly, Rina Samanta.
The special donation that was sent for Rina Samanta is being utilised
to purchase the following items:
Total: $100
September
I wish you and your family success and good health. As for me and my family, we are fine. My school is near our village. I go to school regularly walking. I am grateful to this Project as I get books, pen, school dress and other necessary things. I study in the Project Coaching Centre. Besides school books I like reading the newspaper and story books.
I thank you for everything, with love and respect,
Your loving child,
Rina Samanta
1998
--14-15
March
Dear Sponsor,
I hope you are all fine. We are all fine here. I would like to share with you how I spend my day. I wake up at 6 a.m., have breakfast, then go to the Project Coaching Centre to study. I come home at 9 a.m. and help in the housework. Then I get ready and go to school at 11 a.m. After school, i play with my friends and study in the evening. At 9:00 p.m. we have dinner together and then go to bed.
I thank you for all the help you send me through this programme. I end here with love, Your sponsored child, Rina Samanta
"The Special Gift Donation sent to Rina has been used for buying a milk cow. The family use some of the milk, while some will be sold as an Income Generating Project."
Dear Sponsor,
I am well. We have been able buy a cow, with donation that you have sent. We shall sell part of the millk, while the rest will be consumed at home.
Thank you very much for your kindness and generosity. We shall never forget it. Gratefully yours, Rina Samanta
I think the outfit she's wearing in the photo was purchased with one of the smaller gifts. It seems to be her favorite, since she's either wearing it or the shawl from it in almost every photo afterward.
September
Dear Sponsor,
strong>Greetings! We are all fine here. I live in a village of West Bengal in India. We have six seasons-summer, winter, monsoons, pre-autumn, autumn, and spring. The summers are not very hot.[Ha!--or maybe she means compared to spring.]There is a lot rain during monsoons when rice is cultivated. Autumn is the festive season and in winter you get a lot of vegetables.
I have greatly benefitted through this programme and I thank you for all your help.
Your loving child,
Rina Samanta
If you've been wondering how long blog postings can can be, it's THIS long. Story continued here.
First time sponsoring First time sponsoring
I have always wanted to sponser a child. Since I was a child myself and saw images of children living in poverty, even to my youthful sensibilites this seemed like an incredible injustice in this world. Years went by...recently, after having my own children, the idea of sponsoring a child kept returning to me again and again. I discussed it over and over with my husband and researched different organizations offering sponsorship opportunities. I kept coming back to Children International because of their mission and examples of success in the field. Finally, my husband must have gotten tired of me just TALKING about sponsorship, because at Christmastime, he surprised me with a girl he sponsored in my name from Columbia. What is even more special, is that this little girl has the same birthday as me! I've corresponded a few times, mostly with her mother because Nyelis is still so young (and adorable!) I'm so excited to continue along this sponsorship journey and have it enrich my life and share this journey with my own two boys as well.
Here she is: Nyelis!
You've got mail! You've got mail!
Every Monday afternoon our Sponsorship Relations Department receives a package from our headquarters’ office with news for fortunate sponsored children.
What’s the news about? It is correspondence from sponsors, and it brings different sorts of surprises that children enjoy. The most important thing is that, for a sponsored child, receiving a letter from his or her sponsor is something meaningful.
Like Jonathan says: “When I received the letter I felt joyful because I was going to learn about my sponsor. I think my sponsor writes to me because he also wants to know about me and that makes me feel very good.” So here he is proudly showing that letter he received.
Children also like writing back to their sponsors, like Yomaira mentioned: “I like that my sponsor writes to me because I can get to know her. She writes to me and I can also write her lots of letters. To me, that shows affection and love. I feel happy for having her as a friend.” That is why Yomaira took her time to write nice words to her sponsor.
These letters, photos and cards sponsored children receive make them feel very special, most of all when they get them on special occasions. The Sponsorship Relations Department receives an average of 120 correspondences a week. That makes 5,760 a year. But at Quito Agency, there are about 22,500 sponsored children, which means there are 16,740 children wishing to receive news about their sponsors! And that is just the Quito Agency.
I bet there are many children in all of our Agencies eager to get a photo or a note, just to feel closer to that person they are writing and smiling to every time they have the chance to show how grateful they are.
And I also bet it would be great to let your sponsored child know you think of him or her.
Would you take a minute to send a note or a photo to make your sponsored child feel nice?
Liseth is now my 3rd sponsored Liseth is now my 3rd sponsored child!
I was so touched by the letter from Liseth in response to her birthday gift, I called CI to see if she had any siblings that needed sponsoring. I mainly just wanted to find a way to assist the family in any way possible. She did have a brother still waiting sponsorship, but as it turned out, so was she. Apparently, she wasn't removed from the web site because she was sponsored; she was just part of the regular rotation off the site.
It took me approximately 1.238 seconds to communicate that I wanted to sponsor her. It only took that long because there is some delay required to actually formulate words in such a way as to be clearly understood.
I have no idea how I will do this if they come back and tell me that Karen's sister is available -- I am sponsoring two children with other organizations as well -- but I'll find a way to make it work.
I am so happy!
La Princesa de Guayaquil updat La Princesa de Guayaquil updated photo and SNG
Smile!
I admire the Spanish tax system. No matter how hard you try to avoid unexpected results, they will always and always bring huge surprises into your life.. I think it's a part of the system.
But this year was different - still surprising though - to put it mildly! In fact I had to google-translate and ask my Spanish collegues what the sentence at the bottom line in the tax letter said. We got money BACK?!
My little family and I walked around for some days looking like three yellow smileys and then it was time for sending two SNG's for Geraldine and Daniel. SNG's are not in our budget as a common thing, this will possibly be the only one for a loooong time, but wow, it felt good!
In the meantime Geraldine's photo was updated the 12th of August. We got the first real smile from La Princesa de Guyaquil! And now I know that she smiles to us (and a little bit to the Spanish tax system) because she is wearing the blouse which was in the SNG!!! (we got the report yesterday, it took 8 weeks, but who is counting!)
The letter (our third from her, we are the spoiled ones here :-)) gave us an idea of what an amazing girl we have got.She thanks us for the gifts (lots of clothes for her, CI had free hands to decide what to buy) and then she wrote:
I can tell you that I have done very well at school, and in all my exams. I want to have good grades because I want to show them to you when you come (!) I want to be a great doctor. This is my goal, and this is why I study so hard. I know that I am going to be someone in life. I want to be able to take care of my own children in the future.
And the the preprinted goodbye...
Geraldine
Her mother abandoned family, her father is not present. She lives with relatives. SHE wants to make a difference for her own children in the future.
We will do whatever we can to support her !!!
Annette
All About Dianne All About Dianne
Dianne just turned eight-years old, and lives withher single father and nine-year old brother. The mother's absence is unexplained, but from Dianne's letters, it sounds like she may still have contact with her mother. Her father is a daily laborer and brings in about $60 a month. Dianne has been a part of C.I. since at least early 2009, although I am unsure if she has had a sponsor prior to me or not.
Dianne and her family live in a one multi-use room home wihth wood walls, thatch roof and concrete floor. They have a community pump for water, non-regulated electricity and latrine. Dianne sleeps on the floor with a matress. She is a teeny tiny little thing at 3' 8" and 37 pounds. She attends school and from her letters, it seems as if she is learning well and takes in everything she is taught! She enjoys art, playing wtih friends, and dancing. Her chore is running errands.
My favorite thing that Dianne has told me in her letter, aside from the happy advice to "smile", is that she knows that studying leads to a bright future and that "knowledge is the only thing that cannot be steal from me". This girl indeed has a bright future ahead of her, no matter what her environmental circumstances are! To me, she is a shining star across the skies and into my life!