MSC archived stories - April 14, 2019
Child sponsorship is Powerful, and I wanted to share with you three stories that touched me and affirmed my commitment to the children of the world.
Like myself, Inga lives in Europe, and her first ever sponsor visit to Barranquilla, Colombia was so inspirational. She echoed everyday prayers of our sponsored children and families. (read full story below)
www.children.org/FileRoot/1/Docs/Small-Things-Big-Hope.pdf
The next story was the CI's first ever podcast from HQ with the former President. You will see towards the end how David discovered sponsorship as a healing process after losing his son.
www.children.org/FileRoot/1/Docs/The-Power-Of-Sponsorship-Podcast-transcript.pdf
And, my final story just brought to light by one and only Tim Ward, a remarkable human being of honesty and candidness. Hope you will enjoy his take on sponsorship for the first time in 2018.
https://youtu.be/obKLK9WzZsg
What did inspire you to be a sponsor?
Thank you Chelaka. I love when I can answer that question. I had no idea that programs like child sponsorship existed until I looked up a way to help a child on google.. my inspiration was the huge tsunami in 2004. I saw many children of Sri-Lanka and Indonesia crying on tv, I just felt I had to do something for them.. Then I search on internet and found an international org where I sponsored direclty my very first child Sulochana from Sri-Lanka, she was 3 years old, their system did not allow me to pick a child, just a menu with girl/boy and part of the world. I just requested a girl in the tsunami area and they send me her profile in January 2005.. After that I became member of a yahoo sponsor group where I learned about the other orgs and sponsored other children..
ReplyDeleteApril 14, 2019
In 2014 after being home from college for awhile decided to do something with my life, but the questions were what? What can I do to help others, where, and how? So I decided to do a Google search to get some ideas and/or inspiration, typed in child sponsorship and then Children International came up. 2014 was not the first time I had sponsored a child, so I already knew about the organization, but it had been a long time since my sponsorship to a child in need.The first child I sponsored was a girl named Arlene M. Hermida who lives/lived in the Philippines. She was a survivor of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption and was on the most needy list. She was not on the most needy list for this reason, but I think it had something to do with the finances, the house type, and other things.Perhaps CI was getting overwhelmed with people wanting to sponsor, so I guess that they thought it would be easier for us to pick. At the time of my first sponsored child, we were not able to pick out the child we wanted, but this changed after sometime. was matched with wasn't really a match for me, but I decided to sponsor Arlene because her family needed help with money and other things. I had to give up sponsorship for financial reasons, but I knew that something would bring me back to it again and it did.I love sponsoring Jenifer because she keeps me going everyday because she is beautiful and I have changed her life a lot since 2014. I love learning about what changes the family has made every year, not just in the semi-annual letters, but in her report on the CI website as well. Jenifer is my inspiration and always will be. I love watching her grow up and her family making changes too.
ReplyDeleteApril 14, 2019
Someone needs a tissue..., touching stories.I began sponsorship since 2016. During a period of time, I saw poor kids, child laborer victims. It was heartbreaking to me and still, it is. I wanted to change something for kids in this world. I just googled and the CI website showed up. I liked the idea of sponsorship, I could help a child family directly and CI looked very promising to me. I liked the visiting program although a visit is not an option for me. I looked for children. I wasn't sure to do it still. then I came across Samantha photo. Something about her was special to me. I loved her almost since the first time I saw her photo. I thought she is the one child who needs me. I told my self If I could sponsorer I would sponsor this child. During night and sleeping time she was on my mind. next day I sponsored her. Samantha Is my first Sponsored child and I'm happy with her. I try my best to keep sponsoring her until her graduation. We developed a bound via letters and it's beautiful. I can't break this bound. I hope to be able to visit my girls someday. I wish I was rich enough to support them more.Why did I sponsor her? Why from Ecuador? I still don't know.
ReplyDeleteApril 15, 2019
I was a scout mom, and being around kids just made it clear to me that personality development completes at a very young age. The time to strike, to teach and make an impression is at tender ages. While EGs are important, the letter writing portion of our support is dear to me for my purposes. I am the child of parents who only reached high school, but I am proud of that fact because they did very well for themselves. I have been to my husband’s place (south most India), and he is equally impressive in his achievements. I think we have stories to share, and that must be why I am a CI supporter. I understand that the kids must get a lot of help writing back, and I don’t get much of conversation (most of my kids have not reached high school). But if we can get their attention for a brief moment now, I am confident they will remember the stories and draw from it. I know my childhood remains just like yesterday for me.
ReplyDeleteApril 16, 2019
Kerlyq
ReplyDeleteI was inspired to sponsor a child because of my own experience when I was a child. I promised to myself that one day I will help a child in need when I become financially stable and here I am sponsoring 2 kids and planning my visit to Ecuador already :)
April 16, 2019
Marie – Thank you for sharing the birth of your compassion! The tsunami affected the eastern and southern coastal belt of Sri Lanka. It killed more than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka alone on Dec 26, 2004 and 5,275 children lost either or both parents in the disaster. They were either taken to country's orphanages or placed with foster families. It has now become an annual remembrance and a distant memory of their childhood.
ReplyDeleteApril 18, 2019
got2luvthisworld – Indeed, you do have lots to write! To have an involved sponsor is a bonus for the child and you certainly inspired others to be the same. Young children on the waiting list, who had been sponsored for a few years could fall under "Most needy" category, simply to have continuous, uninterrupted benefits.
ReplyDeleteApril 18, 2019
Sajjad – I’m acutely aware of the struggles and challenges even our sponsored children go through but I feel that how fortunate they are to be enrolled on programs like CI offer. You certainly found "you" in Samantha and it does not happen very often in the sponsorship world!
ReplyDeleteApril 18, 2019
peppy007 – Your inspiration stems from people around you, and this certainly is true with our sponsored children. They learn about us through letters and gifts, and want to emulate and care about the other people.
ReplyDeleteApril 18, 2019
Kerlyq – Absolutely! I wholeheartedly believe that you can be inspired by yourself. We were the generation caught up in long lasted civil war in Sri Lanka, so my parents wanted to educate us abroad.
ReplyDeleteauntiemay
ReplyDeleteI was walking the streets of Quito, Ecuador and I saw many street kids and talked to them, bought them food, etc. I was abroad for a semester in college in 2002 (which was cheaper than staying in Illinois believe it or not, and it was a great experience). I became more proficient in her language (I am a Spanish major). And now I can write to my child in Quito about the SAME places I was at, like parks, etc. Also, I always wanted to foster/adopt (from anywhere) but husband doesn't want to, so this is one way to help.
April 19, 2019
auntiemay – The plight of children living on the streets, hiding under bridges and in railway stations breaks my heart. You have a beautiful soul to care for them. And, how wonderful to walk your child through the steps you made in Quito many years ago!
ReplyDeleteApril 20, 2019
I had a difficult upbringing and was emancipated just after my 17th birthday. A lovely couple "sponsored" me to finish high school when I was going to drop out to find a 2nd job (I was a straight-A student at the time). When I had a better job at 19, I started sponsoring. A friend of mine had a sponsor child when we were 13 (her parents paid for it) and, after the help that I'd received, I wanted to give back. I wasn't really financially stable enough to do so though, so I stopped for awhile. I'm a first generation college (university) student, via scholarships and other financial assistance, so I know how life-changing education can be. This is one reason why I really try to help fund education for my kids - in my experience, even in the US, it was the primary thing that differentiated the kids at my working class high school between those who remained low-income and struggling vs. the few of us who have changed our socioeconomic situation. I like that CI has no religious aspect and they both "give a man a fish" by meeting urgent needs of the kids now, but also have a strong focus on "teaching a man to fish" through education and job training/assistance programs.
ReplyDeleteApril 25, 2019
Brooke – Amazing how you transformed hardship, difficulties and challenges to help you evolve and become your best self. You are paying it forward through sponsorship and an inspiration to this world! And, thank you for opening up yourself to tell your story.
ReplyDeleteApril 27, 2019