Untitled
3 weeks ago
I would like to sponsor a little girl in India, Tibet or Africa
How to sponsor a child through world vision
It made me
speechless 
"Another step taken towards life as a grown-up; and this one is perhaps the most fulfilling of all."
How I did it: Since I was a child, I used to watch the WorldVision television events. I really don't know what drew me to them, but I watched them without fail. I remember thinking as a child "one day, I'm going to be like those families they show who sponsor a child."
In more recent years, I told myself "As soon as I get a full-time job, I will sponsor a child." Well, I've had a full-time job for the past few weeks, so I finally decided to make the commitment.
I originally wanted to sponsor a little girl in either Moldova or Romania, but my searches came up empty. Then I accidentally clicked on something, and I came up with profiles of little girls in India. I have always felt drawn to India's culture, and I know a little bit about the difficulties girls and women face there. In a few minutes, I had sponsored Sonali. She's 7 years old, the same age as the girls in my Brownies unit.
At first I just felt proud of myself for doing a good deed, and also for being able to put myself in the category of "working women who sponsor children," like it was some sort of status symbol. But then it hit me: Sonali is a real little girl, who lives in real poverty, and who in her seven years has faced more tragedy than I have faced in my twenty-two years here. Sure, it sucks when a boyfriend leaves you, or when you want to lose that extra 50 pounds, but my concerns seem so trivial when I think of what this child, this unique, individual little girl (because I think we're all guilty of lumping poor people into one big impersonal mass) has been through.
Then I imagined how she will react when she finds out that someone has sponsored her. Imagine getting that news? Telling yourself, or your family "Someone chose to sponsor me. A person half way around the world cares about me, and has decided to step in and make my life that much better." I have no idea what that feels like, but I hope that for Sonali, it is as positive and life-changing as I imagine it to be.
Lessons & tips: 1) Choose an organization that you feel comfortable with, and whose services you approve of.
2) Follow your heart - choose a child whose story lights a spark in your soul.
3) Realize that it's a 40$ a month commitment. I make a really low salary at the moment, but when I think that my 40$ will go so much further in poverty-stricken parts of India than it will here, it's an obvious choice.
Resources: The WorldVision webiste was really helpful.
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jknaup is thinking about his life.
With much knowledge comes much sorrow.
12 months ago
I feel like I have been blessed to live in the circumstances that I do here in America. The freedoms we take for granted, the richness of our opportunities & resources has given birth to an idea I would like to “adopt”.
I should be able to adopt one child through an NGO like World Vision or Christian Children’s Fund for each bedroom in the house I own. I want to make this tradition in my family. If you can afford a 4 bedroom house then you can afford to sponsor 4 children who don’t have one.
Keeping the right perspective about life for other people in the world forces open the tightly clenched fist of consumerism to give back to the greater good of humanity.
Harijan Romantic Self-Knowing Believer
i finally got my first letter from her!
2 years ago
it came with a recent picture of her, and she’s just gorgeous! and a letter telling me about her family and town she lives in and then a letter she wrote telling me about her school day and all the activities she does and things like that! i was so happy to check my mail and see two envelopes from india!!!
Harijan Romantic Self-Knowing Believer
just got the paperwork!
2 years ago
she’s lovely! 7 years old, comes from an average sized family but things are tight. she’s from india. she likes rhymes… she helps her parents by doing chores and things. i can’t wait to get her little gifts and getting letters back from her! that will be fun!!
Harijan Romantic Self-Knowing Believer
just waiting for her info in the mail...
2 years ago
my husband and i just sponsored a child on sunday! we should be getting info about her in a week. i’m so excited! her name is Pooja. she’s 7 years old, and from india. she’s beautiful! i can’t wait to start getting letters and things from her and i can’t wait to send her letters and things!!
it was funny too… my husband and i tried to sponsor her, we put in all our info but then my browser crapped out on us. i tried three times and it crapped out. so i gave up and had to let go of the idea that i was able to sponsor pooja. on monday, though, i called world vision and they found my account and said everything went through just fine!!! we were so excited! and the woman was VERY nice.
it’s hard picking a child, too…. after looking through all of them you want to sponsor them all! and it kinda seems like a beauty pageant or something… whoever looks the most cute or the most pitiful will likely be sponsored before the uncute or unpitiful kid. i mean, i HOPE that’s not the case, but i’m sure it happens a lot. it should just be randomized. but james and i wanted to make sure we sponsored a girl. life is a lot harder for girls especially in 3rd world countries. and being familiar with the red light district of india, i was very eager to give a girl the chance to never have to set foot in that place.
i’m so excited!
llong is growing slowly but surely
Easy!
2 years ago
It’s so incredibly convenient. You can sponsor a child right now, from your computer.
I only give $30 a month, which is essentally nothing in 2007 New York City. (It cost that much to hit a diner with a friend.)
She’s an Albanian kid. I wish her the best.
Worlds Apart
2 years ago
Since my wife and I are expecting a baby very soon, I thought it might be a neat idea to sponsor a worldvision child with the same birthdate. I haven’t done the research yet, so I’m not sure if newborns are available to sponsor. So we may have to wait a year or so before we can choose someone. Wouldn’t it be great for our son to meet someone who his family has helped through the years??
Yay!
2 years ago
I just sponsored a little girl from India named Mindora. Her favorite class is Language and she loves to play Chess. One of my personal goals is to help save a life . . . so hopefully I am working towards it now. This is definitely Worth Doing. And for only one dollar a day, it’s small change for you that could make a big difference in someone else’s life. If you’re thinking about doing this, DO IT NOW.
Think about if it was YOU that needed help. Besides, if you won’t take $0.10 out of $1 today to give to the less fortunate, you won’t take $10 out of $10,000 when you do actually have the money to contribute in the future. You can be someone’s HERO!
HavanaCat is traveling though time and will return last week
A letter!
2 years ago
G and I received our first letter from Maraka. She had drawn a little picture on it…very sweet. It was written for her by someone, perhaps in the community. The handwriting and grammar were obviously of someone whose first language is not English. It was wonderful and we’re so excited! I’m going to write back to her soon and send some stickers. I wish we were allowed to send gifts, but they say it makes the other children who don’t get any feel bad. She’s 8 years old…what a cutiepatootie.
HavanaCat is traveling though time and will return last week
Done!
2 years ago
G and I received a letter in the mail to tell us that the girl we sponsored lives in Kenya, her name is Maraka, and she’s 8 years old. I’ve always wanted to do this, and I hope we are helping her and her community in some way. I’ve mailed my first letter to her, and once it’s translated, maybe she can respond!
