Sponsor a child

I just heard from Plan Canada that the little girl we were sponsoring just died of malaria. It’s kind of a shock, and I feel a little empty inside, but we’d only been sponsoring her a month, and we hadn’t even sent her a letter or anything yet. Which, come to think of it, makes me feel worse…

They asked us if we wanted to sponsor another child in the same village, and we said yes, so we’ll be getting another package in the mail. It’ll be sad to open it, but I’m glad we’re sticking with it. Getting news like that makes me think that we could actually be helping with our little donations. And makes me regret not doing it sooner. Ah well, let’s not get depressed about it: I’ll remember her little face and use it as a reminder not to get too complacent about things, and look forward to the future.

Well, since I am in the process of moving, I think I should delay my plans to Sponsor, just for a month or two. Just so I know if I can really budget. I’m sure I can, but I don’t want to rush into everything so fast, and it wouldn’t be fair to the child, especially.

So, this is on hiatus, as much as it breaks my heart.

I don’t know how to choose!
I think I might just allow a random choice to be brought up and sponsor him/her. Fate, right?

Last month, I went to a World Vision booth at my school, and chose a child to sponsor. Now, in my bedroom, there is a checkbook. There is also, however, a tornado that springs up every week and trashes the place. Thus… I could not find said checkbook.

HOWEVER…

I was diligent, and eventually found it. But once I had, I realized that I really didn’t want to send my check through the mail, because on the card of the girl I want to sponsor there is an “expiration date” for when I can sponsor her, and it is fast-approaching!

So, I quickly went online to request that I be able to sponsor her directly from the internet, but have yet to receive a response.

I shall update you once I do receive one, as I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat…

=]

I opened the mailbox yesterday and found the Plan Canada new sponsor envelope waiting for me inside. My wife and I opened it up together, and found that we are now “officially” sponsoring a beautiful little girl from Guinea. I use quotation marks around “official”, because I know that technically our monthly donation goes to the community and not specifically to that particular child, but we’re still making a (small) difference, and it’ll be nice to learn about the culture and try to develop a relationship. Besides, $35 a month isn’t really that much money, and they can use it more effectively than we could.

(I know I can’t talk specifically about our sponsored child, but I wish I could post a picture of her. She is both cute and very wary of the cameraman. It is awesome.)

I almost set up the child sponsorship last night, but when they asked who they wanted it addressed to, I froze. My wife kept her name when we got married, so I don’t know how to fill that part out; I would have asked her but she’s away this week. So hopefully she calls me tonight or tomorrow and I can ask and we can start helping out very soon!

My wife and I looked over some possible sponsorship organizations this evening, and we’ve narrowed it down to two different ones: Plan Canada and SOS Children’s Village. My wife sees pros and cons in each one, but she thinks we should decide and start donating by the end of the week, and I agree. It’s getting exciting!

Now that I’m making a little more money, I suggested to my wife that we sponsor a child, something she’s always wanted to do. She’s keen on the idea, but I don’t really know where to start. I’ve looked up a few sponsor-a-child agencies, and am leaning to the non-denominational kind: I don’t want to speak ill of anyone’s religion, I’d just rather it be (relatively) free of cultural bias, if that makes any sense. And I don’t really know what area of the world to focus on, or if that would even make a difference. More research is needed. But hopefully, when we finally solidify our plan, the child we sponsor will be the first of many!

I just signed up with Save the Children to the tune of $40 a month to sponsor Gloria from El Salvador. I chose Save the Children because it was the best secular child sponsorship program I could find. I am Catholic but I’m also somewhat apprehensive about faith-based charities. I want my money to go toward her nutrition, education and overall well-being, not stripping her of her cultural heritage and imposing my own. If she finds Christ through the work of the many dedicated missionaries in her country then that is beautiful, but she must come to him of her own free will.

I didn’t even plan to start sponsoring tonight; I was just considering it. But she is just a beautiful little girl. I will post her picture when I get the welcome package.

If I won’t be able to sponsor a child, I would definitely donate to charity.