Child Sponsor Chat

Thank you!

2009-02-05T22:05:00.003-06:00

I made an effort in the month of January to find sponsors for Compassion International kids. I didn't exactly set the world on fire with my results. But I did get three children sponsored. So THANK YOU to those three families who responded!

I'm particularly excited because I know these are dedicated people who will write to their children. And I know they are families who will be with their kids for the long-haul.

May all of you be blessed through new and exciting sponsor relationships!

I found a neat fiction book about child sponsorship ...

2008-11-21T22:48:00.008-06:00

Once a week I take my preschooler over to the library. While I hang out in the children's section with her, I browse the shelves and re-read some of my old favorite books, (Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children, anyone?) I also check out what's new in children's literature.

I came across a book the other day, written for grade-schoolers, called "The Exiles at Home." It is about a family of four sisters. During a school break one of the girls uses her Christmas money to sponsor a boy in Africa. She commits to sending 10 pounds a month and writing letters. The dilemma is the girl didn't tell her parents she did this, and now she and the sisters have to figure out how to come up with the sponsorship money, on their own, each month. Much of the plot centers around the odd jobs the girls take on and the scrapes they get into trying to accomplish this.

The book not only writes about the sponsorship experience from the girls' perspective -- the author includes sections written from the boy's point of view. What it was like for him to learn he had a new sponsor, what it meant for him to receive letters, his hopes and dreams about meeting his new sponsors.

This book has a VERY cool plot twist and a really neat ending.

It's such a great book for parents who want to introduce the idea of child sponsorship to their kids.

Now I have to add a disclaimer -- the girls in the book are not "perfect children." Clearly there is some deceitfulness -- sponsoring a child without their parents' permission for example! -- and some other mildly naughty things they do in the book. So there is definitely some opportunity for discussion here about what the girls could have done differently to make this experience a smoother one.

But if that doesn't turn you off, I would definitely recommend this book for the 9-12 year olds in your family. Yay, I love books!

Meet Tesfaye!

2008-09-20T18:06:00.005-05:00

I finally got a photo of Tesfaye uploaded! Tesfaye is the other young man we sponsor in Ethiopia, through Compassion International. Isn't he cool!!?? We LOVE sponsoring an older child because, through him, we get so much information about the country and what life is really like in Ethiopia. It's more of an adult perspective. I highly recommend sponsoring one older child and one younger child. There are such advantages to having kids from both ends of the age spectrum. So if you're going to sponsor, go ahead and sponsor two at once! :)

Tesfaye is 18 years old and lives in a medium-sized city with his mother and siblings. His mother sells onions in the market. According to Tesfaye, his father died when he was little. Tesfaye is in school and there was a note in his paperwork saying that he is approved to be in the program until 2011, so I believe that is when he graduates. His interests revolve around nature and natural wonders. He would particularly like to see an iceberg. (Me, too!)

There are so many things I have yet to ask Tesfaye. I'm especially curious to know what his plans are for after school. We are only about a year into our sponsorship, so we are just starting to really build that relationship and flow of letters.

By the way, we sponsor Tesfaye through Compassion's correspondence program. Here's how that works:

Some Compassion kids are sponsored by corporations or through trusts and there isn't anyone to actually write. So these kids are available for you to do the correspondence part. The corporation pays the monthly fee and you write letters and send birthday, Christmas and family gifts. You basically ARE the child's sponsor -- and the child will know you as his or her sponsor.

If the corporation decides to stop funding the child, you are given the opportunity to take on the full sponsorship. At that point you would begin paying the monthly fee in addition to corresponding.

If you are interested in corresponding with a child through this program, call Compassion International -- 800-336-7676. I made the call and within about 2-3 months we received the child packet. We're so glad we did. WE LOVE TESFAYE! :)

Drum Roll Please

2008-09-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

I would like to introduce my sponsored child and his brother -- the coolest kids in all of Ethiopia -- Israel and Ebenezer:
Israel and Ebenezer live in a medium-sized town. Their mother passed away and they do not live with their father. Israel attends school and is in the 2nd grade. He wants to be an artist. He is learning English. He has a lot of friends and a beautiful smile -- although I don't get to see it too often -- he's a pretty serious kid. He's a natty dresser -- I love his little suits. And he always puts together the best packages for us -- a great letter, the coolest pictures, and a demonstration of his latest English achievements.

So how did I pick Israel out of the hundreds of kids on the website? I went into the process with no preconceived notion of what country or even what gender I wanted. I simply browsed, and when I saw Israel's picture I just knew. As I clicked on his photo, the only way I can describe it is that I felt the hand of God at work. It was as though He were saying, "You're going to change this child's life today."

In short, God smiled on me that day. This area of my life has borne so much fruit -- I am so thankful for being called to child sponsorship and for being able to serve in this way. I've read stories from other sponsors about how they've chosen their kids. It's amazing how many are similar to mine. You often hear, "Something just moved me when I saw this child's picture." I believe that the "something" is the hand of God that never fails us.

As I always do at the end of my posts, I encourage my readers to check out the Compassion website -- http://www.compassion.com/. Perhaps child sponsorship isn't in God's plan for your life -- but if it is, I am confident that when you see your child, "something" will let you know. :)

If you like quizzes

2008-08-28T10:33:00.004-05:00

I did a "Where Should I Sponsor a Child?" quiz over at HelloQuizzy. Here's the link. Try it out!

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-where-should-i-sponsor-a-child-test-1

My American Family

2008-08-14T20:11:00.009-05:00

You've seen a photo of our Ethiopian family. Here are a couple of my American family. My husband and I, and our daughter. (Her name is Ava -- but she tells everyone her name is "Honey.")

They're in Pennsylvania at the moment, which gives Mama some time to blog!

Check out this blog!

2008-03-04T09:28:00.012-06:00

Compassion International started their own blog and it is excellent! Here is the link http://blog.compassion.com/. Each day an employee or a Compassion advocate writes an entry about some facet of the program. They are all interesting. I particularly enjoy the entries written by Anthony Njoroge, a young man who was a sponsored child in Kenya and is now graduating from Compassion's Leadership Development Program. I love his first-hand perspective on the program.

In yesterday's entry on my blog, I shared how we chose our sponsored child. Here is a similar story from Compassion's blog. I hope they don't mind that I excerpt one of their entries.

"A sponsor attended a Michael W. Smith concert and was looking at the packets on the Compassion display table. God moved on her heart to sponsor a specific child whose packet she felt drawn to, but she hesitated and placed the packet back on the table. Later during the concert, as Compassion was being presented, ushers were passing out packets for people to consider. She decided at that point to raise her hand. She was handed the very same packet she had placed back on the table earlier in the evening."

This story was shared by Brad Barker, the director of Compassion's customer service operation.
For those of you who have never attended a Michael W. Smith concert, they are HUGE. There were probably hundreds of packets passed out that day. To be handed back that very same packet is pretty astounding.

Have a miraculous day everyone!

How Does Child Sponsorship Work?

2008-02-23T12:20:00.005-06:00

There are a variety of child sponsorship agencies to choose from and each has their program set up differently. I have first-hand experience with Compassion International, in the role of a sponsor, so I'll share what I know. (For more info, go to their website at http://www.compassion.com/.)

1) HOW DO I CHOOSE A CHILD TO SPONSOR?: One of the things I love about Compassion is that you can go to their website and select a specific child -- you aren't relying on the organization to select someone for you, (although you can if that is your preference.) The website has photos of hundreds of children waiting to be sponsored. Click on a photo to learn a child's name, age, interests, education level, family status, and the country in which they live.

You can simply browse the photos or you can do a search targeting a specific piece of criteria. Perhaps you would like to sponsor a child born on your birthdate -- you can search by birthday. Perhaps you have a heart for children with special needs -- you can search for a child who is mentally or physically challenged. Maybe you just want to sponsor that child who has been waiting the longest -- there is a search function for that, as well. There is a child here for every person.

2) HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?: It costs $32 a month to sponsor a child through Compassion. This money is pooled to pay for the entire Compassion program which serves over 1 million children in 24 countries.

In addition to the $32, you can send up to $25 a year for a child's birthday. The entire $25 goes directly to the child. The workers at the child's project will confer with the family and purchase gifts that the child needs. My child has gotten things like shoes, clothing, a dictionary, colored pencils, etc.

You can also send a family gift of $25-$300 once a year. Again, the entire amount is given to the family -- the project workers and the family confer and purchase items that the family needs. You will get a detailed list of what the family purchased along with the price of each item. My child's family has used our gifts for things like insecticide, school fees, rent, food, clothing and savings.

Once a year you may send a monetary Christmas gift in whatever amount you choose. This gift is pooled with all sponsor Christmas gifts and divided equally to ensure that each Compassion child receives something.

3) CAN I WRITE TO MY CHILD?: YES!! This is the fun part. You can write letters, send photos, send postcards, send stickers -- anything light and flat that you think your child will enjoy. He or she will write letters in return, sharing with you his/her life and accomplishments. My child, (who wants to be an artist), always includes pictures he has drawn. We have even gotten photos from special events such as his kindergarten graduation and birthday. Compassion will send you periodic updates on how your child is progressing in the program.

I believe that this communication is THE KEY to giving your child encouragement and making him or her feel special. Very often, the letters you write become the prized possessions in that child's home. And there is no excuse not to write -- Compassion even has an e-mail form, so you can e-mail your child!

4) CAN I VISIT MY CHILD?: Yes! Compassion offers trips each year to a variety of countries, providing you with an opportunity to meet your child. You may also plan a trip and travel on your own. You simply contact Compassion far enough in advance that they can coordinate a visit.

Those are the basics. It's a pretty simple process from the sponsor's end. Check out the Compassion website. Fifteen minutes from now you, too, may be a sponsor!

How to be a top-notch sponsor

2008-02-22T18:17:00.000-06:00

Everyone has their own approach to building a relationship with their sponsored kids. Here are a few tips that have helped me to be the best sponsor I can be!

1) WRITE TO YOUR CHILD: I write once a month. But I would say writing 3-4 times a year is great. With Compassion, you can e-mail your child through their website -- how easy is that? A birthday card, a Christmas card, a postcard and an e-mail and you've corresponded four times right there -- totally doable!

2) SEND FUN THINGS FROM TIME TO TIME: Photos, postcards, stickers, bookmarks. Anything light and flat. Whenever we go someplace new, I enjoy scouting out the giftshops for cool cards or postcards to send. (Greeting cards that play music were a particular hit!)

3) KEEP YOUR LETTERS AGE-APPROPRIATE AND REASONABLE IN LENGTH: I read a post from a woman talking about the 7-page letter she sent her sponsored child. Not only does this tax the resources of the agency, but how overwhelmed that kid must have been to receive a 7-page letter. If I were that child's parents, I would have found that downright creepy. Keep the lengthy stories of your great-aunt's lumbago to yourself -- one-page in length is appropriate.

4) UNDERSTAND THAT THE INITIAL LETTERS FROM YOUR CHILD MAY BE SHORT AND GENERIC: All relationships take time to build -- and your child is likely young and still learning the skill of correspondence.

5) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ADDITIONAL GIVING OPPORTUNITIES: Birthdays, family gifts, etc. With Compassion, these gifts go directly to the family, maximizing what your money is doing for your sponsored child.

6) LEARN ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S COUNTRY AND CULTURE: I knew nothing about Ethiopia when I started as a sponsor. Well, nothing other than the usual stereotypes -- I doubt I need to elaborate on those. What a difference two years has made. I know a ton about the Ethiopian government, current events, tourist spots, national parks, landscape, wildlife, national holidays. What a wonderful place it is! Having my horizons expanded was an unexpected benefit for me.

Do children really need MY help?

2008-02-22T13:45:00.001-06:00

Here are some statistics:

More than 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. *
Six million children die every year as a result of hunger or malnutrition. **
134 million children between the ages of 7 and 18 have never been to school. ***
1.2 million children are believed to be exploited through the commercial sex trade. *
Approximately 246 million children work. ****
Approximately 171 million children work in hazardous conditions. *
An estimated 8.4 million children work under the most extreme of circumstances: forced into debt bondage or other forms of slavery, prostitution, pornography, armed conflict or other illicit activities. *

Sources:

* UNICEF State of the World's Children 2006

** Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

*** Study done by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol

**** International Labor Organization

COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

2008-02-21T12:52:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone! Compassion International, the child sponsorship organization through which we sponsor our children, has issued an invitation to its donors to blog about our experience as sponsors. I am extremely excited about this blog and about the opportunity to put out the good word about Compassion. If there is anyone out there who has considered sponsoring a child and just wants more information -- or is on the fence as to whether this is a worthwhile way to spend your money and your efforts -- YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. I will do a series of entries on the hows and whys of child sponsorship. I have been a sponsor now for two years and have really thrown myself into it heart and soul. So I have some good information for you!

To begin at the beginning -- how I learned about Compassion. When I was a very young woman, just out of high school, I attended a Christian concert. The musician took a break during his set to share with us the needs of children around the world living in poverty -- children who were orphaned, starving, unable to attend school, lacking in the basic necessities that so many of us take for granted -- and how Compassion International was working to meet those needs.

Today, I could not tell you the name of that musician or any of the songs they sang that night, but the message that there are children out there in dire need of love and assistance is a message that stayed with me permanently. From that moment on, I wanted to sponsor a child. Twenty years later (gulp!) -- now married and a mother, I sat down at my computer, looked up the Compassion International website and met a little boy from Ethiopia who would become a part of our family and would totally reinvigorate me as a human being and as a Christian.

The joy that our family has experienced from sponsoring a child -- and the lessons we've learned about love and faith, caring and sharing -- are huge. I hope there is some way in the entries to come that I can fully convey this to you. But even more so, I hope that someday you experience it yourself by sponsoring a child.