Sponsor a Child

Have you ever considered sponsoring a child? We decided to become child sponsors when our first two children were quite young - before we began homeschooling. We didn't just dive into it; for us it took a lot of thought - just as though we were adopting or fostering a child. We researched several child sponsorship organizations with the following questions:

How much would it cost, and could we afford it over the long term? We recognized that this would be a long term commitment to a child and family who would depend upon us.

What percentage of our payments would go directly to the child/family?

What kinds of things would the money be used to pay for? Would these things make a real difference in the child's life?

How long has the organization been in the business of sponsoring children? What was its track record? Could it be trusted?

In which countries did this organization work, and how long had it operated there?

How much personal, direct communication would we be able to have with our sponsored child? What kinds of personal exchanges could take place? How much would we be able to learn about our sponsored child and his or her family, church, and school?

After exploring several different child sponsorship programs, we finally decided upon Compassion. We liked everything we learned about this organizaton, but I'll be honest with you. When we received our snapshot of Rita (photo above), we just fell in love with her. Rita was an beautiful little eight-year-old girl living with her family in Indonesia.

How could we say no?

During our sponsorship of Rita, our children wrote letters to her and also sent cards, photos, and bookmarks - anything flat that could be mailed in an envelope. For her birthday and Christmas we were permitted to sent a little extra money, with which she bought new shoes and a school uniform. (She was so excited about her uniform, the first day she wore it she danced in front of her classmates.) She draw pictures and wrote letters to us that were translated into English by her teacher, Harry. We also received some of her actual completed school work and interesting information about Indonesia. Our experience was so positive that we decided to also sponsor an African child, again through Compassion. We received yearly photographs of our Ugandan child as well as many group photos taken at her school. We exchanged one-to-one letters, cards, and artwork, and we received copies of her progress reports and several family situation updates.

As a homeschooling family, child sponsorship was extremely rewarding. Through letter writing, photo exchanges, personal financial contributions (even pennies), and prayers, our children learned that they CAN make a difference in the world by helping a needy child in very personal and tangible ways.

We have since lost track of Rita, who would now be 31 years of age, one year older than my oldest child; and Nanduga Mary, of the same age. However, we still have both girls' letters and photos and think of them often; and we continue to pray for their health and well-being.