Compassion International: Meet Our 3 Kids

Today I thought I would introduce you to our wonderful kids that we sponsor through Compassion International so you are familiar with why we love being sponsors.

Said

Said was our very first Compassion International child, whom we pay the $38 a month to sponsor.  For us, this is a small sacrifice (one less time eating out), but to him and his family it is a great help with education, wellness, and support.  We learned about Compassion International at a concert in January 2012 and were handed the packet for Said.  We felt drawn to sponsor him, so after the concert we went out to the lobby and filled out the paperwork.  From there I read the Compassion International website, blogs, etc. to learn more about being a sponsor, the items I could mail him, and much more.  Said was registered with the program in September 2011 and we became his first sponsors in January 2012.

A little about Said:  His birthday is September 5, 2006, so he just turned 6 last month.  He lives with his mother and father, but they have never been married.  He is in Preschool and likes cars, drawing (he's sent us some great artwork!), and ball games.  He is from a small village in Peru.

So far we have gotten 2 letters from him.  Since he is so young, they have form letters where there are questions for them to circle the answers to (such as favorite color), or his tutor/teacher writes the answers in for him.  In a few years I'm sure we will start to see his handwriting as he learns how to write.  He has drawn some awesome pictures for us as well, which get more detailed and clear as he ages.

 We have sent him several letters over the past 10 months, along with stickers, coloring pages, blank paper (for drawing), children's books, band-aids, a birthday card, etc. (same with to the other kids).

Priyanga

This is an older picture of Priyanga that they provided us with.

This is the picture we were provided with when we became her correspondence sponsors.

This is her new picture which we were just sent a few weeks ago.

After sponsoring Said, I contacted Compassion International about becoming a Correspondence Sponsor.  This means that the child already has a sponsor who pays their monthly sponsorship fee, but that for whatever reason, their sponsor does not write to them.  That is where I come in!  In February 2012 I became Priyanga's Correspondence Sponsor and have received a couple letters from her so far (in English even!).  I emailed Compassion and was provided with one of her older pictures (the first one above) so over time I can see how she has grown and matured, which is great to see.  I asked them about her current paying sponsor, and found out that Priyanga has been in the Compassion program since 2004, and has only had one sponsor. Priyanga's sponsor has only written one letter to her in the last 8 years, which is sad to me.  Thankfully now that I have become her Correspondence Sponsor she has received at least one letter a month, most of the time more.

A little about Priyanga:  Her birthday is February 21, 2000, so she is now 12 years old.  She is from India and writes to us in English which makes it nice since I can send her more items written in English (since they only translate letters, not each coloring page and such that you send).  She likes playing dolls, house, singing, and other games.  She is in 8th grade and loves school.  She lives with her parents who are married and has a few siblings (still trying to learn how many and their ages).

Selemani

An old picture of Selemani.

Newer picture of Selemani- all smiles :)

I was also able to be the Correspondence Sponsor to Selemani in February 2012.  Selemani was first registered in December 1999, and has been sponsored by the same person since 2000. His sponsors wrote him approximately 15 letters in the past 12 years that they have sponsored him.  Now that I write to him, he has received that many letters in the last year alone, which I am pretty proud of.

A little about Selemani:  His birthday is July 5, 1993.  He is in 11th or 12 grade and writes to us in Swahili (which they translate to English).  He loves soccer!  He lives with his grandma, and his mom tries to help support him when she can.  His dad is not around.  He has written us several letters so far and would love for us to come visit him.  He lives in Tanzania.  As you can see from his pictures, he has definitely grown up over time and became a happy handsome young man!

I hope you can tell how much we love our sponsored kids!  They are each special in their own way.  I am in the process of requesting another correspondence child (your limit in the US is 3), so fingers crossed that one becomes available for me, since I love being able to write to these kids, pray for them, and encourage them.  I hope you feel the pull in your heart to sponsor a child as well.  If so, please click on the link below to be taken to the Compassion International site to search for a child to sponsor.  Thanks!

Child Evangelism