Last Chance

There are only 3 days left to sponsor Erik, through Compassion Australia before his packet expires.  The cost is $44 per month. If you, or someone you know is interested, please contact me ASAP.

Erik is 10 years old and lives with his parents in Guatemala.  This family stuggles to survive because of poverty, and the average monthly income in his community is only US$50.  Erik needs a sponsor!

My Prayer Child

Many of us child sponsors are at our limit of sponsor children financially, but when a child grabs our hearts, the thing we can do is pray.

This is Keyling, and she has been on my heart for weeks.  She is having her 8th birthday in exactly one week.  What a fantastic birthday present - receiving a sponsor!

She lives near Leon, Nicaragua where the average monthly income is only $19.  Normal houses have dirt floors, wood walls and cardboard roofs.  What good is cardboard and dirt when the 6 month rainy season arrives?

Her community is in desperate need of proper sanitation, employment and vocational training.

Yet, despite the poverty that Keyling is living in, she is still like any girl and loves playing with dolls and jumping rope.  Her above average performance at school proves that the poverty around her does not ruin her spirit and the joy of being a child.

To view Keyling's profile click here

Sponsorship costs $44 a month, love, prayers and writing at least 3 letters per year.

Keyling is listed on the Compassion USA website, but can be transferred to any of Compassion's Country Offices around the world.  If you are unsure of this, just ask me and I will try and assist you.

*REPOST: Extra Love?

I am reposting this because I am still looking for a sponsor for Erik, and time is running out.

Do you and your family have a little extra love to share? All it takes is some love, prayers, a short letter every now and then, and $44 a month to change the life of a child through Compassion Australia.

I am fortunate enough to be a Compassion Advocate, and I currently am looking for Erik..

Let me introduce you...

This is Erik.

Erik is 10 years old and lives with his parents in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala. Much to his mother's disgrace, his white shirt is dirty from being outside playing soccer (his favourite) with his friends, before he had to come inside and have his photo taken. He also loves playing with cars and singing.

Erik is living in severe poverty in Guatemala, but with Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program, having opportunities that many other children could only dream about. Your sponsorship with provide such things as nutritious food, hygiene education, recreational activities, medical and dental care, tutoring, Bible teaching and educational support and literacy classes for the parents of Erik.

If you would like to add Erik to your family, please let me know, his packet expire on 31^st Aug.

*** Julia has been sponsored!***

And they grow up!

This week I have been fortunate enough to recieve updated photos of my sponsor children Pras and Niki.  They are both growing up (as kids do!) and they are both loving, caring kids..

Here is Pras Feb 2010:

And now, Aug 2011: I love that you can see his confidence.  He looks happy and proud to have his photo taken.  He is also wearing his 'church shoes' he bought with the birthday money we sent him.  He's also keeping them clean and white!

And Nikita in Oct 2009:

And her now, in Aug 2011: She looks very happy!

This week we also welcome Christine, who is 9yrs old from the Philippines.  She is a correspondence child, and in her years with Compassion she has never received a letter or gift.  That will soon change!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to Pacifique, who turns 15 years old in Rwanda today! Hope you have a great day!!

Wise Words

I came across these words of wisdom from Mother Teresa, and I hope they will encourage you as they encouraged me:

"What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop".

It Begins With A Child

When I started this blog, I titled it 'It Starts With One.. Act Now', because one person - You, can change another's life, in a easy, simple way.  This Compassion Australia video "It Begins With A Child" says exactly the same, why not take a moment to watch the video and meet Moses?

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Jose - our newest correspondence child- who turns 12 in Ecuador today!! Sorry I couldn't get a card there in time, but we will be thinking of you!

And the Family Keeps Growing!

I had a lovely surprise today, a email from Compassion saying "I couldn't resist, here's three more correspondence children for you"..

Well, what could I say?!

God rewards the faithful, He sees what we do - nothing goes unnoticed.  So Thank You for expanding our family some more!

Please join me in welcoming:

Tomalika, 8 years old from Bangladesh.  She enjoys playing with dolls and skipping.  The area where she lives is very, very poor.  It is isolated by rivers, which has the very high risk of flooding, means crops do not grow in the salty soil, and the only safe drinking water is rain water.

Jose is 11 years old (his birthday is this Friday) from Ecuador.  He enjoys soccer, playing with cars and story telling.  His community is in desperate need for clean drinking water.

And, this is Victor.  He is 12 years old and lives in El Salvador.  He enjoys soccer and riding a bike.  His community has many issues such as gangs, diseases, drug addiction, alcoholism and witchcraft.  Despite living in those conditions, Victor manages to have a smile that would light up a room!

I feel so blessed to add these beautiful children to our family.  This also means three new countries to  learn about.  Now time to make some room for their photos on the fridge! :)





Think Children

What do you think about children?  What comes to mind when someone mentions 'child' or 'children'?

This video may very well challenge what you think..

"Children are the hardest hit by the effects of poverty, but they are the least able to do anything about their circumstances" Tim Hanna, Compassion Australia CEO

What can you do to change one child's life? 

It begins with one child, and it begins with you

Urgent Help Needed!

Parts of East Africa (Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda) are experiencing the worst drought in over 60 years.  The lack of rain for two consecutive seasons has caused crop failure, forced food prices to rise, resulting in malnourishment and regional conflict.  Many, many people are forced to flee, leaving thousands displaced.

With your donation to Compassion's Drought Relief Fund, Compassion will provide assistance to Compassion Sponsor Children's families and communities.  This may include assistance with rising food prices and supplements to combat malnourishment.

To make a donation visit the Compassion Australia website here

Extra Love?

Do you and your family have a little extra love to share? All it takes is some love, prayers, a short letter every now and then, and $44 a month to change the life of a child through Compassion Australia.

I am fortunate enough to be a Compassion Advocate, and I currently am looking for sponsors for two children.

Let me introduce you...

This is Julia.

She is a beautiful 8 year old from Aldea El Sitio, Guatemala, where she lives with her parents and 4 siblings. She loves playing with her friends, basketball, playing jacks and playing house.

This is Erik.

He is 10 years old and lives with his parents in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala. Much to his mother's disgrace, his white shirt is dirty from being outside playing soccer (his favourite) with his friends, before he had to come inside and have his photo taken. He also loves playing with cars and singing.

Both these children are living in severe poverty in Guatemala, but with Compassion's Child Sponsorship Program, both Julia and Erik have opportunities that many other children could only dream about. Your sponsorship with provide such things as nutritious food, hygiene education, recreational activities, medical and dental care, tutoring, Bible teaching and educational support and literacy classes for the parents of Julia and Erik.

If you would like to add one or two members to your family, please let me know, these packets expire on 31^st Aug.

Another Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to our newest correspondence child, Stenly, who turns 13 in East Indonesia today!! Hope you have a great day!!

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday to our correspondence child, Gerson who turns 15 in Honduras today! 

Couldn't Ask For More!

After having a couple of weeks holiday, I arrived home to a pile of mail...

First of all, I received Bridget and Pacifique's undated profiles.

Then, I received a profile for another correspondence child. This is Stenly, he is turning 13 this coming Sunday, and he lives in East Indonesia. Welcome to the ever-growing family, Stenly!

And the letters:

2 from Igor in Brazil. One was a general letter, saying he is having treatment on his right eye, so to pray for his healing; the tutor also asked to send more letters because he loves to receive them. There was no mention of his mother – which is good news, because in his previous letter he said that she may have breast cancer. The other letter was a Christmas thankyou. It had with it a photo of him with his presents:

There was also a letter from Johana in Nic. She thanks us for the letters we have sent, and also says that her brother had a accident and got treatment at the Project (it's amazing that sponsorship isn't just for one child, it benefits the entire family), and her closing sentence was 'Remember I love you so much because you are the two angels that God has sent me'. Beautiful words from a beautiful girl.

This week I also received a letter from Niki in East Indo. She calls us Mum and Dad. She describes their Easter celebrations, by saying they have a lantern parade, and what sounds like a eating competition, egg hunt and drawing. She thanks God that she has a kind hearted sponsor, and thanks us for always caring for her.

And to finish the week off, today I received a letter from Pras in Indo. It is a Easter letter. Through the translation, I think he says he would be happy if we could talk face to face. Also, his Grandpa is sick. His drawing was only in grey pencil, I suspect he didnt have time to colour it, but one of the drawings was a man with a Afro playing the guitar, and also Mickey Mouse. There was also a beautiful Easter card he had made for me. Inside was written in Javanese and English. You can tell he has taken his time in making the card, written on it in pencil and then in purple gel pen.

I couldn't have asked for a better week, and each letter, card, photo and drawing is a reminder that we, as sponsors benefit from knowing these children through letter writing, but it is nothing compared to what the children receive, and what our relationships mean to them. Continue to love and encourage your sponsor children...

Time is running out

*This is a repost*

Hola! My name is Jorge. My birthday was in April. I turned 11 years old. I live in a city called Santa Rosa de Copan, which is in the mountains of Honduras. I live with my parents, who love me very much but have to work all the time. My mother sometimes works as a labourer and my father as a mason. When they do work they only get about $40 a week, which isn't much when they have to feed me and my 3 siblings, clothe us, send us to school and repair our home after the storms that come at Christmastime.

I like to play soccer with my friends, but we are too poor to buy a soccer ball of my own. I have to share with all the kids in my neighbourhood.

I will be so happy to have a sponsor. I have waited many months. Please, if you will sponsor me, I promise to write letters, to pray for you and to love you. Until I get a sponsor I will continue to go to the Compassion Project and each day I will cross my fingers and hope that I will get the news that I have been the lucky one, chosen to be sponsored.

If you would like to sponsor Jorge, I have his packet until 30^th June. Sponsorship through Compassion Australia is $44 a month.

Update: 30th June- Many thanks to my Mum who has chosen to sponsor Jorge.

7,000 vs. 50,000

I was recently reading a journal about a bloggers trip to the Philippines, and they wrote a staggering statistic.

Out of 57,000 Compassion sponsored children in the Philippines alone, only 7,000 receive letters monthly.

I congratulate the 7,000 sponsors who write monthly. It's not a easy task, it takes time and effort out of our “busy” lives. I encourage you to keep writing regularly.

And I encourage other sponsors to at least write a few sentences to their sponsor child once a month. These words mean so much to our sponsor children – more than we could ever know.

Just think, if 50,000 children in the Philippines alone do not receive regular monthly letters, I cannot imagine how many hundreds of thousands of sponsor children worldwide are waiting patiently to receive a letter of love from their sponsor.

Is your sponsor child in the 50,000 or 7,000 statistic? 

Will you commit to writing to your sponsor child monthly?

A Grown Up Young Man..

Yesterday, I noticed another photo had changed on my Compassion account.

This is the latest photo of my correspondence child, Pacifique, who will be turning 15 in August.

He has grown into a handsome young man...

Someone I'd like you to meet

Hola! My name is Jorge. My birthday was in April. I turned 11 years old. I live in a city called Santa Rosa de Copan, which is in the mountains of Honduras. I live with my parents, who love me very much but have to work all the time. My mother sometimes works as a labourer and my father as a mason. When they do work they only get about $40 a week, which isn't much when they have to feed me and my 3 siblings, clothe us, send us to school and repair our home after the storms that come at Christmastime.

I like to play soccer with my friends, but we are too poor to buy a soccer ball of my own. I have to share with all the kids in my neighbourhood.

I will be so happy to have a sponsor. I have waited many months. Please, if you will sponsor me, I promise to write letters, to pray for you and to love you. Until I get a sponsor I will continue to go to the Compassion Project and each day I will cross my fingers and hope that I will get the news that I have been the lucky one, chosen to be sponsored.

If you would like to sponsor Jorge, I have his packet until 30^th June. Sponsorship through Compassion Australia is $44 a month.

Want to do a little more?

Why not consider sending a financial gift to your sponsor child?

Although your monthly sponsorship cost contributes to many many areas of your sponsor child's life, a financial gift can cover those extra costs.

If there is a natural disaster in your sponsor child's country or if it is the dry season in Africa, financial gifts can be very useful.  They can even be used for repairs or extensions to the family home, clothes and extra food.

The options are either a Child Gift, or a Family Gift. 

Child gifts can be sent for either your child's birthday or general or both.  A minimum of $20 to a maximum of $150 per year.

Examples of what money can buy for a Child Gift depending on the country:

$10 and under: Ball, chickens, doll, food (1kg rice, 1kg lentils, 1kg flour, 1kg beans, 3kg oil, bread, coffee, ) lamp, mostquito lamp, toys, clothes (shirts, pants, shoes), books, bucket, table

$25 and under: Blanket, goat, pig, sheep

$40 and under: Used bicycle, guinea pigs (for breeding)

Often a child gift will be used for items to benefit the entire family, because our dollars go a long way in many countries- you'd be surprsied what can be bought for $30 - the amount we would spend on one t-shirt..

***

This is our child Pras, with his birthday present:  While gift photos are very rare, each child will at least write to you to thank you, and tell you what was purchased.

Family Gifts can be sent upto 4 times a year.  From a minimum of $20 to a maximum of $1500 per year. 

Examples of what money can buy for a Family Gift:

$100 and under: Bike, cow, mattress, donkey

$200 and under: Carpenter's tool box, Rickshaw, sewing machine

$250 and under: Bricklaying tools, street food cart, cart pulled by donkey

***

You are also able to send a Graduation Gift, when you child is graduating the Compassion program, which is a great way to show how proud you are of them, and also give them a positive start to life outside of Compassion.  Given once, from a minimum of $20 to a maximum of $2,000.

***

The other type of gift you can give is a Child Development Centre Gift.  From a minimum of $150 to a maximum of $3,000 per year.  This can be used to purchase much needed items for the Child Centre, such as stationary, desks and chairs, playground, toilets, water system, digital camera etc.

***

To send you sponsor child a financial gift either phone Compassion on 1300 22 44 53 or login to your online account.