Meet Mary Joy!

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to add any more kids. But then, well, then I found Mary Joy. She was first mentioned because someone saw her photo and thought she was a boy, accidentally listed among the girls. But in fact Mary Joy is a young woman, and she reminds me SO much of myself at that age that I couldn't not sponsor her. She looks like so much fun to be around and I love the short hair. (I've got really short hair myself and when I was a teenager I was consistently mistaken for a boy.)
So, everyone meet Mary Joy Vergara B! She is 12 years old and lives in Tabaco, Philippines. Her birthday is December 28, 1997- she'll turn 13 at the end of this year. She is just an inch shorter than me at 5'1", and her weight is 110 lbs.
Mary Joy likes to sing and play basketball. Her chores at home include running errands, sweeping, and cooking.
Mary Joy lives with her parents and five brothers and sisters. Her father, Salvador, is a laborer, and her mother, Nimfa, is a housekeeper. The monthly income for the family is about $111.
Mary Joy has two little sisters- Mary Grace Vergara, 11; and Mary Rose Vergara, 8. She also has 3 big brothers- Sonny, 26; Regie, 22; and Rhea, 20. The family all lives together in a house with a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a living room. The walls of the home are concrete block, the roof is corrugated metal, and the floor is concrete. They cook on a wood-burning stove and sleep in beds. There is running water in the home, regulated electricity, and a latrine.
Mary Joy does not attend school- her family lacks the money. I'm waiting for a CI report on that, and to see if she's working to support her family. I highly, highly doubt that she has never attended school in her life- I assume she dropped out. I asked CI to have the field office determine whether it would be possible or feasible to have Mary Joy re-enroll in school. If that's not appropriate, I told them I would like to contribute for vocational training.
Her family report doesn't indicate that she works, but I don't know if that's even something that is ever listed on the reports. Whether it's school or work, I am eager to help this girl.
The second I saw Mary Joy I thought "I have to sponsor her." I didn't know if she would be sponsored quickly by someone else, because people tend to like their boys to look like boys and their girls to look like girls. A girl who looks like a boy is unappealing to some people- of course I think that's ridiculous, but it's the truth. I just did not want Mary Joy to have to wait forever for a sponsor! So I stepped up. Financially, I'm really at my limit now. I've sponsored more kids than I planned on, but I wouldn't do anything differently. My sponsorships have also taught me to value money more in my regular everyday life, and not to waste money on totally unnecessary things. That is worth an extra $22 a month, for sure.