Meet Nettie!

I went against my word and added just one more child to my group of sponsored children. I just got to thinking, "I sponsor children from ten foreign countries, but I don't sponsor a child from the USA. I should change that." I thought hard about sponsoring a child from the USA through Children International, which is a fabulous amazing wonderful organization, but in the end I went with a different group.
I decided to sponsor a child through Children, Incorporated. I made this decision simply because of the areas in which they work. Children International's USA sponsorship programs are located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Children Inc. has programs in Appalachia, inner cities like New Orleans and Detroit, and on Native American reservations. I thought about sponsoring a child from Washington, DC- I live in a Maryland suburb of DC- but I ended up deciding to sponsor a Native American child. I'm not Native myself, but I grew up in Minnesota, near many reservations, and I've seen the challenges these communities face. I grew up around some people who had awful prejudices towards Native Americans, including some members of my own family. I've worked with reservation leaders on projects for youth to try to steer them towards more positive lifestyles, and I found that type of work very rewarding, so I decided to sponsor an older Native American girl.
I chose Antionette "Nettie" W. (I actually don't know her last name- it's kept confidential for her privacy.) She is a 16-year-old Navajo girl who lives in Arizona. Her birthday is July 18, 1994, and she's in the 8th grade. Her information packet says she lives with her parents and 8-year-old sister Torie, but in a different part of the packet it says she attends a boarding school. So I guess she lives at the school during school times and goes home for holidays.
Nettie's favorite subject is writing, and she works hard at school and does well. She's in good health, which is always good to hear. She likes to play basketball and enjoys cooking. Her teacher describes her as "a good helper, reponsible, happy, and well balanced." She gets along well with others, has good work habits, and likes to learn.
Nettie's mom works as a housekeeper, and her dad is currently unemployed.
I'm going to write my first letter to Nettie this weekend. Children Inc has the children write letters to their sponsors, but only if the sponsors write to the children first. Sponsors are also able to send packages to their sponsored children in the USA, so I'll probably send a couple of packages a year.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how I like sponsoring through Children, Inc. Children International is still the best large sponsorship organization around, in my opinion, but Children Inc. is looking pretty good too!
(Costwise, Children International is $22/month, and Children, Incorporated is $28/month.)
www.children.org (Children International)
www.childrenincorporated.org (Children, Inc.)
Check it out!