Daneisi's SNG from her "Special Sponsor"

This is Daneisi. She is 8 years old and lives in the Dominican Republic. Her family is very, very poor, making only $150 a month to support at least 9 people. When I began sponsoring Daneisi, her parents could not afford to send her to school. I inquired with CI about costs to get Daneisi enrolled in school, and they sent me a reply memo- the cost would be $280. I wrote about this on the CI social network website, LiftOne, and a few days later I received an email from CI saying that an anonymous donor had donated the money for Daneisi's education! (You can read more about this here: http://bammertheblue.blogspot.com/2010/09/gracias-del-fondo-de-mi-corazon.html )

I since did find out who this anonymous donor is, but since s/he prefers to remain anonymous, I will not share his/her identity.

Yesterday, I received the follow-up photos, letter, and memo from this wonderful gift! Since Daneisi is just now beginning school, she does not yet write her own letters. So far her father has written for her, and he also wrote the thank-you letter. Mr Z writes: "Dear Sponsor, Hello! I greet you with gratitude for the donation that you sent to my child Daneisi Z. She received [list of items]. Thank you very much!"

Daneisi received: 3 pairs of shoes (two black pairs, for school, and one pair of white and purple sneakers); 1 backpack (bright pink and orange, so bright it hurts my eyes, but she clearly adores it); 3 school shirts and t-shirts; 1 pair of school pants (blue jeans); 1 pair of sport pants (black nylon pants, like warmup pants); 1 sport t-shirt; 7 underwear; and 1 school payment. Also listed in her dad's letter, and visible in the photos, are one skirt and two pairs of socks.

The photos...the photos are wonderful. I keep picking them up, looking through them, setting them down, and then picking them back up a second later. They just make me so happy! I'll be able to get them scanned tomorrow, so you all can see them, but for now I'll just describe them.

In the first photo, Daneisi's standing behind the table full of gifts. She's holding the bright pink and orange backpack and smiling. You can see that she's smiling, even though she's holding the bag so it partially blocks her face.

In the second photo, she's holding a pair of school shoes in one hand and the sneakers in the other hand. She's standing with her elbows down and her hands up by her ears, and she has a faint smile. I just love how she's holding the shoes- you can tell she's posing a little, and it's really cute.

In the next photo, she's holding up a blue plaid shirt, and in the fourth photo, she's holding the check for the school payment- right in front of her face! I forgot how kids do that. I wish I could see her cute face, but it's a good picture anyways.

In the last photo, she's standing behind the table with one hand on her hip, her hip kinda cocked, looking spunky and happy and extremely cute.

I love the different facial expressions the kids have in the photos with their SNGs and direct packages. Some, like my Padmashree, have HUGE grins. Others look bewildered or overwhelmed, though happy. Daneisi falls more into this latter category. She has a look on her face like "I know what's happening, and I like all these gifts...but WHY is this happening?"

On the memo, there's a section asking "What were the child's/family's comments when the gifts were delivered?" It says "The child was very happy for the donation. She said: 'I am so happy because I had not received so many gifts before.'"

Under "Additional Comments" the memo says: "The child's father was very excited for the special donation for helping the child with her education. They gave thanks to the special sponsor who gave the donation."

I just have to say again, to the Mystery Donor: THANK YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH. This is such a kind, generous, and caring act. My opinion of you as a person was already very high, but this just makes it even higher. You are truly a wonderful human being.