Jairo Joel Through the Years!

Here's Jairo Joel just about a year ago, on December 12, 2009. He's five years old in this photo.

Above is Jairo, at age 4, on January 29, 2009.

This is the biggest grin I've ever seen on such a small boy! Jairo Joel on February 28, 2008, when he was three.

Here's Jairo Joel on July 27, 2007, when he was just two years old. He looks like he's REALLY not sure that he's digging this whole picture-taking thing...but he's still just adorable!

Meet Private!

This is Private M, from Zambia. I sponsor Private with two other wonderful sponsors, through Child Hope Zambia. It seems I completely failed to write an introductory post on him, and then when I began to write it, I didn't have all his information. So let's try this again.

Private is 9 years old. His birthday is May 20th, 2001. He attends the second grade, and his favorite school subject is mathematics.

He lives in Manyana with his parents, brother and two sisters. When he grows up he wants to be a driver.

Private's favorite color is black and his favorite pastime is playing soccer. (Yay!) His chores at home include looking after the goats. (Looking after livestock, herding cattle, etc, is a very common chore for even very young boys in Zambia.)

Private is facing some extra challenges in his life, and I did write some about it in my earlier post attempt, but after thinking about it, I decided to remove that information and not discuss the issue. I think I should respect Private's privacy (ha!) I will just say that he is a very special little boy, and I feel very close to him and protective of him, even though he's half a world away.

Padmashree's SNG- September 2010

Back in mid-August, I sent a SNG of $100 to my Padmashree in India. The donation was used for educational benefits for her and her two older sisters. (Tanushree, 15 and Bonoshree, 13.) They received school uniforms, sports shoes, and four months each of private tutoring, or tuitions as they call it in India. They also bought ten copies (notebooks) to do their assignments in.
A previous $25 SNG had provided just Padmashree with 4 months of tuitions, but this time I was happy to see the donation benefit all the siblings. I recently received the photos and letter from the SNG. I don't have access to a scanner at this time, so I can't scan the photos, which is too bad. I'd love to share them- they are such excellent photos. One is of Padmashree alone, holding her uniform and shoes. She has a HUGE grin on her face, and I can't help but smile every time I look at it. The other two photos are of all three sisters, and it's funny because Padmashree has a big smile, Tanushree has a little smile, and Bonoshree is looking very serious and grown-up and not smiling at all. (Which is, or used to be, the custom in India- to look very serious when having one's picture taken.)
Here is the letter that Padmashree wrote me as a thank you for the support.
"Dear Sponsor,
I start my letter with love and best wishes to you. I hope you and your family are all well. We are all fine. I study in grade 7 and my 2 elder sisters are in grade 9 and 10. With your financial help both my sisters and I have been provided with 4 months of private tuition support from Oct '10 to Jan '11. This will help us to do well in school. My siblings and I have purchased exercise copies where we will do our school assignments. In addition my sisters and I have received school uniforms and school sports shoes which we will wear to school. We are grateful to you and we thank you for taking care of our educational requirements. I am sending you my drawing as a gift. I end my letter with regards to you. Please take care.
Yours,
Padmashree M.

On the back of the letter she drew a nice scene with a field, a path, a house, some trees, a mountain, and birds in the sky. I was so happy when I got the letter and photos. I actually jumped up and down a little bit!

Jairo Joel- I Couldn't Say No!

I know I've said "My family of sponsored children is complete!" about 6 times now...I just am a sucker for a child in need. And this little boy is in desperate, desperate need. His name is Jairo Joel T. P. and he lives in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He is 5 years old, turning 6 in two months, on November 28. He is 3'4" tall and weighs 34 lbs.

All the children CI helps are needy. So what made me want to sponsor Jairo even after I said I was done adding kids? (Other than the fact that he's adorable, of course.) Well, Jairo lives with his parents and SEVEN siblings on an income of $37 a month. In Ecuador. I don't even know how that's possible. At first I thought it might be a typo- that a digit might be missing. But once I received the family report, I don't think it's a typo. A lot of things on the report lead me to believe that Jairo's family really is that poor.
The Latin American countries have higher costs of living than the Philippines, Zambia, or India; consequently, people tend to make more money in Latin America. My other two sponsored children from Ecuador, Egda and Jazmin, have family incomes of $200 and $220 per month. $37 a month in Ecuador is so poor that I truly cannot even imagine it. It's just so far outside my frame of reference. So you see, I just couldn't pass Jairo up or make him wait who knows how long for a sponsor. He needs one NOW.
Jairo does not attend school- his family lacks the money to send him. So I guess that means that at 5, he is old enough to go to school. If he was too young I think the report would indicate that- it does for my 2 year old, Henry Daniel. So needless to say, getting Jairo into school is one of my priorities!
At home, Jairo is too young for chores. He likes to draw, dance, and play with toys and cars.
Jairo lives with his parents and seven brothers and sisters. Father Luis is a janitor, and mother Paola is a homemaker. Older sisters are Jadira, 15; Jessica, 11; and Janina Michelle, 9. Older brothers are Gary, 13; Jostin Geovanny, 10; and Yeiko Jasmany, 8. Jairo also has a younger brother, Jeriko Jair, who is just 2 years old. The family lives in a home with two multi-use rooms. The floor is wood, the roof is corrugated metal, and the walls are split cane. I didn't know this until just now, but split cane is apparently VERY flimsy and can collapse easily. I knew it wasn't as solid a building material as, say, concrete or brick or even wood, but I didn't know just how unstable it can be.
The family does their cooking on a gas stove, and Jairo has a metal frame bed to sleep in. Water is stored at home in a barrel or a tank, and the family uses non-regulated electricity. Their sanitary facility is an open field.
So you see what I mean about certain things in the report leading me to believe that the $37 figure is correct- the split cane home, the not attending school, the non-regulated electricity and the open field.
Jairo is a little boy who is in desperate need of the benefits sponsorship provides. I don't know if he's been sponsored before- I can't see his past photos on the CI website at the moment. I do know his ID number begins with 105, and it seems like the children who have not been sponsored before have numbers that start with 111-115. So hopefully he's had a sponsor and been receiving benefits before now!

Joanne Through the Years!

This is the first photo of Joanne. She was eight years old when this was taken, on June 26, 2006.

Above, Joanne is nine years old. This photo is dated May 10, 2007.

This is Joanne at age ten. I love this photo! I love the big smile she has on her face. This one was taken on May 2, 2008.

Above we have Joanne at eleven, on March 19, 2009.

And finally, this is Joanne now. She is twelve years old here! This photo was taken on January 7, 2010.

CW Letter from Daneisi!

Daneisi wins the prize for "Cutest CW Letter", just because of the coloring she did on the back of the stationery. She colored an adorable picture of a baby chick with an envelope in its mouth, and it's just so cute I can hardly stand it! Also according to the back of the letter, Daneisi is a happy and loving child. (Other options were quiet, active, shy, playful, obedient, and kind.)

Now, for the front of the letter! Daneisi is 8 years old but only just began attending any kind of school. (She goes to an informal neighborhood school, but will soon be enrolled for a more formal education.) So she's not able to write herself yet. Her father, Juan, wrote for her. Maybe it's just because my own dad wasn't able to help me with things like that when I was small, but I just think there is something so sweet about a father writing for his daughter.
Señor Z. on Daneisi's behalf:
"Dear Sponsor,
I am writing to you to thank you for sponsoring Daneisi. She likes to play with dolls. She likes to go to the park. She is very obedient to her parents. She sends many blessings upon you and your family. Thank you for sponsoring her. With love says goodbye of you Daneisi and her father."

A short, basic letter, but I was so happy to get it! It's encouraging to see that Daneisi's dad is literate- in a lot of cases illiteracy is "passed down" from generation to generation. Mom and Dad weren't able to get an education because their families were too poor...now that Mom and Dad are grown up, they can only get low-paying jobs because of their lack of education...Mom and Dad have children but they cannot afford to send them to school...and the cycle repeats. It's really tragic, actually.

CW Letter from Javiera!

The other day I got the BEST kind of mail- one of those CI envelopes that says "Enclosed is a special message from your sponsored child"! I eagerly opened it to find Javiera's CW letter. Javiera is 11 years old (her birthday was yesterday!) and is from Valparaiso, Chile. Here's what she wrote in her letter:
"Dear sponsor:
I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. I am very well and have done well at school. My grandpas are well and so are my brothers. [She meant grandparents and siblings, but the words were translated literally to the masculine words.] At home, I still play with dolls and have a lot of fun with my brother. I have a baby brother who is very cute. I do not think school is so difficult since I have been putting all my effort. I want to be a professional to help my grandparents. Goodbye and thank you for having chosen me as your sponsored child; you have made me very happy. Kisses
Sincerely yours
Javiera O. E."

On the back of the stationery she used were some questions for the child to answer; a "check the box" sort of thing. For "My favorite hobby" she chose singing, dancing, and spending time with friends. (Other options: practicing sports, playing a musical instrument, drawing, spending time with family, and reading.) For "I like my country because" she checked "There are many beaches and coasts." (Not chosen: It has a desert and it's very hot; there are distant and mysterious islands such as Easter Island; there are many woods, rivers, and lakes; there are many mountains and volcanoes; there is an Antarctic territory at the South of the world.)
Good to know: Javiera prefers the beach and the coast. I do too! I would much rather spend time at the beach than in a desert or Antarctic area!

Meet Joanne Uy!

Well, I now have TWO more sponsored children, because I can't resist these kids and I also can't think of a better use for my extra money. My needs are taken care of- I might as well use the excess to help take care of some other people's needs!
This is Joanne Uy. (Uy is her middle name, not her last name, just FYI.) She is 12 years old and lives in Tabaco, Phillipines. Her birthday is October 28, 1997. Joanne is 4'8" tall and weighs 77 lbs. She attends school, where she likes math class. Her favorite pastime is playing soccer, and she's talented at singing, dancing, and drawing. Her chores include sweeping and running errands.
I chose to sponsor Joanne because she lives in an orphanage. She's the only CI kid I've seen that lives in an orphanage (although I know for a fact there are others.) This is really a personal thing for me- my mother grew up in an orphanage. I just couldn't pass Joanne up.
Joanne's father, Santos, a cook, is absent for unknown reasons. Her mother, Jennifer, is a housekeeper. The report lists the monthly income for the family at $78. Joanne has two younger sisters: Jennylyn, 5; and Sunshine, 7.
The home that Joanne lives in consists of one multi-use room. Floor is concrete, walls are concrete block, and the roof is corrugated metal. There is a coal stove for cooking, water is taken from a private pump, and electricity is available, as is a toilet. Joanne has a bed to sleep in as well.
The orphanage that Joanne lives in probably isn't like the orphanage my mother grew up in. The place my mom grew up in was a children's home for lots of children. It wasn't hellish, but it was definitely an institution in the literal sense of the word. Joanne probably lives in a smaller orphanage, which is why the description of the home she lives in sounds so like, well, a regular home. She may be taken care of by a single adult or a couple, but it's probably not a large building that houses dozens of children, with lots of employees, a dining hall, and rows of beds in dormitories like you see in the movies.

Enrolling Jesús in School- A Team Effort

I finally received a reply to my question about what it would take to get my sponsored child from Mexico, Jesús, enrolled in school. It only took about 8 1/2 weeks to get the reply, but I am not a patient person. It's something I am working really hard on, and I'm getting better, but still, when it involves my sponsored kids, I am anxious for any kind of news!
I learned that there are a few challenges that we will have to work together to face. First of all, on their own (and even with assistance from Children International), Jesús's family cannot afford the school fees, uniform fees, costs of school supplies, transportation, etc, to send him to school. I am more than willing to help with that part. Another obstacle is that apparently Jesús does not have a birth certificate. This isn't uncommon among poor families in Mexico. (Article: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexico/barrier.htm)
To get Jesús into school, one of his parents will have to go downtown and obtain an "inexistence letter". This letter states that Jesús was not born in Jalisco, and was not registered where he was born, and therefore has no birth certificate from anywhere. The cost for this will be $16.16, which I am going to happily provide. It's just so amazing- to me, $16 is almost nothing. It's about what I make in one hour of work. To Jesús's family, it's about 13% of their monthly income.
Once the family has this letter, Jesús can be enrolled in school...however, enrollment for the 2010 school year has closed and it is impossible to get him into school this year. So Jesús will be able to begin school in September 2011.
I'm not thrilled that he'll be spending another year out of school, but I am trying to take a long-term view of things. The first step is getting the letter, and I'm going to try to make that as easy as possible for Jesús's family. I plan on making a Special Needs Gift to cover the cost of the letter, with some extra funds for whatever the family might need most. This family is really needy- they live on just $125 a month, which is an extremely low income for a sponsored child's family in Mexico. Most of the CI sponsored children I've seen on the site have incomes in the $200s-$400s. So I really want to help out however I can, and now that I have this new job, with my 50% pay raise, I'm in a position to be able to do so.

New Friends and Old

This is Constanza Nicole. She is 13 years old and lives in Valparaiso, Chile. I chose to sponsor Constanza even though I thought my family of sponsored children was complete. I chose to sponsor Constanza because she reminds me of my friend Betsy.

Betsy and I were on the volleyball team together in high school. We weren't bestest best buddies off the court, but we were teammates, and we all became very close in the way that teammates do. Betsy had an infectious laugh and a beautiful smile.

Sadly, Betsy died of cancer in summer 2004, when she was just 20 years old. In her life, Betsy was a very giving person. Even in high school, when she didn't have much money, she gave freely of her time to help those in need. Instead of flowers at her funeral, her family requested donations be made to certain charities.

So when I saw this photo, I couldn't help but think I was meant to sponsor Constanza. Add to that the fact that she's being raised by a single mother, the fact that we share a name (Nicole is my first name, if you didn't know it!) AND that her family's monthly income of $161 is extremely low for Chile...well, I just had to sponsor Constanza.

Constanza's birthday is April 30, 1997. She is 13 years old, 4'9" tall, and weighs 82 lbs. She attends school, where she enjoys learning grammar. At home, she helps out with running errands, and in her spare time she enjoys listening to music, playing with dolls, and dancing.

Constanza's father, Pedro Alvaro, abandoned the family, so Constanza and her three siblings are being raised by their mother, Clara Adriana, a homemaker. The family's monthly income is about $161. Constanza has two older brothers, Sebastian, 23, and Pablo, 20. She also has a younger sister, Valentina Clara, who is 12.

The family lives in a home consisting of two bedrooms and one multi-use room. The floors and walls are wood, and the roof is slate. They sleep in beds and cook on a portable gas stove. There is running water in the home, as well as a toilet.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know Constanza! I just began to sponsor her last night and already I'm excited to get the first letter from her! She just seems like a really, really cool kid.

Kanan T, Age 6

Meet Kanan T, from Kolkata, India! She is one of my youngest sponsored children- she is 6 years old. Her birthday is July 9, 2004. Kanan is 3'4" tall and weighs about 30 lbs, which seems teeny tiny for a 6 year old, but then again, I'm going off American standards. Other sponsors who have experience sponsoring Indian girls have said that it's actually pretty average for a just-turned-6-year-old girl in India. (By contrast, my sponsored child Henry Daniel, from Honduras, is 2'10" tall and weighs 30 lbs as well. Henry Daniel is two years old.)

Kanan lives with her parents and her four siblings. Father Rajesh is a daily worker, and mother Rina is a homemaker. Kanan has two older sisters, Jyoti (11) and Arati (9), and an older brother, Rahul (7). She also has a twin sister, Kanak! The family lives on an income of about $53 a month. They speak Hindi. The home they live in consists of one multi-use room, with walls, floor, and roof all of concrete. Cooking is done on a kerosene stove, water is from community faucets, and the sanitary facility is a community latrine. Kanan sleeps on the floor with a mat. Electricity is available.

Kanan attends school, where her favorite subjects are languages. At home, she is too young for chores, but in her free time she likes drawing and playing with friends.

Gracias del fondo de mi corazón.

Today someone did something absolutely amazing...I was about to say "for me", but that's not true. They did it for an eight-year-old girl who lives in the Dominican Republic, a very special little girl whose family happens to be very, very poor.
Daneisi is my sponsored child. She lives in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with her parents and 6 brothers and sisters. The family lives on $150 a month, which isn't enough to allow Daneisi to attend a "regular" school. When I first began sponsoring her, she didn't attend school at all. As of her last update, in August, she was attending an informal school in a home in her neighborhood with about 50 other children.
When I inquired about what it would take, financially, to enroll Daneisi in a more formal school, CI came back with a figure of $280. I posted about this on LiftOne (www.liftone.org) on Monday, and today I received an email from CI telling me that...

An anonymous donor has donated $280 for Daneisi's education!

I cried when I read this email. I cried and I laughed and I jumped around a little and kind of squeaked, and I scared the cat. What an amazing, big-hearted, generous thing for someone to do! It had to be someone from LiftOne, an amazing website for sponsors. (I actually think I know who it was, but since they donated anonymously I will respect that and not blab about who I think it was, or ask them, or anything.)

So that is why I say, Gracias del fondo de mi corazón. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

CP Letter from Henry Daniel

I received another letter from my youngest sponsored child, Henry Daniel! He's just two years old and lives in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. He cannot write yet, of course, so this time his older sister Reyna (15) wrote for him. Here is what she had to say for/about Henry:

"Greetings Dear Nicole A-:
Hello! How are you? I hope you are in good health along with your loved ones.
I write this thank you letter for the one you wrote to Henry. He is an obedient child and he helps his mother doing errands. He likes to play soccer and to play cars and to ride the bike. His favorite color are white and black, and his favorite animal is the dog. His food fried chicken.
He is so happy and grateful for the letter you sent him.
I say goodbye to you with love and appreciation, and hope to hear from you soon.
Reyna S---- M-------"

On the back, Reyna pencilled a hillside scene with trees, a sun, clouds, a lake, and a bird. Then Henry colored it in! How sweet. It's so nice to see that even though Reyna is 13 years older than Henry, she still takes time to write for him and to draw a picture for him to color. They seem like a really close-knit family and it makes me very happy!

Happy 14th Birthday, Anjum!

Since it's already September 21st in Kolkata, India, it's time for a Happy Birthday post for my sponsored child Anjum! Anjum turns 14 years old today. I just began sponsoring her last week, so this is both an introductory post and a birthday post.
A day or two after I began sponsoring her, I sent Anjum a birthday card with some neat stickers that I coincidentally received in the mail as a gift from another children's charity the day I began her sponsorship. I also looked online for how to write "Happy Birthday" in Hindi, and I carefully wrote this in her card. I hope I did it correctly, and didn't accidentally write something bizarre!
The photo to the left was taken on September 14, 2010. I'll do another post with all Anjum's past photos, but for now I'll say that she looks much healthier in this latest photo than she did in her earliest ones. Another sponsor pointed out that her appearance- she looked much older than her years when she was seven, eight, nine years old- may have been due to malnutrition.
Anjum is only about 2 inches shorter than me- she's 5' even. She weighs 76 lbs, which seems teeny tiny for 5 feet tall, but I'm basing that on American standards of weight which are of course heavier.
Anjum lives with her parents, Mohammad and Nurasa, both of whom are daily workers. The family income is about $51 per month. Anjum is the youngest of eight- she has three older brothers and four older sisters. Her brothers are 25, 22, and 17. All are named Mohammad. Her sisters are Sajaha, 27; Sabana, 20; Sabnam, 18; and Sultana, 15. The eldest, Sajaha, is married, but still listed on the family report, so her husband and any children must also live with the family. The family speaks Hindi.
This extended family lives together in a house of one multi-use room and a kitchen. The walls of the home are brick, the roof is tile, and the floor is concrete.Cooking is done on an earthen stove, water comes from community faucets, and the sanitary facility is a community latrine. Electricity is available but I don't know if it's regulated or unregulated.
Anjum attends school, where her favorite subject is languages. She likes to play with friends and draw. At home, her chores are general housework. Anjum attends the Sahay project; her sub-project is SAH1102. That must be quite near Shamrin's sub-project, which is SAH1105.

Akhya Kumar, from Kolkata, India

To the left is a photo of Akhya Kumar, taken when he was eight years old, on October 21, 2009.

Below is Akhya more recently- he's almost nine (the age he is now) in the photo below. It was taken on April 20, 2010. His eyes are so big and expressive! It was his eyes that first struck me when I was browsing the CI website.

Akhya Kumar S. is nine years old, born on April 26, 2001. He lives in Kolkata, India, and attends the Disha project. He is 3'10" tall and weighs 39 lbs. He and his family speak Bengali.

Akhya lives with his parents and two younger siblings. His father, Sattanarayan, is a daily worker, and his mother, Sita Devi, is a homemaker. Younger brother Abhisek Kumar is 4, and younger sister Khusbu Kumari is 8. The family's monthly income is about $132- it took a big leap between what it was listed as on the CI website ($60, I believe), and the $132 that is on the family report. So that's a surprise, but definitely a happy one!

The family lives in a home consisting of one multi-use room, with brick walls, and concrete roof and floor. They cook using a kerosene stove, sleep in beds, and get water from community faucets. Their sanitary facility is a community latrine. Electricity is not available.

Akhya attends school, where his favorite subjects are languages. He enjoys playing cricket and playing indoor games, as well as drawing. At home he helps out with running the errands.

In my first letter I'm going to ask Akhya to explain a little bit about cricket. I've read about it a little, and even had a British person explain it to me, but I still do not really understand how it's played- except that it's sort of like baseball, a little bit. It'll be really cool to hear how he puts it in his own words!

Padmashree's Special Needs Gift- August 2010

Soon after I started sponsoring Padmashree in early May 2010, I learned that it was possible to send special gifts. (Money that will be used to buy items the child and family are in great need of. No cash is given to families at any time.) I didn't fully understand how it worked- I didn't know that gifts of $25-$99 are distributed quarterly; I didn't know that I could request a Special Needs Report to see a total for the items the family most needed; I just knew I wanted to give a smallish gift. So I sent $25 for Padmashree in India. (At the time she was my only sponsored child).
At the end of August, I received a thank-you card from Padmashree! With the $25 I sent, she was able to pay for 4 months of private tuition support, from July 2010 to October 2010. (Tutoring- they call it "tuitions" in India and it's fairly common, especially in the higher grades. Padmashree is in grade 7 now.) Also, seven textbooks were purchased for her.
Wow! I know that the US dollar really stretches in India, but I guess I didn't realize how very very far it will go! I'm so happy that I was able to provide this for her. In early August I sent a Special Gift of $100, which will benefit Padmashree and her older sisters, Tanushree, 15, and Bonoshree, 13. The three of them will receive tuitions for four months, as well as school uniforms and gym shoes!
Education is my priority for my sponsored children. Right now I have two children who do not attend school because their families cannot afford it, and I am working hard to save/raise the money to allow them to enroll in school. Without an education, the cycle of poverty just continues. With an education, anything is possible!

CW Letter from little Henry Daniel!

On Monday I received the best kind of mail- mail from one of my sponsored children! (I eagerly check the mailbox each day now, whereas before I sponsored I might forget to check it for two or three days.) The letter I received is from my youngest sponsored child- Henry Daniel, who is just two years old and lives in Honduras. The letter was written by his elder sister, Walterina.

"Greetings dear Sponsor:
Hello! How are you? I hope you are in good health along with all people around you.
I tell you that Daniel is a smart child, he likes to play cars, soccer and to ride the bike.
He also helps doing errands. He likes to eat rice with chicken and fruits.
I tell you that I am so grateful with you for choosing my brother as your sponsored child.
I thanks God for kindly people like you, that like to support others.
I say goodbye to you with love,
Walterina S---- M------"

And Daniel contributed, as well: he colored a picture of a train for me. He used lots of bright colors.
Though the letter was short, I learned a lot. I guess Henry Daniel is called "Daniel" and not "Henry"- I'll have to get in the habit of saying "Daniel." Nothing more annoying than someone calling you the wrong name!
I think it's so nice when older siblings write on behalf of the younger ones. Daniel is much younger than his older siblings, so it's especially nice that teenagers and young adults are so close to their "baby" brother. (His older siblings are 13, 15, and 18!) Walterina is actually not one of Daniel's listed siblings in his family report, but she could be older and not living at home any more. The family reports only list immediate family (parents, brothers and sisters) who are living in the same home as the child.

Another group sponsorship!

Above: Shamrin on February 2, 2009, when she was seven years old. I love the color of her clothing!

Below: Shamrin on November 12, 2009, just six days before her eighth birthday.

I've just begun another group sponsorship with a few other wonderful people. The girl we sponsor is named Shamrin, and she lives in India. Shamrin is 8 years old and will turn 9 on November 18. She is 4'2" tall and weighs 45 lbs. She speaks Hindi.

Shamrin lives with her parents and two older brothers. Her father, Mohammad, is a daily worker, as is her mother, Nurjahan. Shamrin's brothers are Ezaz, 15, and Jasim, 12. The family's average monthly income is about $60.

They all live together in a home that consists of one multi-use room. The walls are brick, and the roof and floor are concrete. They cook on a coal stove, sleep in beds, and use community faucets for water. Electricity is available, and the sanitary facility is a community toilet.

Shamrin attends school, where her favorite subjects are languages. She enjoys running and drawing, and is too young for chores.

I'm very excited to be a part of this group sponsorship! I look forward to learning more about Shamrin. I'm finding that I really enjoy sponsoring children from India- of course, every country has great things about it, but something about India is very appealing to me.

Child Hope Zambia August Distribution

Here are some photos of three of my four Child Hope Zambia kids, taken at their August distribution. Because of a school holiday, the distribution was actually held around the 7th of September.

First is Hachita, who just turned 14 years old. She's holding the gifts I sent her in a direct package! I sent these gifts in mid-July, hoping they would arrive in time for her August 29th birthday. It turns out my timing was almost perfect- she received them just a few days later! I was going to say I hope she had a good birthday and enjoyed the gifts, but I don't think I have to hope- her big smile says it all!

Below is Crestetor, holding the contents of HER direct package! I was actually shocked to see that the package had arrived so quickly- I didn't write down the exact date I sent it, but it was sometime in August, certainly no earlier. I wanted to make sure it arrived in time for her 9th birthday on October 4th. When I first saw the picture, I was puzzled because she is holding so many items. I thought "Wait, I thought at this distribution she just received a uniform!" Then I looked more closely and saw the little white teddy bear I sent. I was just so surprised! Talk about a super speedy package!

And here we have lovely Lavenda showing off her brand new school uniform. She doesn't have a direct package because her birthday isn't until March 1. Not pictured is my 4th CHZ child, a boy named Private, whom I sponsor with two other fabulous sponsors.

I become SO happy whenever I look at these photos. It is really something to see your sponsored kids holding things YOU personally picked and sent to them. I still don't think I'll do direct packages for my Children International kids, just because CI has such a good system for utilizing special gifts, and they really seem to have a way of making money stretch. But for these three (and for Private of course) I think I will send one package a year each. By keeping the packages small- just what will fit in the largest padded envelope- it keeps shipping costs manageable. I shipped both these packages for about $15 each, via USPS.

New Photo of Jazmin!

When I logged on to my CI account tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to see a new photo of my Jazmin from Ecuador! I love this picture- she looks so happy and confident! The photo is dated 9/7/10. She's 13 years old here.

Tatiana Through the Years

This is the first photo of Tatiana that I have. She's four years old here, and the photo was taken on 12/5/2002. I love her hairdo! So cute!




Tatiana is five here. The photo was taken on 5/8/2003.

Some of these photos just break my heart. This is six-year-old Tatiana, in a photo dated 4/7/2004.

She really doesn't look too happy here, either. Tatiana is seven here, and the photo was taken on 2/17/2005.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Tatiana. She's eight here. The photo was taken on 3/23/2006, and at last we see a smile!

Above is Tatiana at age 9, taken on 5/17/2007.

Above is Tatiana at age 10, taken on 5/22/2008.

Above is Tatiana at age 11, taken on 5/21/09. I love this photo too, even though she doesn't have a big grin. I like the little half-smile and the sideways pose!

This is Tatiana at age 12. This photo was taken on 4/26/10. I love this photo, too. Her eyes are so expressive here. And I love the bright orange color of her shirt, too!

Meet Tatiana!

Well, I thought I would not be adding any children to my little "family" of sponsored kids, at least not until one of my kids graduated or left the program...but we all know how it goes. There's that one (or two, or...) kid you can't stop thinking about. In my case, there were two girls from Colombia that I couldn't get out of my head: Yonelvis and Tatiana. Last Friday, I was looking on the CI site as I always do, to "check on" them, and saw that Yonelvis had been sponsored! But Tatiana was still up on the site. I thought, what am I waiting for? And I decided to sponsor her. Given the long weekend, her info just showed up on my CI profile now. So here's all about Tatiana!
Tatiana is twelve years old and is from Cartagena, Colombia. Her birthday is December 25, 1997, so she'll turn thirteen this Christmas! How special! She stands 4'2" tall and weighs 53 lbs.

The report lists the family income is $75/month. The report also says that Tatiana lives with her parents and four siblings. It lists her mother, Delfina, a homemaker, but then for her father, his name is listed as "Desconocido", which means "unknown". So apparently her biological father is unknown, but perhaps there is a step-father or mother's boyfriend/partner in the home as well. Her four siblings are all brothers! They are: Miguel, 14; Omar, 14; Carlos, 12; and Luis Eduardo, 10. A CI employee read my LiftOne blog entry about Tatiana and noticed that Tatiana and Carlos have birthdays that are only 17 days apart, so they are going to look into that for me. There may be some error in the information. I suppose they also could be half-siblings related by father...so far, Tatiana's a bit mysterious!

As for the home, it consists of one multi-use room. Walls are of wood, roof is corrugated metal, and the floor is dirt. Tatiana sleeps on a wooden bed, and cooking is done on a portable gas stove. Water is from a neighbor's faucet, and electricity is unregulated use. The sanitary facility is an open field.

Tatiana does attend school, thankfully, where her favorite subjects are math and reading. She also likes drawing and playing with dolls. At home her chores are washing dishes. She speaks Spanish.

CP Letter from Jazmin- August 2010

The last of the 4 letters I received together was Jazmin's CP (Child Participation) letter. This one was a response to the first letter I sent her, shortly after I began sponsoring her in late June 2010. Here's what Jazmin had to say:

"Hi Nicole A--!
Dear sponsor, your sponsored child greets you with love. I want to tell you that I am in first course at high school which is too big. I am so happy and glad that you like to play soccer. I also watched the World Cup. My favorite colors are red and blue. My favorite season is summer. I live together with my brother and my parents. My favorite subjects are language and social studies. I hope you are in good health together with your husband and family. I love you, too. I also like that you are my sponsor. I hope you are together with your husband forever and ever. I think that you make a beautiful couple. I love cats.
I deeply thank you for being a wonderful sponsor! I say good bye with a big hug.
Jazmin Estefania P---- C."

This letter seriously makes me tear up a little every time I read it. The part where she tells me she loves me, (how cute is that? In her letter it makes it sound like I said it first, which I didn't, thinking it might be an inaproppriate thing to say, but I love that she said it), the part where she wishes Adam and I to be together forever and ever...and then, out of nowhere, "I love cats." She cracks me up! I feel really close to Jazmin already and I'm already dreaming of visiting her in Guayaquil!

Samuel's CW Letter- August 2010

Here is Samuel's CW letter from the end of August 2010. The CW stands for "Child Welcome" and is the first letter the sponsored child writes to the new sponsor. In Samuel's case, I received both his CW and CP (Child Participation) letters on the same day, but ended up opening the CP letter first and the CW second, in reverse order than that which they were written in. Confused yet? Don't be! Ha ha!
Anyway, here's what Samuel had to say in his Welcome letter to me:

"Dear Sponsor,
Hello! I hope your [sic] always fine. As of now I'm in second year high school. I'm going to school every day. I have new classmates and new friends. I always gardening in our school. I plant more flowering plants and my favorite flower is rose. I love to draw chartoon characters and I put it as decorations in our house. I love to read books especially stories of heroes and fairy tales. I also love to dance that's why when there's activities and programs in our school I'm always joining. I'm always studying my lesson and do my homeworks when it comes at night.
Thank you and God Bless you.
Your sponsored child,
Samuel J-----"

So touching! Before I received any letters from Samuel, I kind of wondered what sort of bond we would have. I don't exactly have a lot in common with pre-teen/teenage boy, I wouldn't think, being a 26-year-old woman myself. I wasn't terribly worried about it, but I also didn't see Samuel and I having maybe as close of a bond as, say, Jazmin and I already seem to. But his letters make me think I was wrong. What a wonderful young man! I do feel very close to him even after just receiving two letters from him, and I can't wait for more!