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!
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