Lavendah

Math will be my downfall. I swear. I just did the math on my (now former) smoking habit and it came out to an average of $122.50 per month that I was spending on cigarettes. My reward for quitting smoking is sponsoring more children. Therefore, because I have OCD (really. I do.), I wanted the amount I was donating to the children to match the amount I was spending on the cigarettes. I know, bizarre logic, but in Nicole-brain, it makes sense. Anyway, I was coming up with a little extra money left over in the no-smoking fund each month, so I decided to add two more Child Hope Zambia kids. (Plus, I redid my budget after trimming down my phone bill a little and adjusting for some other thrifty habits, and came out even MORE ahead.)

With no further ado, meet Lavendah Mooya! She's eight years old and lives in Manyana with her parents, brother, and sister. She's in second grade and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Her favorite school subject is math, and her favorite color is black. Her favorite pastime is netball, and for chores she washes dishes.

Jazmin E.

This is Jazmin. She's my sixth sponsored child. I sponsor Jazmin through Children International.

I feel like I was meant to sponsor Jazmin. Ever since I first saw her photo while idly browsing CI's website, I felt a connection with her. I first noticed her athletic appearance, and noted that her favorite pastime is playing soccer. I was/am an athlete, and I played soccer growing up (through my late teens) and still love the sport. It's pretty common for boys on the CI website to list their favorite pastime as soccer, but it seems to be rare for girls. So that made Jazmin stick in my mind even more. I'd check the website daily to see if she was still available, but at the time I couldn't afford to sponsor any more children. Right about the time that I was hired for a full-time position at my job, Jazmin disappeared from the site. I thought she'd been sponsored, and I was so happy for her. Turns out she had just been rotated off the site, which happens regularly. I explained in the last entry how I went about becoming Jazmin's sponsor, so I won't repeat myself. Instead, I want to tell you a little more about Jazmin!

Jazmin is 13 years old- she'll be 14 on January 15 of next year. I don't yet know what grade she's in, but I'll find out soon, as I've requested an education report. Jazmin lives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with her mother, Nancy, a street vendor, and brother, Jesus Alberto, 19. Her father, Juan Pedro, does not live with the family. The monthly income for the family is $300, which is more than the incomes of my other sponsored children's families, although it's not really meaningful to compare incomes between Ecuador and, say, India.

Jazmin lives in a two-room home: one bedroom and one multipurpose room. She sleeps on a metal-frame bed. The walls of the house are brick, the roof is corrugated metal, and the floor is concrete. Cooking is done on a gas stove, there is running water in the home, and electricity is regulated. There is also a latrine. For chores Jazmin washes dishes and does general housework.

Jazmin's favorite school subject is grammar. She likes to draw as well as play soccer.

Children International is Amazing!

Meet my newest (and, I swear, last for now) sponsored child, Jazmin E, from Ecuador!

Jazmin is 13 years old, and will turn 14 on Jan 15, 2011. What drew me to Jazmin in the first place was the fact that she's athletic- her favorite pastime is playing soccer! I was a soccer player when I was a child and teenager, and it's still my favorite sport. I see a lot of boys who list soccer as their favorite pastime, but few girls, so that made Jazmin stick out for me. In fact, she stuck in my mind so much that I checked the CI (Children International) website daily to see if she'd been sponsored.

One day, Jazmin's photo was no longer available on the CI website. I thought, fantastic! Someone has sponsored her! However, a couple of days ago I learned that just because a child is no longer available through the website, doesn't mean that they've been sponsored. The children are rotated off and on the website on a regular basis.

I didn't have Jazmin's ID number- only her first name, approximate age, and country, as well as a dead link to her CI "profile". I sent CI an email asking for help- could they tell me if Jazmin was sponsored? And if she wasn't, could they please sign me up as her new sponsor? I wasn't sure they'd even be able to help me, since I didn't have her ID number or birthday and just generally had so little information about her. (Someone later pointed out to me that because I had the dead link, I did have the ID number, because the ID number is contained in each link. But I didn't know that at the time. I thought it was semi-hopeless.)

Less than 24 hours later, I received an email from CI. I am now Jazmin's sponsor! I am so happy, and so thankful that CI was able to do this for me, despite the limited information I gave them. I love this organization!

Samuel Through The Years

This is the first photo in Samuel's file. He's six years old here. The photo was taken 4/11/2003.

Samuel just a few days after his seventh birthday, 2003.

Samuel, age 7, 2004.

Samuel, age 8, 2005.

Samuel, age 9, 2006.

Samuel, age 10, 2007.

Samuel, the day after his eleventh birthday, 2007.

Samuel, age 11, almost 12.

Samuel in October 2009, when he was 12 years old (just about to turn 13)!

And finally, the most recent photo I have of Samuel, dated 6/22/10. Samuel is 13 in this picture.

Postcards to My Sponsored Kids

I bought a whole bunch of Washington, DC (my city!) postcards to send to my sponsored kids. I realized I want to keep a record of my letters to them, as well as of course keeping the letters from them. So here it is for, well, me and whoever else cares, ha ha: my first correspondence with my sponsored kids.

Padmashree (Jefferson Memorial with cherry blossoms)
Dear Padmashree,
I received your nice letter. Thank you! I am glad you and your family are well. It's fun to ride a bicycle, isn't it? [She mentioned learning to ride a bike in her welcome letter to me.] I enjoy it too. This postcard is of the Jefferson Memorial, in Washington, DC, which is near my home. The cherry blossoms bloom in spring and we have a festival. It is beautiful. I think of you often and hope you are doing well in school and are happy and healthy. Your sponsor and friend, Nicole A[lastname]

Egda (Washington Monument with cherry blossoms)
Dear Egda,
I hope you had a happy birthday! Did you get my card with stickers? Are you happy to be seven now? I thought of you on your birthday. What grade are you in at school? I hope you enjoy school. I did when I was your age. I hope your family is well. My family is all well. What is your favorite color? Mine are orange and blue. Do you like soccer? I do very much. I also like to read and write. I think of you often and hope you are healthy and happy. Your sponsor and friend, Nicole A[lastname]

Hachita (Lincoln and Washington monuments with brilliant orange sunset)
Dear Hachita,
Hello! I hope you and your family are well. I and my family are very well. It is summer here and very hot. I enjoy the weather. I do not like the cold or snow that comes in winter. What kind of weather do you like? Here is some more about me. I live with my husband, Adam. I love to read and write poems. I like to do things outdoors, too. My favorite colors are orange and blue. My favorite sport is soccer. I have one brother, Eric. He is 22 years old. In school my favorite classes were languages. I am so happy to be your sponsor. I think of you often.
Nicole [lastname]

Francisco (Smithsonian "Castle" with bright flowers)
Dear Francisco,
Hi! I am Nicole, one of your sponsors. [This is the boy I'm part of a group sponsorship of.] I want to say I am very happy to be one of your sponsors. I think of you often and hope you are healthy and happy. What grade are you in? I hope you enjoy school. I did when I was your age. I love soccer, too. We have that in common. Hablo un poquito espanol, tambien. Adios!
Nicole [lastname]

Samuel (Capitol Dome and Washington Monument with fireworks)
Dear Samuel,
Hi! I hope you and your family are well. We are fine here. My name is Nicole and I am your new sponsor. I live near Washington, DC, the capitol of the USA. This is a picture of our fireworks which we have every Independence Day, July 4. What grade are you in? Do you live in a village or a city? I live in a village near the city. I think of you often. Study hard, be healthy and happy!
Your sponsor, Nicole [lastname]

My first letter to Padmashree

This is the first letter I wrote to Padmashree, my sponsored child from India. I wrote it online- Children International has a cool feature where you can log into your account and write a letter to your child online. The letter gets sent to the child's field office, where it's printed and translated for the child. Isn't that cool? Anyway, this is my first letter, dated May 13, 2010.


Dear Padmashree,
Hello! How are you? I hope you and your family are well. My name is Nicole and I am your new sponsor. I live near Washington, DC, the capitol of the USA. I don't live in the city, though. I live in a house near the woods. I like where I live because the woods are very pretty and there is a river nearby. Deer, birds, and squirrels come to our yard and they are nice to watch.I live with my husband, Adam, and our pets. We have two cats and a guinea pig. The cats are named Boogles and PK and the guinea pig is called Quinn. I will send you some pictures so you can see them!In my free time I like to write poems, read books, spend time outside, swim, and play music.I am very happy to be your sponsor and I'd love to learn about you and your family and where you live!
Yours truly,
Nicole A[lastname]

Samuel

The nice people at Children International have already added Samuel to my online account, which means that I don't have to wait for the sponsorship packet to come in the mail, but can check out his family report online!
I had some things wrong in the previous post: Samuel doesn't have 5 siblings- he has SEVEN. Also, his favorite pastimes are playing with friends and siblings, and playing with jacks, as well as dancing and singing. I don't know where I got sports from.
Samuel's parents are both deceased. I asked for more information about Samuel's living situation, but CI wasn't able to give it to me. I know he lives with his seven siblings- his brother Anthony, 22, and six sisters: Teresita, 27; Melissa, 20; Marife, 17; Angela, 15; Teresa, 11; and Glecie M, 10. I don't know if any other adults live in the house, or if it's just the siblings on their own. I do know the family income is only $65 a month- that works out to just over $8 per person, per month. Less, if there are more family members living in the household that I don't know about.
The home is a single room, with corrugated metal walls and roof. The floor is concrete, and the floor (with a mat) is where Samuel sleeps. There are two beds in the home but he doesn't use either of them. They use a private well for water, a latrine for sanitation, and electricity is available, but the family can't afford it.
Samuel goes to school- I don't know what grade he's in yet- but his favorite subjects are art and languages.
This past weekend I picked up a bunch of postcards with scenes of Washington, DC on them. (I live in a suburb of DC). I'm going to send one to each of my sponsored kids- I think they'll like them!