Ada

Ok, so I went for it and now have a fourth sponsored child! This is really the last though until Ella graduates. Four works well for me - both financially and just because the number is one that's had a lot of good meaning in my life. I had a short list of children I was looking at but when I went browsing one last time, well, I kept being drawn back to Ada. I couldn't figure out why. I mean, she's adorable, but there are many adorable kids! She wasn't from one of the two countries I sponsor from, she's younger than the others, her family wasn't under $100 (partially because she's not from the previously referenced two countries), and well...yeah. But something kept drawing me back, and then BAM! I realized she shared my birthday! It was meant to be. She will be 7 on October 10th.

She has a now three-year old younger sister named Jennifer (her age just changed so it must have been this week!). She lives with her parents: Francisco, her father, who is a daily worker and Cristina, the mother, who is a homemaker. According to her report she is not in school because "She is too young" but that's from October of last year. I'm hoping she will have started school on the next report. Her house does have electricity, a latrine, and running water. Perhaps the worst part of the house though is the floor which is just dirt.

I'm excited to watch Ada grow! I'll be sending off a little package to her in the next week or so to give her some presents before her birthday. I got some shirts, coloring book, crayons, tablets that turn into animals when put in water, etc. It will be my first direct package so I hope it makes it without problems!

New Photo and News for Ella

I forgot to add Ella's new photo! She's 17 and a half in this photo! Still not smiling, but that seems to be her personality. A sweetheart but she seems shy and understandably so. I made a request to learn what future plans she'd like to follow for her education (college or some sort of professional training), and the response was that now that she was done with high school she had made the decision not to continue her education. She is already working two jobs and makes up more than half of the $100/month that the family is bringing in. This includes raising three younger sisters. I feel sad that has to work so hard already and that it appears there's nothing I can do to help in that direction. I did send in an SNG though to provide her mother with a washer/dryer. Her mother is a laundry worker who has been doing it by hand all these years. Her eldest daughter is 29 so I can only guess on the mother's age - but I can't imagine even a young woman holding up under that kind of work for long. I wish them the best of luck.

New Child...and some mail

So I caved and got a third child to sponsor - Mohammad, age 11. This is definitely my final child though. I had been keeping tabs on him ever since I had decided on Sayonika. I thought it would be nice to also have a boy in the mix, and he was on the same page as two other Mohammads who had been waiting for a while. I figured the name might make it take longer to get sponsored. Besides who could resist a smile like that? I have four other pictures on his file though so I've been able to see how he's grown through the years.

It turns out he's actually had two other sponsors before me. I find that a bit disheartening, but I intend to be the last! He has three siblings, an older brother and two younger sisters. One of the sisters is also sponsored but the other other siblings are not enrolled in the program. Based on the description of where he lives it sounds a bit like an apartment? It's concreted everything...walls, ceiling, floor. And community facilities.

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So along with Mohammad's sponsorship packet that came in the mail today, I also got a welcome letter from the director in India (for Sayonika). And an updated letter on Ella Marie. I was hoping there was going to be a new picture in the last one but there wasn't. I find that odd since usually with the annual update I get a picture...and it's been over a year now. Still hoping it comes soon!

Sayonika

The is Sayonika. My second sponsor from Children International, and the first whose journey I will be able to journal online. My other, Ella Marie, I have been sponsoring since 2002, but she will be graduating from the program soon.

I became Sayonika's sponsor on May 25, 2010. I had been thinking about sponsoring a second child for many years. On this particular day my mother had to be rushed to the hospital. It turned out not to be life threatening (pneumonia and gastritis), but I was still left thinking about her all day. While waiting for her return I browsed the faces of the many children waiting to be sponsored. I picked out a few that I felt really drawn to and that's when I noticed something special about Sayonika...she shared the same birthday as my mother! It just felt meant to be. And so it's with great pleasure that I became her sponsor.

She is currently 9 years old, and an only child. Her father is a street vendor and brings home an average of $51/month. They have no electricity and are currently using an open field as their sanitary facility. They use a community well for water. She does fortunately have a bed, but there's no floor in their house. In spite of all this she seems to be a very happy child, and I look forward to helping make sure she stays that way.