A Letter from My World Vision Sponsored Child

There are many children in developing or under-developed countries that don't have the resource that we have here in the States. Many of them are in desperate need of help in continuing their education, or even starting one, or even simply living a no-hunger life. The help can come in many forms - food, goods, and perhaps the handiest, money. As little money as a visit to a nice restaurant a month can help a child live a better life and receive better education.

World Vision has a great child sponsorship program. My wife and I are actively participating in this program for years. We are currently sponsoring a child through this program and it only costs us $30 per month.

We are not wealthy ourselves. But we figure that by practicing a little bit of frugality, or making a little change of lifestyle, we can make that commitment each month easily. For instance, we don't have cable, so the money saved is virtually enough for the monthly commitment of the program already. Besides, we don't buy DVDs and rarely go see a movie, but we do watch a lot of movies through Netflix, which is much cheaper. There are many other frugal ways that don't sacrifice the original lifestyle much.

The reward for sponsoring a child comes in many ways. One is knowing the progress of the sponsored child. In my case, the sponsored child and I communicated through a translator, via conventional letters and cards. It's always a delight to keep track of the child's progress and development.

Recently we received a letter from our sponsored child, which filled us with warmth and joy. What we received was a typed translation along with the original handwritten one. The handwriting made it very personal, but the translation made it possible for us to understand. The message was full of love and peace. They said thank you for your letters, cards and photographs (we communicated with them and sent them a couple of our pictures before). They also reported the latest progress of the child, a little girl. We were delighted to know she loves going to school and playing with friends during recess time, among other things.

The letter seemed to make a connection between us, shortening the geographical distance that sets us apart. In an era where handy and fast alternatives such as email are available, we seldom write a traditional letter any more. But we were pleasingly surprised to find out how the traditional way can be so special and personal - when opening the envelope, unfolding the letter, and reading what the story entails. It may be too unrealistic to say we shall go back to the traditional way altogether, but doing it once in a while is not a bad idea, is it?