"Only villains try to change the world.": February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

New photos

New photos of my IHF kids arrived today, as well as a letter from Annah. I love how IHF sends new pics and letters once a month.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Thandiwe looked so solemn and shy in her website photograph, I was surprised to see what a vibrant, bubbly, happy little girl she appeared to be in the direct package photos! This field office sends a TON of photos for each package, which is also a delight.

Thandiwe with her first package:

She looks excited to get it!

I sent her some articles of clothing, a coloring book and school supplies in a miniature backpack.

Modeling one of her new tops - she clearly loves the camera. How cute!

Thandiwe with her second package:

She's wearing a dress I sent her in her first package.

I sent her some clothes, a jump rope, a coloring book with crayons, a baby doll (from my personal collection) and photos from my birthday trip to the Bronx Zoo.

With her new doll, whom she named Thandy. You can see that this dress has gotten some serious wear already!

Trying on some new clothes. Hard to believe this is the serious-looking little girl from her website photo!

The letter I received mentioned that she was especially happy to get the doll. I remembered something written during one of Oprah's trips to Africa where she'd bought dolls for all the little girls in her center. Apparently one of the children was so excited she started kissing her doll's face through its plastic box. Ever since I read that, I've made it a mission to make sure that each of my younger kids has at least one doll and one stuffed toy. Necessities are best for sure, but there are some things I firmly believe everyone should have something fun now and then!

Trying out the new jump rope!

Direct package: Sophia

One of my favorite things about the organizations I sponsor through is that they allow you to send packages of gifts directly to your children. (In fact, that is what One Spirit's sponsorships consist of - there is no monthly fee, just what you can send.) It can be expensive, so I only send one every six months are so, but it's too much fun not to! Children International also sends photographs of your kids receiving their gifts - and it's great to get "extra" photos of your kids!

Sophia with her first package:

I sent Sophia a few items of clothing and some school supplies in a miniature backpack. Inexpensive, lightweight to keep shipping costs down, and hopefully useful!

Could this kid be any cuter??

Sophia with her second package:

I sent her some articles of clothing, a backpack, a paperback book and a Little Mermaid art set. I also sent some photographs from my birthday trip to the Bronx Zoo earlier in the year.

Sophia's letter upon receiving the second package:

It's just too cute not to include :)

Meet my kids: Arupe

I hadn't been planning on sponsoring another child, but when I saw this kid on the IHF website, there's absolutely no way I could say no! Arupe is ten years old and lives in Kenya. His parents are alive, but unable to care for him. Arupe's education sponsorship is taken care of by me, but he is in need of an "orphan" sponsorship as well if anyone is interested.

Meet my kids: Jessa

Jessa Nicole is seven years old and lives in the Philippines. She is another child chosen because of sharing her name with a Duggar child. Jessa seems to be a fairly common name in the Philippines, so I chose her based on her middle name (Nicole being Jinger Duggar's middle name.) Funnily enough, her last name is quite similar to "Duggar" and her brothers are named Jake and John. I had been considering another child named Jessa Lory (Lauren being Jessa Duggar's middle name), but someone else sponsored her, making the final decision for me! It seemed like Jessa was on the site for quite some time, but apparently it had only been a few weeks! I've sponsored Jessa since January of 2010.

Meet my kids: Josie

I signed up to sponsor Josie on the day of my father's funeral, which was also the day of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The priest mentioned a parishioner who had recruited several people to sponsor children in Haiti through a small organization (one that in fact may have been His Hands for Haiti - it certainly sounded like it, but I didn't ask).

Funnily, my aunt mentioned that she might sponsor a child in my father's memory. I was a little too amused to inform her that my father thought child sponsorship was a scam designed to prey on liberal guilt. Needless to say he never liked my sponsoring kids as a youngster (or as an adult, but he had less to say about it then!), but I offered to send her some websites if she was really interested. Strangely enough (yeah, I'm a bit cynical) I never did hear from her about that.

All the same, I took it as a sign that I should at least visit the HH4H website and consider sponsoring a child through them. When I saw a girl named Josie, I knew what I had to do. The name is very special to me, as both a good friend and a beloved cousin have adorable daughters with that name. Josie is also the name of the youngest (very premature, fragile, frail, barely clinging to life) Duggar child.

My friends can tell you that I have an odd fascination with the Duggars. Despite my genuine affection for the youngest eighteen children, I strongly disagree with many of the parents' values and lifestyle choices. One of the ones I have the greatest problem with is their refusal to properly educate their children, especially their daughters, who are expected to raise their younger siblings in their mother's stead (Mrs. Duggar cares for the babies for the first six months, then hands them off to a daughter and gets to work on making the next one) and are expected to follow in their mother's footsteps as a wife and mother right out of the gate rather than go to college and/or find a career path. There's nothing I can do for Josie Duggar, or any of the Duggar children, but hopefully I can help this little Josie get an education to help her be anything she chooses to be in the future.

Josie is eight years old. As I mentioned before, she's sponsored through His Hands for Haiti. I have sponsored her since January of 2010.

Meet my kids: Annah

I had been considering sponsoring an Indonesian child through International Humanity Foundation for a while, but when I went to the site, it was this little girl from Kenya who caught my attention. Such a sweet face! Annah is now twelve years old. Her parents are alive, but are alcoholics who cannot afford to care for her, so Annah lives at the IHF orphanage - a much better life than the life of a child laborer, which was how she spent her days before arriving at the center. She is a sweet girl who hopes to become a nurse when she grows up. I have been sponsoring Annah since January of 2009.

Annah's website photo.

Annah, March of 2009

April of 2009

June of 2009

July of 2009

August of 2009

September of 2009

October of 2009

November of 2009

Annah with gifts from a direct package. The people at IHF kindly photographed her receiving it (I didn't request that they do so!)

December of 2009

January of 2010

Meet my kids: Thandiwe

I saw Thandiwe on the Children International website while I was trying to decide whether or not I should sponsor Sophia. You can clearly see why I couldn't say no to this girl, either! Thandiwe is five years old and lives in Zambia with her mother, older brother John and younger sister Bupe. Thandiwe's father is no longer present in her life. I have been sponsoring Thandiwe since January of 2009.

Thandiwe December of 2008. How could I resist?!

January 2010. Such a difference already!

A drawing from Thandiwe:

Meet my kids: Sophia

Sophia Jane was my first sponsored child through Children International. She lives in the Philippines with her mother, father, older brother Kevin and younger sisters Mikaela and Princess Mayumi. Sophia is eight years old. I've sponsored Sophia since January of 2009. She was the featured child on the forchildsponsors yahoo group for quite some time, and something about her stole my heart.