I have a really nice story to share, well I think so anyway.
So basically I had an idea bout 10 years ago to just google about sponsoring an orphan and I came across a well known site. I flicked through it a bit and decided I wanted to sponsor one (it used to be 180 a year back then and gradually rose, now its about 300).
180 a year? Not much I thought to give someone a chance in life but I was skeptical to be honest, I thought they'd use the money for themselves and only give her the bare minimum though I decided to try it anyway.
About 2 months went by and then I received a letter in the post from the charity agency, which seemed to begin as a copy and paste template. Though later in the letter there was a small note from the child to say thank you and introduce herself in a short summary.
Each year I'd get a report about how she was doing in school, in her foster care, etc. She'd send notes twice a year to say thank you and give a bit of background about how her life was going etc and I'd write back and try to be supportive and it was all fairly pleasant if not a bit disconnected. It was obvious someone was translating for her and I used to think they're sending out templated notes to the sponsors.
She did well in school, her grades were high and well she had reached the point where she was old enough to go to college and had an idea about what she wanted to do but her foster family wouldn't be able to afford the tuition. So I thought, what's another few quid and sponsored her through College to study Computer Science and she graduated last year in the top 10% of her class.
I was so proud. I also received other news, she had met a boy at university and they seemed to click. She wanted to let me know that they decided to get married as soon as she graduated though she had no intention of becoming a housewife so early. Instead, she applied and got accepted to IT solutions company as a graduate software engineer and wanted to pursue a career life. She had plans to travel and see some of the world and eventually start a family.
I met her and her husband last week for the first time in my life. I cannot describe the feeling or the sensation I experienced only to tell you that it overwhelmed me.
For years there was this person who seemed to exist only on paper and in pictures and which to my discredit, I tended to ignore as it's easy to do with someone's life is literally on paper.
And then here she was, an educated adult, with her husband, ready to build her future. We hugged, she had tears in her eyes and she begged me to let her pay me back for the years of support I had given her and her foster family. Though I politely declined and asked that if she insisted on getting rid of that money she should probably sponsor a child. She agreed.
We went out for some food and drinks, had a few laughs and called it a night. Her husband was a gentle chap, softly spoken and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. He was a civil engineer graduate. Sadly they were booked on a flight back home the following morning.
We agreed she would skype every now and then and would drop me a note sometimes to let me know how she's doing and if she needs anything. Maybe at some point in the future we'd meet up again but i didnt want her to feel obliged to make time for me or anything, I'm just so happy she can get on with her life.
Im not sure why im writing this, I guess I'm just still so shocked - 10 years ago she was a profile picture of an awkward looking kid on some website.
Last week that profile become a person, a real person with hopes, dreams and aspirations, a job, a spouse and maybe even a family of her own one day. Never in a million years did I ever imagine meeting her let alone seeing what a lovely, normal, forward-thinking well adjusted person she would become.
I'm blown away.
Did anyone else have a similar experience they'd like to share?
So basically I had an idea bout 10 years ago to just google about sponsoring an orphan and I came across a well known site. I flicked through it a bit and decided I wanted to sponsor one (it used to be 180 a year back then and gradually rose, now its about 300).
180 a year? Not much I thought to give someone a chance in life but I was skeptical to be honest, I thought they'd use the money for themselves and only give her the bare minimum though I decided to try it anyway.
About 2 months went by and then I received a letter in the post from the charity agency, which seemed to begin as a copy and paste template. Though later in the letter there was a small note from the child to say thank you and introduce herself in a short summary.
Each year I'd get a report about how she was doing in school, in her foster care, etc. She'd send notes twice a year to say thank you and give a bit of background about how her life was going etc and I'd write back and try to be supportive and it was all fairly pleasant if not a bit disconnected. It was obvious someone was translating for her and I used to think they're sending out templated notes to the sponsors.
She did well in school, her grades were high and well she had reached the point where she was old enough to go to college and had an idea about what she wanted to do but her foster family wouldn't be able to afford the tuition. So I thought, what's another few quid and sponsored her through College to study Computer Science and she graduated last year in the top 10% of her class.
I was so proud. I also received other news, she had met a boy at university and they seemed to click. She wanted to let me know that they decided to get married as soon as she graduated though she had no intention of becoming a housewife so early. Instead, she applied and got accepted to IT solutions company as a graduate software engineer and wanted to pursue a career life. She had plans to travel and see some of the world and eventually start a family.
I met her and her husband last week for the first time in my life. I cannot describe the feeling or the sensation I experienced only to tell you that it overwhelmed me.
For years there was this person who seemed to exist only on paper and in pictures and which to my discredit, I tended to ignore as it's easy to do with someone's life is literally on paper.
And then here she was, an educated adult, with her husband, ready to build her future. We hugged, she had tears in her eyes and she begged me to let her pay me back for the years of support I had given her and her foster family. Though I politely declined and asked that if she insisted on getting rid of that money she should probably sponsor a child. She agreed.
We went out for some food and drinks, had a few laughs and called it a night. Her husband was a gentle chap, softly spoken and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. He was a civil engineer graduate. Sadly they were booked on a flight back home the following morning.
We agreed she would skype every now and then and would drop me a note sometimes to let me know how she's doing and if she needs anything. Maybe at some point in the future we'd meet up again but i didnt want her to feel obliged to make time for me or anything, I'm just so happy she can get on with her life.
Im not sure why im writing this, I guess I'm just still so shocked - 10 years ago she was a profile picture of an awkward looking kid on some website.
Last week that profile become a person, a real person with hopes, dreams and aspirations, a job, a spouse and maybe even a family of her own one day. Never in a million years did I ever imagine meeting her let alone seeing what a lovely, normal, forward-thinking well adjusted person she would become.
I'm blown away.
Did anyone else have a similar experience they'd like to share?
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. Good on you mate, sounds like you really changed someone's life for the better. My old flatmate used to sponsor a girl in Africa, and I also wondered if the money was really getting to her or not. Good to see this girl was able to succeed despite a difficult upbringing.
It is a bit of a silly place to mention it I guess but like I said, just totally overwhelmed