I finally got Yulissa's health report. It was quite a wait actually. Took more than 2 months. Not the best of news... Definitely not what I wanted to hear. The report says she has been diagonised with myopia and a second level of obesity. She now wears glasses and is also scheduled to see a nutritionist it seems. Since she is sponsored, they had informed that the costs are met from 'Emergency Medical Fund'. I didn't know such a thing even existed. Few clarified that this fund supports medical emergencies and glasses (though common) is covered in that fund. I am happy to know that she is taken care of.
Even I have had myopia. It is not that great a risk if identified early and also glasses are worn regularly. And I am definitely not sure about the obesity. While I have no clue what is second level according to medical checkup, I always believe obesity is not that much of an issue as long as the person is active. One of her favorite activity is playing football. Anyways she is being looked into for that also and I am happy for that. I am not a fan of hospitals and I generally don't go unless I see blood. So this is all kinda hazy to me. I hope she gets well soon. All her letters make me feel special... I look forward to more letters and good health from her...
~ChEeRs
I am totally glad to share that I have got yet another mail from my sweet Nicolle... I am finally in sync with my liftone account. I got this letter only last week. I was super excited as usual. Also I was very surprised about it because it was a reply to one of the mails I just sent a month ago. Considering CI's normal timeline this was super fast. Looks like Christmas came early for me :)... Again there was a question on the other side of the letter for which she selected all the options as always. Either she is very interested and enthusiastic or she just likes to put a tick mark in boxes :) Also a diagram was there on that side. As always I am surprised/happy to see her bold use of colors. I think she makes sure she uses as many different colors as possible :) So here comes the sweet letter -
Greetings Dear Mr.Manikanden I wish that when you receive this letter you are in good health along with your family. Sponsor, I tell you that my Mom and my siblings are fine thanks God. I tell you that next year I am going to fourth grade and I am diong good in my grades. My favorite subjects are Drawing, Math, English and my favorite friends are named Dayana, Kelin, Madelin and I am glad that your friends love me. Greetings, I say good bye. Your sponsored child that love you very much. Nicolle"
I really really liked this letter for the simple reason that it was a direct reply. I did send a very short mail only and all my questions were directly answered. These kinda letters really make my day. And also that she is one of my super fav kids :) ChEeRs to all...
Nicole's birthday went by in September. While I got a nice SNG reply from her, thanks to my friend Macky, I got another letter in response to a cute package of gifts prepared by Mack. A big thanks to her! Of course I got it a while back. Still adding posts to sync with my LiftOne account. So here is the sweet letter - "Greetings Dear Sponsor I wish that when you receive this letter you are in good health along wit your family. Sponsor, I am very happy for the birthday gift that you sent me. (Mack deserves it). Everything is fine very nice. The dolls, the crayons, the pen, the toothbrushes, the toothpaste, the soap and the cornflakes that I like very much. I am very thankful with God, for having the privilege to have a sponsor like you. God bless you along with your family. I say goodbye with affection. Your sponsored child that love you very much. Nicolle"
Isn't that just adorable? To me it is :). Really, Mack sure knows what to get for the kids. I was very happy to know Nicolle liked everything. I am a total zero in selecting gifts and without her help, I wouldn't have got this beautiful letter. And I realized that her recently updated profile pic was also from the same time. She was wearing the same green tee and a great smile too :)
Yipppeee....You would remember that they had updated the wrong photo for Suman a few days back. I called up CI and they promised to look into it. They confirmed that it was not Suman and promised to update as soon as the can. And voila, when I logged into the CI account today, I see the new picture. The good news is that he does not have that bandage above his eyes which was in his latest SNG. I was worried about the wound. He seems super fine... I have got a couple of other CI updates too on the way... Should get everything sorted out this week :)
While this is also one of those catch up posts, I certainly missed this out of carelessness than anything else and saw it pretty late. My bad... So I had inquired for education reprot on Kulsum... If you remember she is sponsored for my friend... But we have a lot of common interests :) So without further a do her educational report -
On the child's school and infrastructure -
The child's school is a three storied building made of brick walls with concrete floor and roof. The school has proper sanitation, drinking water facilities and electric connection. It also has a courtyard which is often used as a playground by the students.
Approximately 600 students attend her school. She goes to school by walk. She studies in grade 6.
Her overall grades are supposed to be 'Fair' while her educational progress seems normal. She is already going for tution which is supported by the family it seems. She likes to study Urdu and English.
She definitely plans to continue her education and her family is supportive of completing her education.
Now that is a good thing to hear. And I had already requested them on the amount that the family is spending on tuitions as I thought I could help them with that. I got the reply for that too. They have already paid for the current school year and the next one is requried by March. I should be able to take care of that without any issues. So that s it with the updates. Let me see if I get anything more :)
I logged into my children's account in November after Suman's birthday knowing very well they will update his profile pic. And just as I expected, they did change the profile pic. But I couldn't believe what I saw. I could have sworn anywhere that the pic I was seeing was not of Suman. Have a look for yourself...
That to me is definitely not Suman. Except for the eyes I couldn't see a single similarity in the photo. Even that was starting to look different when I started comparing his recent SNG pics. I have already asked the CI representative to have a look into it and update his photo. The rep on call also accepted that it just did not look like Suman at all and promised to get back to me with the details.
UPDATE:- The CI representative sent me a mail the next day and confirmed that it was not Suman and said they will upload his new pic as soon as they can.
This is still one of those catch up posts. I should have done this at least a month back. Well, it is never too late :)
As you all know, Nicolle's birthday crossed by almost two months ago, a surprise was waiting for me in my CI account. When I was checking for updates, voila... I found a new pic. She was all smiles in that pic. A sincere thanks to Mack who took time to make a package for my sweet Nicolle when she went to Honduras. I totally owe her for this super smiling pic from Nicolle as I know this is from on of those SNG photos. Also her family record was updates. As such there wasn't that great a change.Her height and weight had changed though. She was initially 4" and now risen to 4"2'. She also gained 4 pounds jumping to 54 which is a very encouraging sign... Love her smile :)
~ChEeRs
I know.. Time to catch up. I am still at that tortoise pace for updating all the blogs that I have already updated in LiftOne. I will sure catch up and have all the posts updated and synchronized by this weekend. I should have updated this even before Suman's b'day wish. So I get another super sweet mail from my super cute Yulissa :). This is for the direct package I sent to her before her b'day. Not much of a package if you realize she did not get the puzzle game I sent her. She got a book on space and astronomy and also a couple of greeting cards. As always, her response made my day :). And what's better? More photos :) Here is the letter with my fav pic (with the dolphin card). And oh, did I mention that she drew some cute colored stars over the letter... I loved it. More Photos to follow in a separate post :)
"Dear sponsor Mani (I had told her that she can call me Mani), Thank you for my gifts, especially for my birthday card. I loved the book but the sea card is great, how did you know that I love the sea? Especially dolphins, so you and I like similar things, don't you think? (That right there is pure innocence to me. She had stated before that she likes the sea and especially the dolphins. But I can see her excitement in this letter) This was one of my best birthdays because I lived one more year, God let my father stay with us and you are good to me. (If that is not maturity beyond years, I will never know what is). Thank you for everything you sent me, my birthday will truly be unforgettable. Let me tell you that my mother gave me a cake and it was delicious because it was a cheese cake. I put candles on it and I enjoyed it very much, we ate it all in 5 mins (That s just like me - Kiddish :P). I send you my greetings and thank you again for everything. Until next time. Your sponsored child, Yulissa" A sincere, heartfelt and a special thanks to Frumor (i don't have original name), from L1 because of whom I was able to get the book too. This is like the 4th letter in 6 months. Yulissa is my second sponsored kid, the first one I chose for myself actually. She is the best thing tat has happened to me in a while. I will cherish this letter the most for two reasons. I see her innocence and also her maturity in the same letter. She is more mature than me at her age :). I am glad I was able to sponsor her...
I should apologize. I should have posted it long back. I missed it. And since then I couldn't update anything about CI in my blog. Luckily I was able to update (albeit late) in L1 atleast. Suman's birthday was on 31st October. A very belated birthday wish to him. I was plain lazy and slow and hence couldn't update sooner.
Actually I even got the SNG reply I sent him for his birthday. Although I was a little unhappy that there was no mention of his birthday in the SNG reply, a wonderful CI representative eased my mind confirming that the memo stated that the SNG be used for Suman's birthday. They got a steel almirah and some cooking items. I also got a couple of photos from him. I am not posting the pic for the only reason that he was hurt and had a bandage above his right eye. It seems he got hurt while playing with friends. So here is the reply I got from the SNG -
"Dear Sponsor, I send you my regards for the Durga puja festival that we celebrated recently. I hope you are well. We are all fine. With your financial support we have purchased a steel almirah, rice, cooking oil, sugar, noodles and candies. We are very happy to receive these useful gifts. They will be beneficial for us. I study in grade 2. I hope to do well in my studies. I thank you for you generous support. I end with love. Yours lovingly Suman"
So that is it with the letter. There were a coupla drawing in that report which I will try to upload later if possible. It was more of a colorin than drawing actually. Just waiting for his updated profile pic now.
Finally after a while, I got the letter from Kanika too. I got it quite a while back. Not sure how it was missed. I had updated it in LiftOne but missed to update here. Just to refresh, Kanika was my replacement to Sunandita who had left the program coupla months back. Of course she got married and I hope she shifted to a better life. And so Kanika writes
"I hope you are well. We are all fine. I like to study. I like to play hide and seek. My best friend is Arpita. There is a playground beisde our house and we play there after school. I like to study english. I wish to be a psychologist when I grow up. My family and I are very happy to have you as my new sponsor. I thank you for it. I end with love and regards. Please keep well. Yours lovingly, Kanika" It was just the type of letter I would expect from a matured girl like her. Simple and sweet. There is more to come soon :) ~ChEeRs
The good things just keep coming :). Got Nicolle's b'day response too. Got it a coupla days back actually. Missed updating it. So here is her beautiful letter with the wonderful drawing (colorful yet again) she sent...
"Greetings Dear sponsor
I hope when you receive this letter you are in good health along with your loved ones. Sponsor I am very happy for the b'day gift that you sent me. I wish to have a picture from you and your family. I tell you that I am doing good in the school and I have many friends. I help my mom to run errands and clean the house. I tell you that I like to ride the bicycle and listen to music. I tell you that I liked very much that I bought, the sandals, the clothes and the food basket. I say good bye with much affection. God bless you always. Nicolle"
Her drawing was as usual very very colorful and again she selected all the options for the question in the front page. She either selects just like that or she is very enthusiastic about a lot of activities. And the question asked was "What I like the most from the program is:"
And she selected all the available options - 1. Having my photo taken 2. Receiving gifts 3. Receiving medical check ups (seriously? :)) 4. Receiving medication 5. Writing letters
Definitely made my day. And a special thanks to Mack (frotu33) who has sent more gifts to her when she went to Honduras... :)
What can I say.. Other than I am on cloud 9 right now... Yulissa always makes me smile and finally today (after a month's wait) I got the SNG reply :D. And I got back loadsa photos too... :). I am happy to know that they were able to buy quite a few stuffs. And also got a wonderful letter from her. So here goes - "Dear Sponsor, Thank you for remembering my birthday. I was able to buy many things: my favorite cereal, shampoo, personal hygiene items, I bought pajamas, school supplies, a pair of tennis shoes that are great; I have many gifts thanks to you. My birthday will be a sunday and my mother will make my favorite meal, "quesadillas" and mashed potatoes. For dessert, we will have lemon pie. I went back to school already and I am doing my best. I am happy with all the things. I have never had so many gifts. I will never forget this day. I also loved your letter, it is very nice. (I sent her greeting card, not sure if that is what she meant). Thank you or everything. God bless you. Goodbye. Sincerely, Yulissa"
And that is with the letter.
I loved all the photos that were sent. And I like this one most :)... More pics to come soon separately...
Yet another weekend, yet another birthday ... Well last week it was Yulissa, and this week it is my sweet Nicole... Happy birthday to my sweet Nicole :)
She was the kid I took less than 10 seconds to decide to sponsor... She is such a sweet kid.. I have finally got the welcome letter from her... I will be updating that shortly...
Here is to wishing a super cool happy birthday to her :) Now to wait for her b'day photos too :)
Yipeeeeeeee! To my joy today, I found out that Suman's family record is updated. Although most details remain the same, I am not sure about the height, weight as I don't remember exactly how it was before. Right now he is 3'9" and weighs around 37 pounds. But here comes the good news. His previous family income was just 66$. But in the updated report it is about 170$. That is definitely a good increase, considering it is almost tripled. Now I am not sure if anybody else contributes to the income, coz it was only his father working back then too. These are some of the times I wish they could add last update date in the main account page. That way it is easy to figure out whose data has been updated... Either ways it was super cool and I was super happy to know this. This whole week has been kind to me... And guess what... it is my sweet Nicole's b'day tomo... Also welcome letters from Nicole and Kanika are in... Should update it tomo :) Yipppeeeeee!
Today is one of favourite Kid's birthday. She is the cutest kid on the planet, yes, it is Yulissa's birthday. She is nine years old now :). I had already sent the amount to CI for the b;day gift. I so can't wait for the b'day photos from her. This is also a special day because she shares the b'day with one of my good friends... So double the joy for me :)
Yulissa is my second child, and the first child I chose online... She will always be special to me. I have just got two letters from her so far and both of the letter has been one of the sweetest I have read. I have been sponsoring her only less than 6 months. I still know she is a great kid and a great future awaits her. She is far too mature for her age...
I wish her to have her best b'day ever and may all her wishes come true...
And also next week is another one of kid's b'day... Looking forward to that too... Coz she is one special kid :)
Well, this did not take as long as I feared and it also gave me some super happy news :). Yup, I got Yulissa's education report. Here it is -
She goes to a school which is also attended by 509 other students. The school has brick and adobe walls and cement floors. The facilities include a schoolyard, a playground area, 15 classrooms, a computer laboratory and a library. (Well the facilities seem good enough).
Her school is 25 minutes away and she takes the public transport. She has just finished her 3rd grade and she will start 4th grade in august (oops it is already august :) )
Here is the great news about her academic performance. Her grades are excellent and her educational progress is advanced. (Loved it) Her favorite subject is Mathematics. As part of the program, she has received a backpack, school supplies and shoes. She will continue to attend school. Sh wants to get a degree and she would like to become a chef in the future...
In the second sheet they had 'Calificaciones' and I believe they mean scores (google translate told me so). She has got an overall score of above 9 in all of her subjects and also 10 in a couple of them. In fact in the last two terms from March till July she has got a ten in all her subjects. I don't know how it makes her parents feel, I am definitely on cloud number 9 :)
My friend might almost kill me for this late update. It has been more than a week since I got the letter. Though it was after quite a delay, as I always say, it is worth it.
I finally got the welcome letter from Kulsum. It really looked like ages and I guess it indeed was. While her letter was super sweet and definitely her hobbies and likes match with mine, the translation and the whole letter gives a look of hurried work. It might just be the translator's cursive handwriting or the delay which might make me think that. So without further-a-do - Dear Mr ####
Hello! I am fine here and hope you are also fine. I welcome you to the sponsorship program and I am very happy to have you as my sponsor. I study in grade 6 and love to read (I really think I get the studious bunch and I like it too). My first and 2nd unit tests are over and I have done well in them. I am now busy preparing for the 3rd unit test. (I love when kids use the word busy. It really shows how serious they are!) It is now the end of summer season here and soon it will be rainy season. I like to get wet in the rain. (Hey I love it too!) I love to eat mangoes (Every single friend of mine knows how crazy I am about mangoes!)
My family and I send you our love and regards and I hope to hear from you.
Your loving child
Kulsum
As I said, the translator's handwriting might have made it look it was hurried but her handwriting was as clear as pearls. It is shame though I can't understand Urdu. I will soon upload the pic with her handwriting. I really enjoyed reading this letter. One for the obvious reason that it was from kid and it was sweet. The second reason I love these letters from Indian kids is that the translator's handwriting. It feels so good to see some handwritten stuffs. Working in front of the computers for years now, I can't remember when I last used a pen seriously apart from signing for my bills :) Even though she is sponsored for my friend, I already feel like a bond forming as she has similar likes as mine :) Hoping to see more letters soon.
ChEeRs
And so I welcome my latest kid. Technically she is latest only for the blog. While I am writing it, already two more kids have been added :)... As you all know of the sad news about Sunandita, she had to leave the program. She had to leave the program because she got married. CI suggests you replacement kids, if any of your current kids go out of the program. Kanika was suggested by CI> I was thinking if I should sponsor her. I was having a couple of group sponsorship in my mind. But then I realised she is also of the same age as Sunandita. She is also still attending school. Here is to hoping that she goes thru with her education (even if she gets married). So without further a do - My newest kid - Kanika
Kanika is 17 yrs old. She was born on 20th of Jan. She is a Bengali and lives with her parents. Her talents are drawing (looking forward to welcome letter for sure :)) and her favorite pass time is to play with friends. She is 4" 9' tall and she does general housework at home. She is attending school which is a good thing and her favorite subject is Languages. I am not sure if it is Bengali or English. She has 3 siblings. Two younger brothers, Bikram aged 8, Karthik aged 10 and an elder sister Sathi, aged 19. Sathi is 19 and she is listed with the family. Not sure if she is studying or not. I will have to inquire and if she does, I think some help can be provided there too.
And now comes some of the sad stuffs. Even though both parents are working, the monthly income is only 74$. Her parents are daily workers. Their house has two multi-use rooms. The walls ae bamboo and the roof is tiled. It is a mud floor but luckily they have wooden beds. Will have to wait for the welcome letter to figure out how many beds are there. They have electricity and latrine. But water is from community faucets. I really believe their house needs some work. I need to check on what is possible. I am just waiting for the welcome letter with more details. I think I will start requesting reports soon. Again, I sincerely hope she is able to complete her education. And hopefully Sathi too, if she is still attending school.
While I was sad that one of my kids had left the program, I was a happy to see another letter from CI. My spirits were lifted a little thanks to that sweet letter from Suman. This is supposed to be the CP letter I guess. Surprisingly, this letter was again written by Suman. I believe the SNG letter was written by him because of the number of items and the uses they were supposed to write. He is still just a kid. Anyways, it was a letter from him. One more thing about this letter was his handwriting. I must say it has improved tremedously (or he should have written it pretty slowly). It was really crystal clear. For some reason, the translation was not printed this time. It was hand written by someone. Luckily I was able to make out the hand writing. So this is what the letter said
"Dear Sponsor,
How are you and your family? I was very happy to receive your letter. I thank you for it. We are all fine. I study in grade 2. I like to go school. I have many friends there. I play with them during lunch break. Please let me know in which city of India you lived?
I would also like to know how you like the country you live in now. I was glad to know that you liked my photo. I thank you for your support. Please keep well.
With love,
Suman"
Reading the letter once again makes me realize this must be the reply to the first letter I sent, even before receiving the welcome letter... This time he had drawn a house and a flower pot in the back of the letter. Anyways, it is great to see a CI mail in the mail box always. I know from whom my next mail will be... Waiting for it. Should get it by next week...
Cheers
Just wanted to share a simple yet joyful incident that happened a coupla days back. I joined CI because of one of the volunteers near my office told me about it. I was pretty skeptical about it and yet I thought I will give this organisation a shot. And I have not looked back since. It has been an amazing 4 months so far and I am looking forward to only the good things. Surprisingly, I found the same guy near my office after 4 months. He greeted me as another potential CI sponsor and chat with me. I immediately told him I know him. He thought hard for a few seconds and asked sorry that he couldn't remember me. I understand that he meets so many people in a day that it will be tough for him to remember whom he signed. I informed him that I am already with CI and it was due to him I was able to sponsor. I thanked him and he suddenly stopped me and said he remembered me. I thought he was just being courteous and nice and he in fact showed me the spot where he signed me for CI. He had been out to different places and was back again for CI only that week. I was amazed. It is just a small thing. But then it felt very good. Of course I can remember him coz I don't see too many such people. But the fact that he remembers whom he signed for CI 4 months back was a feel good factor. I mean, he knows his work. He remembers the faces, and it is such dedicated people too (apart from the kids), which make me happy to be a part of the CI program. Just wanted to share it :)
A bad day for me. It ends even before it really started. Today to my dismay, I found out that Sunandita whom I have been sponsoring for less than 3 months had to quit the program. She had to quit because of change in location. If you move out of the sponsorship area, CI won't be able to provide benefits anymore. This would mean opting out of the sponsorship program. CI selected her for me after I gave very specific requirements. I wanted to sponsor an elder child who was going to school. She was 17 and the eldest among my other kids. I very recently sent a SNG for her and also got a reply. Definitely it should have been too recent. I know this has happened to others and have read about it. It is not new or unexpected. It does happen at times. Still, only four months into my sponsorship experience and even lesser with this kid, it kinda makes you feel sad when you think about it. I sponsored her so that she can go ahead and finish her studies. Kinda feel bad that it didn't happen. CI has of course suggested a replacement. She is also a 17yr old. It is my choice to take or not. Still, I am thinking, coz, for one, she doesn't seem to be going to school. Two, I am also thinking about a group sponsorship with my best friends. Three, I might just wanna hold back so that I can sponsor another kid whom I select just out of impulse. 4 months into sponsorship and I have already been tempted 6 times. Keeping my fingers crossed. Where ever Sunandita is, I hope she is happy and gets what she wants. And I am hoping this will be the last time a kid goes out of sponsorship before 19 in my group.
~ChEeRs
After a long wait I got the welcome letter and also a CP letter from Yulissa. Actaully, they kinda both have the same coontent as partly it is my mistake. I sent a mail from the CI website. I was just testing it and hence didn't write anything much. But I am totally taken by her welcome letter. Did I tell you she is the most adorable of my kids? Of course Nicolle can give her some competition :). Being my first selected kid, she will always be special to me. So here is the sweetest welcome letter that she sent me :)
The translation - Hello sponsor,
I am in 3rd grade of elementary school. I like reading, drawing and doing math exercises. and I participate in the Church's choir. I like water animals (especially dolphins - from CP letter). I lke studying very much. When I grow up I would like to become a chef. My favorite color is pink. I would like to learn more about other planets. I am tall; I have brown eyes and I am white. I have brown hair. I like pretending I am a clown and making my cousins and siblings laugh. I have 2 grandfathers and 2 grandmothers. The weather is very hot here but it is nice. There is a park near one of my grandmother's home and sometimes we go play there for a while.
Now I say goodbye; I will write yoou again soon.
Yulissa
Thank you for everything.
I totally loved the letter. One thing is for sure. Her handwriting is definitely better than mine :). In the CP letter it was pretty much the same thing. And she had mentioned that her dad was sick but he was getting better. There were two things in both the letters that really captivated me. One is her drawing and the other is her varied range of interests. She likes to draw and make things with clay and also she likes to play the beautician... On both the letters her drawing was so cute. Take a look for yourself :)
This was in the CW letter. She had drawn a picture of an astronaut. I really liked it because in the same letter she had mentioned that she wanted to be an astronaut and also how interested she was in knowing more about the planets.
This was in her CP letter. A simple yet colorful and happy drawing. The moment I saw this, I couldn't help but smile. This brought so much happiness to me... I also felt that her letter was very open. She told me about herself and her interests. This gives me very less questions to ask, but a great deal of topics to discuss. And oh, one more interest which the young lady has (not mentioned in the letter) is soccer. And I love soccer :)
The welcome letter and CP letter for Yulissa was actually delayed. I know how much I had the bugged the CI representatives asking about the status. Of course they were more than helpful to track it for me. Let me tell you this. It was worth all the wait for the happiness it brought. I am so glad I found CI and also that I found 5 kids who could give me so much inner peace.
~ChEeRs
Suman is my first kid and I sent him a SNG as soon as I learnt about the SNG. All I had to do was call CI and they processed it while I was on call... I must say that this was my first SNG. Let me tell you how the SNG works. You can call up CI and ask them for a SNG report and then based on the report you can decide how much you would wanna give. But this would also mean a trip to the family from the CI (which has its own cost) and 6 weeks to get the report back to you. Otherwise, you can just donate the amount to CI directly and tell them to check out the needs of the family. This is faster because they have the money to spend while inquiring the needs. There is no lag in time. You have an option to tell the CI representative what to get, or you can let the family decide what they would wanna do with the money. Any amount above 100$ would get you a reply with photos. Also donations above 100$ would mean it is dispatched immediately and it reaches the family in 2 weeks. I donated more than 100$ and let the family decide what they wanted to do with it.
I got some super cool super smiling photos of him with the SNG report... I loved all the photos. He has such a genuine smile... :). The SNG amount was not that high. But it was another example of how much deep a dollar reaches in India :). The following items were bought as part of the SNG - Rice, Pulses, flour, cooking oil, Sugar, Detergent powder, Biscuits, Health Drink, Tea, Book of rhymes, Coloring book, Bed covers, pillow covers and pillows. And his wide smile reminds me so much of one my own photo when I was a kid showing all my teeth smiling wide :)
I believe that would be his mom and his beautiful sister. I had already inquired and was told that she is also sponsored. One queer thing about the report was the response. While the first CW letter was written by Suman, this was written by his dad. The reason given was that he was not old enough to write. I really wonder how he wrote his first letter and cant write the second one. Of course some forum members have explained that the first letter might have been bad or he might have struggled. So they might have asked his dad to write it. The message was there. I don't care who writes the letter (maybe I do :P ) as long as the kid is happy. Here is what was given in the letter...
Dear Sponsor,
I hope you are well. We all are fine. My son Suman cannot write so I am writing on his behalf. With your financial help, we have purchased large supplies of rice, pulses, flour, cooking oil, sugar, biscuits, health drink, packs of tea, detergent powder, bed covers, pillow covers, pillows and plastic bucket. My son is very happy to receive a coloring book and a book of rhymes. My family and I are grateful to you for the useful gifts and I thank you for the same. I end with regards to you.
Yours,
Suman's father on Behalf of Suman
And I would still stick to my title for Suman, "The kid with the most amazing smile on the planet"...
~ChEeRs
I got last week and was a little held up (lazy) and couldn't update earlier. Sunandita was sponsored via phone. While sponsoring her, I also asked the patient representative about her b'day, which she pointed out had just gone by. So I decided it is never too late to send a belated b'day wish... So this was more of a b'day gift than SNG... They bought a steel almirah and a quilt. And the Letter had this
"Dear Sponsor
I start my letter with love. I hope you and your family are well. We are all fine. With the money you have sent me for my birthday we have purchased a quilt and a steel almirah. I am very happy and I thank you for remembering my birthday. the almirah was something that we really needed as we did not have one. Now we can keep our clothes and other important documents in the almirah in a proper manner. This will save them from dust and insects. The quilt will keep us warm in winter. I thanks you for providing me with lovely gifts. I end with regards to you.
Yours
Sunandita"
There were only two photos and both looked the same to me... She had drawn a nice flower at the back of the page which I couldn't take a pic of. Will upload that too soon :) Overall it was a very happy and satisfying day thanks to CI and the USPS. I really like sponsoring these kids. All these letter kinda make my day... And I am loving it :)
~ChEeRs
Here I am yet again adding one more kid to the group. I really thought 2 was best and then came Sunandita. And then came Kulsum, but that was for my friend. And now I have the 5th one. And I think I will stick with these 5 for some time to come. Now lets shift the focus to my beautiful Nicolle. I was browsing thru the CI pages and just looking at the kids. I was in a bad mood, but when I saw this photo I found myself stragely smiling. I clicked on her page and it took less than 10 seconds for me to hit the sponsor button. At that time I did not see the whole details. I just saw she was Honduras (A new place to add) and she lived with her mother. Of course I am guilty of selecting a kid just from her photo, but it did give me a sense of satisfaction :) A look at the sweet smile and you will know why...
So this is Ailing Nicolle. I have not heard of the first name Ailing before... Of course I didn't even think about the name when I clicked on the sponsor button :). She is from Honduras and from the San Pedro Sula project. I had seen that name a few times in the message boards now... She is 8 yrs old. She is 4 ft tall and weighs at about 50 pounds. I am never good at judging what is the right height and weight for a kid. The good thing is that she is still attending school. Her favorite pastimes are playing soccer, playing hide and seek and playing with toys and cars. She seems to be one energetic girl with a wide range of interests. She likes to dance, draw and paint and no so coincidently , her favorite subject is art...
Very similar to Yulissa, her monthly income is better than my other kids at 289$. Of course it is a different country and it might most definitely be less. But she is the best of the lot from the kids I sponsor. She has one brother Erik, aged 4 and she lives with her mother. Her father has apparently abandoned the family (that is what the report says). Her living conditions also are a touch better than my other kids. There are two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. The walls and the floors are concrete and the roof is of corrugated metal. The cook out of a gas stove. The report says they have beds but it does not say on how many. I am hoping she is sleeping her own bed. They have running water in home. The electricity is regulated and they have a septic tank in place. I suppose it is a good thing... I am hoping I can make an impact on one more kid's life by doing what I can.
Finally... After days of waiting and walking to the postbox, I finally got what I was looking for. My first welcome letter from my first kid Suman :). For those who don't know Suman, he is my first sponsored kid via CI (Children International). It generally takes about 6 weeks to get the welcome letter. And bingo, on the 6th week I got my letter. I believe Yulissa's should be coming anytime soon too. In the first page they had a little fact about India (about Bharatnatyam). In the same page there were two questions to which Suman had answered. What he would like to do on holidays and What is his favorite season?
He likes to play (cricket I guess) and watch television during his holidays and winter is his favorite season. I can understand that as the summer can sometimes be unforgiving. In the second page you have the actual letter from the kid. This may have been written by the kid or by someone in the family or even with the help of a CI representative. But somehow I get the feeling it was written by the kid. You will know when you see it yourself :)
Of course it is the handwriting that made me think it might be from the kid though my hand writing can be worse than that :). Also that I cant read Bengali makes it easier for me to assume that the handwriting is kiddish :D. CI knows I don't understand a word of it and thankfully they also give the translation. Thanks to the benefit of photography, you can see the translation too :)
For those who can't read from the pic - "Dear Name
I hope you all are well. We are all fine. I am very happy to write to you for the first time. I study in grade 2 and I like to study Bengali. I like to play cricket. There are 8 members in our family. My family and I are very happy to know that you are my new sponsor. I thank you for sponsoring me. I end with love and regards.
Yours
Suman"
One thing I definitely like about the letter is the drawing. A nice house near by the river with trees and flowers near by. Fishers are flowing in groups. A bright sun which is crossed by birds (and I hope clouds or more birds). And a wonderfully colored flower plant near by. This is such a happy drawing and I am so happy for him after seeing this.
As much as I am happy about the letter he had written (it sounds very sweet), I was worried to find out that there are 8 people in the house. He has a sister. The family income is only $66. I really wonder how they are managing. The facilities are also not that great. They use community faucets for water and they also have to use the community latrine. I am hoping something can be done about it. I will be inquiring with CI after a coupla months as I know I will be a little tight with two girls' b'day coming up shortly. I don't wanna end the blog on a sad note.
In the original letter he had written, there was an image of a girl which says "Namaste". He had colored that too wonderfully. Somehow I get a feeling that he is really good with colors. Coz I like them at least :) God bless this child and I pray their situation soon improves for the better.
Well I had been writing about my sponsored kids one after the other. But the immediate question that would come to everyone's mind is "From where is he gettin all the wonderful kids to sponsor" and so I thought I should write about Children International.
If you already knew about it, then great. If not, let me help you. Children International is a charity organisation that helps kids in almost 11 different countries of varying ages. It is from their site "www.children.org" that I added 2 of my four kids. It always feels good to be good right? And on top of it, imagine some kid in some part of the world thinks about you in his/her prayers for your good deed... That is what I call inner peace as Bo would say it...
It is very easy to sponsor a kid with this site. It just takes $22 to sponsor a wonderful kid. And if you are in US, it is a little lesser than what you would spend on coupla days of good lunch. You can search for kids in terms of age, area or gender or look up one of their many campaigns. And for the not so tech savy person, you can always call them up in their toll free number 1-800-888-3089 in the US. If you are wondering what this 22$ a month would fetch them, you would be amazed. With the sponsorship, they will be able to help in health, education, nutrition, family needs, community needs (if possible) and so on. They also have various projects from time to time to help the 335,000 odd kids they support. You get an updated picture every year. You can mail them or send packages to the local office set up in the country and they will send it to them. To your happiness and proof, you get photos on what they did with your gift. It is like you can see the child grow and the impact you have one their life from halfway around the world. The child also writes to you (if the child can or a representative does) at least once a quarter. This way you can start a new bond with the kid. For a long relationship, I would suggest you choose a young kid. All kids are in the program until they are 19 (unless they move out of the coverage area of CI or get better that they don't need the sponsor). At the same time I would also say that the older kids need more help for their immediate education needs and if you are a sucker for education like I am, then you can call them up and they will assign an older kid to you. The older ones are not listed on the site for a reason. So... There you have it. I would really urge all my friends and also who ever chances across this blog to go have a look at this site and see for yourself what they can do. Though I have been sponsoring only from the end of April, I have spoken to a coupla sponsors who have sponsored for years and I know for sure they are legit and they really help the kids.
Lets join hands to make this world a better place for the kids for they deserve it. We can help one child at a time. Imagine if everybody joins hands to help one child at a time, the world will soon be a better place. Though it is a little painful for them, they also support group sponsorship. I would encourage you have a look at their site or call them and give them a chance to help the kids. In case you have any doubts about the organisation, you can get the info from their website. Or always, feel free to ask me and I will sure get the answer for you.
God Bless you...
Peace...
Kulsum is my fourth kid. Technically she is added in my account, but unofficially she is sponsored by one my wonderful friends. The best thing you can do in these cases is spread the word and hope more ppl pitch in to help the kids in need. I was satisfied when my friend volunteered to sponsor a kid. But yeah, he is lazy to fill in the details and create a new account and said he will use my account instead. He also wanted to sponsor an older kid. When I pushed him to call CI himself, he kinda asked me to select from the website instead. I did like to add that he is a lazy goose yet again (for my satisfaction). And so I selected this charming young lady - Kulsum
Kulsum is 13 years old. Thankfully she is still attending school. Her favorite subject is language and she speaks Hindi. (I am ok with Hindi and hence I can communicate with her easily :)). Her favorite pass time is playing with dolls just like any other girl I guess. She is interested in drawing and she washes the dishes at home. She lives with her parents. The family income is a meager 132$ and that is so because both their parents work. Dad is a brick layer and mom is a daily worker. She has a beautiful sister Rukaiya, who is 11 years old. I have no idea if she is sponsored or not. Maybe in future I will sponsor her. She just has one multi-use room and a kitchen for a home. The house is of brick walls, tile roof and concrete floor. They have an earthen stove. There is only one bed and I believe Kulsum and her sister shares it. Though electricity is available, the water is from a public storage cistern and they only have a community latrine. I really hope the sponsorship could improve their living. I know my friend will do everything in his power to help. God Bless...
Peace...
Sunandita is my third sponsored kid. She was chosen with a purpose. While I chose Suman because I wanted to do something good and Yulissa because I liked her photo more than anything else, Sunandita was chosen entirely for a different reason. By the time I had added two kids, I was going thru the Lift One forum where all the CI donors discuss about a lot of things. One particular discussion caught my attention on how young kids get sponsored easily because they are cute and how the older ones are ignored. This kinda itched me as I just added Yulissa because she was cute. Also it was mentioned that the older kids would need more help as they would be nearing college and they are the ones in need of fund more to continue their education. That kinda got me on the chat with the wonderful Michelle from CI as they don't list the older kids on website (for a reason of course). And so you have it - Sunandita from India.
I asked for a girl from India as I know how bad women education is there. Sunandita is 17 yrs old. Luckily she is still attending school and her favorite subject is science. (Somehow I get the geeks and I like it ). Her favorite pass time is playing outdoor games (I wonder what game would that be) and she is interested in drawing. She is also a Bengali and at home she does general house work and also washes the clothes. She lives with her parents and her dad is a daily worker. She has a sweet sister, Mamata, aged 15 and wonderful brother, Subrata, aged 11. She has obviously been sponsored before as I see a lot of photos for her. Their house is pretty similar to Suman's. Two multi use rooms and a kitchen. Her house is made of brick walls. The roof is corrugated tile and it is mud floor. Luckily she sleeps in one of the three beds in her house. The saddest part is that their family income is just 38$ and the water source is community pump. The electricity is on a regulated use and thankfully atleast they have a latrine at home. I do not have more information on whether her sister and brother are sponsored. Her birthday just crossed by on May 1st and so I have sent her a SNG which is kinda belated b'day gift from me. I am hoping she can continue with her education and get better in life.
Peace...
Yulissa. What can I say? After selecting Suman, I was browsing online thru the CI website where I found this cutest kid on the planet, Yulissa. I didn't think about anything else. I just clicked on "Sponsor Me" button without thinking twice. Seeing her face brings peace to me easily. See her photo for yourself and you will know why...
Well, after sponsoring her, I was going thru the details. She has the same b'day as one of my very good friends. September 18th :). She is from Mexico. She is 8 years old and already at 4'2". (Fast growing). As any typical girl she loves playing with dolls and toys (guess she would also be a barbie fan). Her hobby interests me though doesn't surprise. She is interested in sports and that kinda explains her growth. Her favorite subject is mathematics (Another female scientist on the way). She speaks Spanish. I am just starting to learn Spanish by the way. She lives with her parents. Her dad is a carpenter. She has a handsome brother Calep who is also sponsored, I am told. He is 7 years old. Their income was $267last year but it is now $233 and they have 3 bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. They are living better than the other kids I am sponsoring. But I don't know much about Mexico.Their house has Concrete floors, concrete walls and brick roof. Hope it protects them well.She has her own bed. They have running water in home and they have electricity. They also have a toilet at home. I am not surprised by the current condition of the family. This is mainly because her brother is sponsored and she has had two sponsors before. But I am sure it would have been very difficult for them to give up on such a beautiful kid. I am hoping to stick to them till the program ends. She will always be a li'l special to me as she is my first chosen kid. Suman will be equally special as he is my 'THE' first kid with CI. Bless CI.
Peace...
This is my first trial with children International in making a difference in a child's life. I am happy that I found that amazing volunteer who explained to me about this beautiful organisation. When I signed up, the only choice I made was the country. I wanted to sponsor a kid in India (India is where I am from). And a week later I got the information that I will be sponsoring this wonderful boy SUMAN from Kolkatta. He has the most amazing smile in this planet. Kinda reminds me of a photo when I was a kid. :)
He is 6 yrs old and attends school. his favorite subject is writing, (another blogger on the way folks) and his favorite past time is playing cricket. He is interested in drawing and he is a Bengali. Did I tell you that I started my education in Kolkatta? But I didn't learn any Bengali. He lives with his parents. His dad is a driver. He has one beautiful sister Soma (I am told she is also sponsored, thank the heavens). Their home is of brick walls, concrete floor and tile roof. They have two multi-use rooms. They have a gas stove to cook and the child sleeps on one of the two beds. They also have electricity. The sad part is they use community faucets for water and a community latrine. The whole family income is just $66. I hope I can make a difference in their life for the better. If I can touch one kid at a time, I am sure a change can be made. Suman's photo reminds me of myself. I sure would want him to grow better in life and make us all proud.
Peace...
... Well last week it was Yulissa, and this week it is my sweet Nicole... Happy birthday to my sweet Nicole :)
