Nicolle's Birthday SNG and reply :)

I know this is late again. I promise to be more punctual from next year :) But I got this beautiful SNG reply from my sweet Nicolle... As always, her mails are very personal and she answers all my questions. It is such a pleasure to write to her. I had sent her a B'day SNG and I actually got the reply much sooner... Within a week of her b'day in fact. It just took time for me to update it finally... Here is the reply from the SNG..
 
Child/Family Comments when gifts were received -The family was very happy because they were not expecting this special gift for Ailing, actually the child is taking it as a wonderful b'day gift and she loves storing her clothes in this nice place. She thanks the sponsor and sends her warmest greetings.

Of course the best part of any SNG is the sweet reply and the photos I get with it :) So here are the photos with a super sweet mail...

"Greetings Dear Sponsor,
Sponsor, I send you many greetings and I hope that you are in good health along with your family and friends. I write to give you thanks for the special gift that you gave me, with this I bought a food basket and a plastic drawer (a pink one at that... Yes she is a girl :) ). I tell you that the drawer is to keep my clothes and keep it clean and organized. I receive this with much affection from you, since you are like an angel that God has sent to my life. I tell you that I am doing good in the school. Only three months to finish the school year. I invite you to come to my country to visit and share with you of a special day. With this I say goodbye.
Your sponsored child that love you very much
 Nicolle"

 I can do anything just for that smile :)



Well, if you thought that was the end of it, I also got a sweet reply for my previous mail too. Funny I got them together... Of course this came with her sweet colorful drawings as usual.. Without further a do... Another super sweet mail from Nicolle...

"Greetings Dear Mani,
Sponsor, I hope you are in good health along with your loved ones. I tell you that this week I was having test and it was very easy. I tell you that they bought us a dog called scoot and he is very playful. I hope that you send me pictures from you and your family and friends. I hope that you come to visit my country and meet you personally. Along with my family and friends, I tell you that Erick is in good health and he is doing good in his grades and my sister Jasmin soon will attend to the kinder. I would like to know about your adventures with your friends. I am very happy for all the benefits that you provide me. Many greetings along with your family. 
Nicolle"

As you can see from both the letters, she always writes about me visiting her country. That is something I am hoping to do too... Hopefully in the next year, I will be able to visit Honduras (just to meet her)... She is really a very smart and matured kid for her age and I wish she gets everything she needs in her life... 
~ChEeRs

Nicolle's updated record... 2012

I was in for a surprise when I logged into CI account... Nicolle's new photo was up and also her family record was updated. It was actually updated loooooooong ago(in Feb).. I just missed it coz I look at the family report only when the photo changes. My bad... But of course it was good news... She has become even more charming as you can see from the photo :)... She has grown another inch (in only 5 months) to 4"3' and gained 6 pounds to 60 now. I am very happy with her progress. Her pass times and hobbies haven't changed in the last two years but her favorite subject has changed to Grammer from art... And one awesome thing is that her family income has increased from 286 to 316 now. I am not sure how much of an increase it is in two years, but still, if it is an increase, it is good... :) So waiting for her b'say photos still :)
~Cheers

Yulissa's super cool reply and also b'day SNG...

A happy happy day today as I got not one but two mails from CI and both are from Yulissa... just a week ago, I was cribbing that I haven't got a letter from her in a while. It was super cool to get two replies that soon... I think the B'day SNG was sent way too early... But it is great to get the reply this soon. As always she had some sweet drawing in the back of the reply (which I always love)... So here goes... the first reply...

"Dear Sponsor NMk
I am very happy to say hello again. I have been on vacation these past months and I want to tell you that I passed the 5th grade of elementary school with 10 for average and I got an award. I am very happy and I also like computers class because we have them in school. I also talk about you at home with my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles and cousins. My father is better and my mother went to some courses and she can cut hair very well. Now I say goodbye, thank you very much.
Yulissa
I pray for you"
As expected, another super sweet letter from Yulissa. She passed her 5th grade with 100% and got an award too... She is the best :)... 
And that was not all... Imagine my surprise when I got her b'day SNG within a week of her b'day. She celebrated her b'day on 18th September. So here is the SNG reply (with photos :D)

Yulissa's comments on the SNG - "Thank you sponsor, for thinking about me and loving me so much. I love you very much too and you are very special for me. I will always remember that I have an angel who loves me and takes care of me. Thank you for sending me a b'day gift. It made my b'day a very special and nice day."
She also wrote a letter with the SNG reply - 
"Dear donor,
I am very happy to say hello to you and to write to you. I had not written to you in a long time. Thank you very much for sending me the donation. I was able to get t-shirts, a pair of tennis shoes that I needed and a pair of pants and cereals. I will have a better birthday thanks to all those things. We will have a small reunion with my cousins and I will show them all my gifts, thanks to you. Now I say goodbye. I am very happy. Thank you for being part of my life...
Yulissa"
She is the best thing to have happened in my life... Her letters and photos always lights me up... And it was the best day to get two letters from Yulissa... I will be sending her a reply rite away. Next up is to wait for Nicolle's b'day photos :)... Hoping I could get it in a week.. Greedy I know.. but it could happen ;)
And time for some more photos - 

ChEeRs

Happy B'day to my Dear Nicolle :)

It's birthday week for me.. Last week it was Yulissa and today it is my another dear kid, Nicolle's birthday... She is also turning ten today and also writes the cutest of letters... I am very much impressed by her choice of colors in her drawings. Her letters are a delight to look forward too... As always, the SNG is already sent and I will be waiting for the pics... The good part is, since both birthdays are so close by, I will get two super cool mails from CI in quick succession.. I am sure it is worth the wait... 
I wish Nicolle, a very vey happy birthday.. She again as Yulissa, shares her birthday with a very good friend of mine... I wish she gets everything she wants and I hope to meet her in the next year... Pray for me to make it happen :)
Cheers

Happy Birthday to my dear sweetYulissa...

I am sorry I couldn't update earlier... Yulissa celebrated her 10th birthday on September 18th. A b'day she also shares with one of my very good friends. A very happy day overall considering that my friend had a baby on that same day :)...

SNG for b'day was already sent... Now all taht is left to do is to wait for the photos... I suddenly feel like I am getting all my letters very very slow (especially this year)... Could be partly because I am also sending letters late.. But I have always had quick turnaround from Mexico office before... They seem to have slowed down...

I just hope I get the photos on time :) Can't wait for it as always :)... And just so you know... Yulissa loves dolphins :)

Yulissa's updated record 2012...

Yulissa's record was also updated along with her new photo. It is just that I missed it like everything else when I went to India (April 2012). So I thought I will update it at least now... She has definitely grown for sure... She has grown 5 inches in a year to 4"7'. She is weighing 100 pounds (which from her health report says she is in second level of obesity and treated for it)... She has added Grammar and Science to her favorite subjects apart from Mathematics... That explains how she gets 10/10 in all her subjects. She likes everything... :)... Her fav pass times are playing with dolls, toys and cars (:)) and her hobbies include sports and drawing (which is very good at )... The happiest news is that her income has really increased well. It was 233$ last time and it has jumped to 400$ which I am very happy to hear. Considering the fact that her dad is not well currently, the extra income is a real boost to them now. She is one of the sweetest kids I know and I wish she gets everything she wants in her life.. I will do my best to make it happen :)
~Cheers

Nicole ain't far behind...

Just after getting a super sweet letter from Yulissa, I got another one from CI. This time from my darling Nicolle... She also writes equally super cool letters and answers all my questions. It is always personal with her too. So here goes - 

"Greetings Dear sponsor
Sponsor I wish that when you receive this letter you are in good health along with your loved ones. I tell you that I am doing good in school and that last week we had the exams and the hardest exam was social studies and the easiest was math, also in the school we celebrated mother's day. We celebrated at home with my grandparents and ate cake together and I send you congratulations for the labor day. I give you thanks for the benefits that you give me, the clothes, the shoes, the medicine and I am also happy that I come to write you letters. I like the playground the most. I say goodbye.
Nicolle"
It was again personal and she answered almost all my questions :)... Actually we have something in common... I always dreaded the social studies too... And I loved Math too :)... I am hoping that I can see them soon... Hoping to learn spanish sooner ;)

Another super sweet letter from Yulissa

Well, after coming back from India, I found two sweet letters from Yulissa and Nicolle... I know I am updating them all late... But I am predating the blog so that I don't miss out on the sequence. This letter has got to be one of the sweetest so far... Her innocence (as always) is overflowing... So here goes...
Yulissa's letter - 
"Dear Manikandan
I am very happy to say hello to you again. My family is doing well; my mother doesn't struggle with me because I am very quiet; but my siblings are two little 'devils' and sometimes they make and my mother angry. But I love them very much. Talking about my toys, my younger brother likes playing with the whale and I have already named them. Say hello to your mother and father for me. Also send my best wishes to your mother for mother's day. Now I say goodbye and I hope to write to you again soon.
Sincerely,
Yulissa"
I love the way she writes for one... The way she calls her brothers little devils... naming the toys... She is super sweet and super cute as always.. :) Also my mom was super happy to know that she was wished for Mother's day especially after me missing out due to the timezone difference ;)

ChEeRs

Nicole replies too... Thanks to Lindsey again :)

First up, thanks to Lindsey for sending those wonderful toys for my kids... I got another super cool reply, this time from Nicolle. She looked happy in the photos and sent me another drawing with her bold use of colors :)... Without further a do - :)
"Greetings Dear Mani,
I wish that when you receive this letter you are in good health along with your family. Sponsor, I am very happy for the gift that you sent me, which is very pretty and I always remember you with much affection, along with your family, for being so special to me. Sponsor I am going to use that key-holder for my backpack and the rest I am going to place it in my room. I tell you that I am going to classes and I wish that you come to visit me. I say goodbye, your sponsored child that love you very much.
God bless you always, Nicolle"

It is such a sweet letter and it made my day reading it. I will surely visit her soon. Probably this year end or at the max by mid next year... I so wanna meet her too :) And she sent this sweet drawing too. I always love her coloring. I kinda look forward to it in her letters these days. She uses as many colors as possible in all her drawings. They are always really bright or dark... I really hope I get to meet her in person. There was one more photo where she was with her mom. And I really hope I can keep Nicolle smiling forever... She has got an amazing smile too, just like my Suman :)
~ChEeRs

Kulsum replies - Feb 2012

I was looking at the mails from CI and I realized that I had missed to update a reply from Kulsum. It was a very short and sweet letter. You might recall that I had started sponsoring her for my friend. But I do all the communications. So I might as well say she is my kid now :P. Without further a do, her sweet letter - 
"Dear sponsor,
Hello! My family and I are fine here and I hope you are well. I got your lovely letter and enjoyed reading it. I like to study and my studies are going well. I have been promoted to grade 7 this year and I am very happy. It is now winter season here and very cold. My family and I send you our love and I hope to hear from you.
Your loving child
Kulsum"
There was also a neat coloring of a flower on the other side of the letter. She just celebrated her birthday few days back (march 10th). I have sent her a SNG for that and I cant wait to get the photos :). I am planning to reply after that.
~ChEeRs

Kanika's updates - 2012

I was happy to receive the progress report on Kanika. She is 18 now (you guys should know that she celebrated her birthday on Jan 20th). She has gained height by a couple of inches and is now at 4' 11". She weighs around 88 pounds. I guess it should be fine. Both her parents are working actually but the increase in income is very little. It has increased by a couple of dollars to 85$ on an average. Kanika is still attending school and is in her last year of sponsorship I believe. The good thing is that some amount has been sent for the IGP only last month. Hope it increases their income to some extent. Can't wait to get more updates... :)
~ChEeRs

Yulissa replies ~ Thanks to Lindsey

Another happy day, another happy mail from CI. Thanks to Lindsey, I got this sweet letter from one of my sweetest kids. Yup Yulissa wrote yet another great letter. I got 3 photos and all of them are so cute. I think she has got long hair though I have no idea why I said that :) . There were two kids in the pic. I guess that should be her brothers Calep and Victor(younger one). So here goes the letter




"Dear Mani,

Hello Mani, thank you for the cuddling toys (Thank you Lindsey) that you sent me, they are very nice, especially the baby seal. The whale looks curious, in the shark the teeth are very curious and the seal whiskers of the big seal are nice. Thank you for all that you have supported me and for all the presents that you have sent me, they are beautiful. I have them all and I take care of them. I was taken a picture with my new friends, they are : the seal, the shark, the whale and the baby seal which is my favorite. At school, I am doing very well, I have only got 10s and I love my family a lot and I love you too because you are part of my family. I hope to write you soon again. I say goodbye for now. 
Sincerely
Yulissa
Goodbye"
Again, that was one of the sweetest letters I have read. I really wanna go meet her. Maybe I will by the end of the year. I so hope :)... All in all, a great day, thanks to CI, Lindsey and my sweet Yulissa...
~ChEeRs

Kanika's new photo- 2012

Fnally, I got Kanika's new photo... It is generally updated in Jan... This time I realised they had changed it only after I got the hard copy. Kinda confused, I checked the site and I figured it was updated... I don't know why the thumbnail in her record was not updated. It is still showing the old photo. But once you go in to the album, there is a new picture. Maybe there is some issue with the site, I am not sure, But I guess if anyone thinks their child's photo is long due, they might wanna check inside the album as the profile doesn't get updated. Anyways, I am late to update it as usual... But I am super happy about it... She is 18 yrs old and is in her last year of sponsorship... I have already sent her the amount for IGP and waiting for the reports now... Hope everything turns out good... I know it has been a very short time that I have been her sponsor. But I always wanted to sponsor an elder kid and I am happy I did... I hope I am able to make some difference in her life... I so wish...
~Cheers

Happy Birthday Kulsum

Today is my sweet Kulsum's birthday. She has turned 14 now. I actually sponsor her for a friend. But I do all the communications and also find a lot of things common between the two of us :). I am scheduling the blog to align in order. But I am late to update. I have already sent her the SNG for her birthday. I just cant wait for the photos now... I wish her the best of her birthdays and may god bless her...
~ChEeRs

Kanika's Birthday SNG - 2012

As you all know that my sweet Kanika's birthday was on the 20th of Jan, I had sent her SNG and got the reply and photo back. The report said that they got a steel almirah and  school bag for the kid.The kid had commented - "I am happy to be provided wit ha school bag and a steel almirah, which are both very useful for me. Thank you sponsor for remembering my birthday"
I have hardly seen her smile. And I haven't seen one still. I hope I can get a smile out of her soon. She wrote a sweet letter with a nice drawing on the back.The drawing has a house near a lake with a boat and trees and lots of greenery.. :) The letter is as follows -

"Dear sponsor,
I start my letter with best wishes to you for the New year. I hope you are well. We are all fine. We are very happy that you are sponsoring me. With your financial support we have purchased a school bag for myself and a steel almirah. We are very happy as both the gifts will be very useful for us. We will benefit from the gifts. I thank you for the same. I end with love to you. Please take care. I pray for your well being. Yours lovingly, Kanika."


There is a good chance that I will be meeting her this year... I am all excited about it :)


~ChEeRs

Suman replies (January)

I should have updated this a month back. I got this in Jan itself. Another sweet mail from my first sponsored kid Suman... And the letter goes - 
"Dear Mr Mani
Hope you are well. I and all are well at home. We are having puja holidays. I have enjoyed heartily with my friends this year.I had got four garments. I have seen many idols of Goddess Durga. We had lots of fun. Thank you very much for supporting me so long. I pray for your well-being. 
With my love to you
-Suman"

There was a very nice flower drawn by connecting the dots and also he had colored it beautifully. They had asked him on what he likes about CI center and he had selected School, health center, Playground and Garden...
This was a short yet sweet letter... it is great to know that he had fun during the puja holidays and had a great time with friends. CI letter always remind me on how important the smallest things in life are and I am so grateful that I got a chance to sponsor such an amazing kid...
~ChEeRs

Kanika's IGP request

Kanika is the eldest kid I sponsor and she is in her last year of sponsorship. I had requested about an IGP sometime back and I got the reply. I know I am updating it late... I have already sent the amount requested for IGP. I am waiting on the reports. I thought I did update my blog at least before I get a report... :)
Long story short, the details are as follows...
Dad is a fruit seller and mom is a daily laborer and does embroidery work on clothing items. So they need the following...
Cost of sewing cum Embroidery machine - $184
Cost of Embroidery thread, scissors and other sewing accessories - $20
Cost of a van-Rickshaw - $184
Total - $388


Also Kanika is doing her grade 8 now (I wonder why only now. I might need an educational report)... And they had given the expenses for Grade 9 and 10... The kid wants to finish her schooling at least till 10th for sure (which is a good sign), but not sure after that (which is not so good a sign). I understand that they might be thinking about marriage and stuffs. But for now, she wants to do at least till 10th and I wanna make sure she gets the chance to do it. The educational costs are as follows -
For grade 9 - $88
For grade 10 - $174


So the total comes to about $650. And only while writing the blog did I notice the amount correctly. I always thought it was $600 and asked CI to deduct $600. I can be an idiot at times and mess with numbers. I live on a month to month basis. I sure will be adding the extra $50 by next month. With the disbelief still hanging on how I messed up with such an ordinary thing, I hope it helps them for now...


~ChEeRs

Happy Birthday to Kanika

I am so happy to know that today is Kanika's birthday. I wish she gets everything she needs and has a wonderful birthday... Many more happy returns of this super beautiful day. I have already sent a SNG towards her birthday. So the next thing to do is to wait for the pics :-)...
The only sad part of all this is that this is probably her last year with CI as she is 18. So I wanna make this year as special as possible for her. I had already sent an inquiry to CI on the IGPs possible. I have also got the report back. I will start working on that pretty soon too. For now nothing much but wait for the photos and another letter :)
~ChEeRs

New Year, New reply from my Sweet Yulissa...

Yipppeeee... Another mail already from CI :)... This year has already been rocking to me and on top of that two mails already... This time from my sweet Yulissa. I always get excited seeing CI mails. But Yulissa is always extra special to me, probably coz she was my first chosen kid. And also she writes the sweetest of the letters too. And Oh, She had a very very cute drawing, a princess I would assume (just like her)...
So the letter and the drawing - 

"Dear Mani, (She had a cute smiley drawn next to the name :))
I write to you to say hello again. I am very happy that you remember me and my family. We are all doing well. My mother is fine and my father is in rehabilitation after his accident. My siblings are as energetic as always (hahaha), but everything is fine. The subjects that I like the most are Math, Geography and history. I like listening to music and Michael Jackson. Here we celebrate the Day of the Dead. We make very nice altars and we also celebrate Halloween (I had asked her if she celebrates Halloween), but we don't celebrate the same way as in your country. Now I say goodbye. I was very happy to say hello to you. 
Sincerely
Yulissa"
Isn't she cute :). And I love the drawing so much for some reason :). And can someone tell me what the words in the drawing mean. Google translate tells me it is something similar to God Bless You without the word 'que'. The smile in the drawing so much resembles her. :) Yet another direct letter. I am starting to love all this correspondence. And also some of them are pretty quick too. I will pray that I get more of these beautiful letters even faster :)

Kanika replies... :)

New Year has been very good to me so far (even though it is only first week) :)..
Got a very sweet letter from Kanika a couple of days back. It was rather on New Years Eve I guess. It was a direct reply just like Nicolle's. Of course she is elder. Still, I always like direct replies. She had drawn an apple at the back of the letter. So the letter goes - 
"Dear Mani,
How are you? I am glad to get your letter. My studies are progressing well. I have a younger brother, I teach him. I like to play with my local friends. Kho-Kho is my favorite game. I play kho-kho in school. I wish to do a good job in school future. I remember you a lot. Now it is winter here. We are all well. I like the subject psychology because my seniors told me about that. Please accept my thanks.
Yours lovingly,
Kanika"
This is as direct as it gets. I like that she loves to teach her brother. I had asked about the weather currently and also how come she was interested in psychology. The good thing is that her b'day is just around the corner... And I have already sent the money. So the next wait will be for the SNG reply :) Looking forward to it...