meet the children and teens I sponsor or mentor around the world
Sponsoring or mentoring any of these children is such a privilege and a joy for me! Here you can know a little about them. I also want to encourage everyone who feels up to it to sponsor and/or mentor kids around the world. Thanks to technology, and depending on the NGO you choose, you can write letters, emails and even have Skype calls with them. Of course, you can also go and visit them in their countries.
What does sponsoring a child mean? Sponsoring a child means you donate a certain amount of money, which may differ from an NGO to the other, and it may be around 25-30 $ per month, in order to provide this child with access to education and often food as well as vocational training. Please be careful choosing an NGO to donate to. Make sure they are legitimate and the child you are going to sponsor is not being sponsored by other people, unless that is clearly stated and it's explained the reason why. If you aim to create a relationship with the child choose an NGO which allows letter/email exchanges and maybe even Skype calls, those are the best for me because you can actually talk with the child (with a chaperone such as a translator). My suggestion is to look into small or medium NGOs, you'll have the chance to directly talk with the people involved and to learn more. You usually can go and meet the child in its country.
What does mentoring a child means? Finding an NGO who offers "mentors only" programs may be harder but not impossible. Mentoring a child means being an adult figure who supports them through through writing letters/emails and through Skype calls. These kids usually already have someone paying the requested monthly amount for them to attend school etc but those people just send the money and can't/don't care of creating a relationship with them. It can be pretty sad for a child to see all the other kids receiving emails or letters or hearing people from the NGO setting up Skype calls for all the other kids and their sponsors and being left behind. The role of the mentor is extremely important, you get to encourage the child and be sure that, if you mentor a child which is a little older, like 9 up, you will get a lot of support from them as well! It's a great way to also learn more about their cultures. You usually can go and meet the child in its country.
What does sponsoring a child mean? Sponsoring a child means you donate a certain amount of money, which may differ from an NGO to the other, and it may be around 25-30 $ per month, in order to provide this child with access to education and often food as well as vocational training. Please be careful choosing an NGO to donate to. Make sure they are legitimate and the child you are going to sponsor is not being sponsored by other people, unless that is clearly stated and it's explained the reason why. If you aim to create a relationship with the child choose an NGO which allows letter/email exchanges and maybe even Skype calls, those are the best for me because you can actually talk with the child (with a chaperone such as a translator). My suggestion is to look into small or medium NGOs, you'll have the chance to directly talk with the people involved and to learn more. You usually can go and meet the child in its country.
What does mentoring a child means? Finding an NGO who offers "mentors only" programs may be harder but not impossible. Mentoring a child means being an adult figure who supports them through through writing letters/emails and through Skype calls. These kids usually already have someone paying the requested monthly amount for them to attend school etc but those people just send the money and can't/don't care of creating a relationship with them. It can be pretty sad for a child to see all the other kids receiving emails or letters or hearing people from the NGO setting up Skype calls for all the other kids and their sponsors and being left behind. The role of the mentor is extremely important, you get to encourage the child and be sure that, if you mentor a child which is a little older, like 9 up, you will get a lot of support from them as well! It's a great way to also learn more about their cultures. You usually can go and meet the child in its country.
MEET THE CHILDREN
rithisak, cambodiaI've started mentoring Rithisak in April 2020, shortly after the world has been hit by the Coronavirus pandemic. He's a lovely, smart and funny 13 years old boy. He studies hard, loves to play soccer with his friends, loves Math and dreams to become an interpreter.
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FAITH, KENYAI sponsor Faith from around middle 2021. She lives with her family in Nairobi's slums. There, most people work in the dump, including many children. They earn pretty much 1 dollar per day and risk a lot. Sponsorships allows them to stay out of the dump and attend school. Faith is 11 years old.
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KUNTHEA, CAMBODIAI've started mentoring Kunthea around middle 2020. She is 14 years old and loves going to school. She loves the countryside, where she's originally from, and rainy season. Even though she's just 14 years old, I've often got the feeling, writing to her or talking to her, of talking with a much older person. She's smart, lovely and a bit shy, like most teenage girls.
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NESTANET, ETHIOPIAI've started mentoring Nestanet in August 2020, though we couldn't hear from each other properly due to the Covid pandemic. Things are getting better lately. Nestanet lives in Ethiopia and she's eight years old. She attends school and likes playing. Since Nestanet is so young her letters are mostly some sentences written by a member of the NGO staff and drawings from Nestanet. I think it's lovely to know her from when she's this young and then see her blossom into a woman.
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lucyann, kenyaI've started mentoring Lucyann in August 2020 even though, due to the Covid pandemic, correspondence has been very slow and it has become better just recently. Lucyann is a young woman already, aged 18. She dreams to be a banker when she's older. She's lovely and sweet and I am sure she, like all the other kids I mentor or sponsor, will turn out to be a great adult!
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ROBERTO, NICARAGUAI've started mentoring Roberto in August 2020, even though we exchanged just very few letters until now due to the fact that it's still tricky to get letters to and from Nicaragua due to Covid-19. Roberto is 14 years old, he likes computers so much and has good grades at school, especially in a computing course. When he's older he dreams of studying a major related to computer.
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YANI, DOMINICAN REPUBLICI've started mentoring Yani in September 2020, even though we exchanged just a couple of letters until now because, due to Covid-19, it's been tricky for letters to get to and from Dominican Republic. Yani is 12 years old. She's a great dancer. She has recently sent me a note and a photo of herself in her dancing costume and she's grown up so much compared to the young girl you see in this photo. She's a beautiful young woman now and she's part of the dance and rehearsal group at her local center.
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ESTER, TANZANIAEster is the latest addition to the list of children I mentor, and she's so lovely and young. She's just 4 years old. She, of course, can't write nor read yet so her letters are like little exercise which say, for instance, "my favorite color is...." and someone from the NGO staff asks Ester and then writes and translates the reply. She sends me drawings with every letter. As with Nestanet, it's such a joy to get in touch with children so young because it'll be a privilege to be part of their whole lives!
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