I'm sponsoring a child from Ghana!

Quick update..

I was browsing on facebook, and I read one of my friend's status post. Mind you, this friend of mine is a great guy who loves helping other people and so on. He is very involved in his church - which is 5 minutes away from where I live. He sings, volunteers, and all that stuff. All the things that I would be doing (minus the singing.. maybe!) He works in Wal-Mart. He is a real inspiration. We occasionally speak whenever we see each other, because I know where he works being the stalker I am. I'm digressing.. BUT.. his status update said: 

"Just signed up to sponsor a child through compassion. Feels spectacular"

I read that and I saw like.. what is "compassion"? Was he talking about the verb? Or something else? Being the nosy person I am, I decided to google it because something told me inside that I must "seek" this out. It's a weird feeling really. I just had to do that. It felt like a natural instinct. I stumbled upon a charity website designed to help children in areas of poverty. Skeptical at first, I began reading about the goals; and the missions of Compassion.  

Great curiosity filled my mind as I was eager to "know" what this organization is all about. As a child, I can recall myself seeing commercials on Saturday morning of children from different areas of the world displaying great poverty. Back then, I really didn't pay close attention to it that much and thought it was "just another commercial." At one point of my life as I was growing up, I felt sad for these children that I was seeing on tv. With great events happening in my life, I can now make a difference in the world one step at a time. Now that I am older and am making responsible choices such as working and getting an education; I feel like I can do something about that now. Realizing one thing is another, but taking action is another step.

I read more and more about Compassion. The growing curiosity began to fill my mind. I was afraid that this organization would be a scam because it sounded too good to be true. I did some google-ing and searching, and reading testimonials. 

At first, I was afraid that this organization would be a scam. This organization is far from it. Financial Integrity is one thing. 80% of expenditures go to program activities for the children. Seems legit to me! Check!

The mission statement of Compassion is

"In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults."

I know some people would read "Christian" and be like: "oh.. religious fundamentalists" but I am not looking at that at all. In a world where poverty is great, would you turn to religion to seek for help? If a religious organization is doing great things for a great cause, then it must be working. These children will be able to find inspiration through sponsors from all around the world. I have a heart. I'm only here for so long in the world, so why should I sit around and do nothing to contribute to this world?

I was convinced this was time. I read the testimonials. Some sponsors were retirees, some were college students, and some were even teenagers who all shared a common purpose: wanting to make a difference in life.

I knew it was now that I had to take action. If I wanted to change the world, and make it a better place - why would I hold onto something that is relatively "easy to earn" in this country? I'm talking about money. Sure, there aren't that many jobs out there that pay a lot but we make much more money than some of these families do in a month. I read several stories - some families earn less than 3$ a month working! How many hours of work is that - that these families do to earn that little? I'm pretty sure there aren't any labor laws regarding the kinds of work these people do, all I know is that it must be hard work... I can hold off on getting that fast food meal, junk food, or other necessities to provide the financial foundation to a child/or her family. 

 

Nobody deserves to go hungry, and unfortunately 963 million people from all over the world go hungry, and millions die each year from malnutrition or preventable causes of diseases, etc (source). A power from within filled me, and I knew it was time. I decided to become a sponsor. 

There were many options from choosing a child. I decided to set my criteria for who I would want to be my "child." The longest waiting was in my mind, and there was a category for that. I browsed through many, and one particular child popped out. I wanted to help all of them, but I knew I can only "afford" to sponsor one child right now. Her name is Rose.

Here is her biography:

Birthday:	April 30, 2005
Age:	6
Gender:	Female
Region:	West Africa
Country:	Ghana
Program:	Kuntu's Child Development Centre

Personal and Family Information:
Rose lives with her father and her mother. Her duties at home include running errands. There are 5 children in the family. Her father is sometimes employed and her mother is sometimes employed.

For fun, Rose enjoys playing house, running and playing group games. She attends church activities and Bible class regularly and is in kindergarten where her performance is average.

Please remember Rose in your prayers. Your love and support will help her to receive the assistance she needs to grow and develop.

---

She is beautiful, isn't she? What amazes me is that she is one of four children in the household - what things must be happening in that household! I grew up in a family surrounded by cousins, and two very own sisters of my own and I thought that was enough. Rose will grow up into a great person, I'm hoping my contribution will set her to get an education like I am and be the stepping stone for her parents and her siblings
.

Rose had been waiting over 200 days for a sponsor, and I am here to the rescue. I am feeling spectacular now. What is awesome is that she has the same birthday as I. If we all made some kind of contribution to the world, then there would probably be less poverty. I'm just glad that she and her family will have access to food, health care, education, and water PLUS maaany other things that we take for granted here in the United States. What surprises me is that she has so many people in her family, yet the average income for a person working in Ghana is under $3 a week. My support will help them, and I hope to do more charity work in the future when I get my education "done." One more thing.. I get to write her letters and she gets to write them too! I'm looking forward to her letters and I feel already great that I am helping out. $9.50 is what it takes. The amount of money per day is under a dollar fifty. Sponsoring a child will change a child's life forever for the better. It's not only the child's life that will be changed forever, but yours too. I know mine has already as this is one of the best decisions of my life. I will keep you guys updated on her. 

Good night,

Anthony