What's important in choosing a sponsorship organization to you?

I recently put up a poll asking people what was most important to them when they choose to sponsor a child through a certain organization. I got some feedback that people either a.) had a reason not on there or b.) had more than one very important reason. Therefore I have decided to open up a discussion here for people to discuss what is most important to me.

I will start with a few of my most important:

1.) No religious affiliation-- this is very important to me because I don't feel children "deserve" more help based on their religion, nor do I think children should receive 'religious education' in a religion that they do not follow to get help.

2.) Ability to build a relationship: For me it is very important to not just have a relationship where a child gets help from a mysterious person-- I think that the relationship between sponsor and child are very important for BOTH parties. The child will have another person who cares for them and is able to see what is going on with the regularly, and the sponsor can build a bond with the child and therefore will feel more involved and become more involved in the child's life.

I guess these are my top two-- what are yours, and why?

Welcome Video from Sandia

At People in Need Partnership, your partner sends you a welcome video. I just got mine today from Sandia. I found out that the school near her home allowed her to join before she began being sponsored, so it is wonderful to see her in her school uniform as she was really yearning to go to school like some of her friends. She talked about her friend teaching her the vowels and numbers when she got home from school, but now she can go herself. I am really excited to have a 'partner' and have already sent her two letters.

Here is Sandia's Welcome Video.

And below are my first two letters to her:

1.) My Welcome Letter:

Dear Sandia,

Hello! I am very happy to partner with you. My name is Lindsey and I am 28 years old. I am studying to be a nurse. I have one older sister. She is 31. I also have a pet dog named Murray. He is very playful and loving. He doesn’t like to be lonely.

I have a fiance named Vivek. He is also 28 and he is from India. Right now he is studying Hindi-English translation. He wants to be a Professor at a University.

I am very happy that you want to go to school and that I can help you with this dream. I will be happy to have a letter from you too!

Love,

Lindsey

I sent the second letter to respond to her questions in the video. I used to know French, so I attempted to write to her in Kreyol. I'm sure it's full of mistakes, but here is my attempt with a translation in English:

Bonswa Sandia!

Komon ou ye? Mwen pale English men mwen ap aprann Kreyol pou ou. Jodi mwen gade ou video e mwen kontan. Ou ale lekol. :) kijan lekol? kisa english aprann?

Mwen renmen fe desen, liv, aprann lang, e fim. Mwen pale Hindi e ti kras frans. mwen aprann anpil frans men mwen bliye.

Mwen renmen animal telke chen, chat e cheval. kan mwen jenn mwen renmen pope, mwen te renmen jwe deyo e ede manman. kisa ou jwe?

renmen,
Lindsey

Translation:

Good Evening Sandia!
How are you? I speak English but I am learning Kreyol for you. Today I saw your video and I was happy. You are in school! :) How is school? Do you learn English?

I like to draw, [read] books, learn languages, and watch movies. I speak Hindi and some French. I used to know a lot of French but I forgot.

I love animals like dogs, cats, and horses. When I was little, I liked to play with dolls, play outside, and help my mom. What do you like to play?

Love,

Lindsey

A New Blog, A New Project

Lately, as I surf the internet, I can find more and more interesting and intriguing organizations that aim to improve the lives of people. As someone who gets great joy out of working with others, I have found sponsorship to be a very rewarding way to help others and also a chance to form meaningful and positive relationships with others. Please read the Medicine of Altruism page to further understand the basis of my actions.

I have been very lucky to have many chances and opportunities to travel and volunteer as well, something I hope to do again soon. But sponsorship is a great way for me to continue to contribute, build relationships, and send good thoughts, wishes, and intentions to others in the world while I must remain in one place for school.

At first searching to sponsor in India in 2004, I chose to sponsor a child through Children International because of their lack of religious affiliation and transparency. A large organization, they were well established and have a great internet presence. I was able to visit my oldest sponsored child. Khayrunn, while on a trip to India to volunteer in rural Bihar. I was impressed and began sponsoring another child, Saba the next year. Due to her academic struggles, I began to discover the various avenues and opportunities I had with Children International.. Many of these I learned by joining a google group of CI sponsors, who shared their many amazing projects and ideas with me. This involvement got me further involved, and I decided to sponsor a third children with CI, and chose Semran. In the meanwhile, I also got involved in a group project with the google group to sponsor an additional child, Magda. We share the sponsorship, so each of us pays a minimal amount, but are satisfied knowing we are helping one more child.

During this time, I began to examine other websites that offered similar sponsorship of poor students. Since I one day hope to start my own non-profit to aid children in India, I was especially curious how many small non-profit organizations executed their sponsorship programs. As part of this project, I decided to sponsor a child from a few different programs to experience the different methods behind sponsorship organizations. I began with Nanhi Kali, an organization that sponsors and supports girl students in India. Another organization also impressed me, called Mayan Families, this small organization works in Guatemala. I have donated to that organization for a couple different causes but have not as of yet sponsored a child through there. Most recently, I can across a small, new but impressive seeming organization called People in Need Partnership. This organization is geared towards helping poor students, slaves (restavek), and mothers in Haiti. I was highly impressed by their use of technology and focus on relationship between partners. They use webcams, laptops, and internet so that the two partners can easily and regularly communicate. This interesting, fresh, technology friendly take, mixed with a connection to a little girl (Sandia) made me decide to sponsor one last child.

This blog will keep you updated on my sponsored children, while also examining and comparing the non-profit organizations that bring people together.

Additionally, I will blog about various non-profit organizations that I have had experience with. Please follow the blog if this sounds interesting to you.