Khayrunnesh'a Special Needs Gift (SNG) and Educational Support

Update (Original Post is here):

I just got the pictures, report and letter from Khayrunn today for her SNG and educational support. To recap, I sent in an inquiry about how best to help her with school and also if her family needed anything special. She is 17 and I wanted to make sure she gets all the support she needs these last few years (Kids graduate out of Children International at 19). I got back a report for educational needs for this year (Grade X) and the next two years, as well as an SNG.

Falling at a bad time, but needing the funds now to start the school year, I was lucky enough to have 3 fellow sponsors willing pool with me to donate towards her educational needs and SNG for this current year.

With this donation, she received tuitions (tutoring in 2 subjects) for 7 months, a school uniform, a lovely red bicycle to ride to and from class and tuitions, and aluminum cooking vessels for her family. The report is below:



Additionally, here are a few photos of her with her new goods. I have to point out that Khayrunnsha always has the most adorable salwaar suits and I would love for her to take me shopping sometime. She just picks beautiful fabrics and combinations.





And last but not least, the letter from Khayrunn herself to me and the others who donated for this:



Drawing on the back (Khayrunn has been drawing lovely village scenes for quite a few years now):


Now I need to start saving up for her school fees and tuitions for the next few years! (These are a bit more because they are higher education). :)

Sandia's Package

At the end of July, I contacted PINP about sending a package to Sandia. I thought I would have to send it to Haiti (and wondered how well the mail system worked) but as it turned out, one of the staff members was about to travel from the U.S. to Haiti. I was told that as long as the package was under 3 lbs, I could send it to her in the U.S. and she would bring it with her to Haiti.

I inquired about her clothing size, and then began shopping. I always find it difficult to buy things for sponsored children for many reasons. I want to get them something useful, but also fun. I want it to be something they can enjoy. Another concern though, is going overboard. I always get worried about sending too much at once, because it may be overwhelming for a children, especially if they have always had very little. I toyed with the idea of sending gifts for everyone in her family, but then was unsure what I could get that would be small enough to fit into a 3 lb. package. In the end, I decided to just send some things for her this time, and plan on sending some more stuff for the family later.

After much shopping and wandering, and thinking, and putting outfits together, and wandering, and thinking (I am a very indecisive shopper) I ended up with a small photo album (I printed out some pictures of her, of me and my friends and family so she can see the things I talk about). I got her a butterfly keychain (random but cute), colorful barrettes, three t-shirts, a pair of comfy shorts (for sleep and play) and some denim shorts. I also got her a cute pair of flip-flops. With all of this I sent a letter. I also really wanted to get her this adorable dress, but ended up choosing the more practical and mix and match items because I thought she could get more outfits/wear out of them. Also I was worried about the weight limit, but I ended up being quite under when I got to the post office.

Sandia is 10, and ended up getting her child small (6/6X) (the shorts had an adjustable waist) and her flip flops were kids' size 3/4. They all ended up fitting very well, which I am happy about because I was a bit worried about that.

She sent me a letter thanking me, and then a bit later I got this video. She looks quite shy in the video, which surprised me, since she seems quite talkative in her letters. But that's alright, I understand being on camera can make one nervous:



P.S. the photo at the end of Sandia with the food is from a food package I sent her family when I started sponsoring her. It was $25 and provided the family with enough staples for a few meals (depending on the size of the family.)