Some Sad News, Some Happy News

As some of you know, today I have been struggling to make a decision about the other organization that I sponsor at. Over the summer I started sponsoring one girl in Haiti, Sandia. Things seemed to be going well, so I recently added Midielande. Unfortunately, things have not been working out with the organization to the standards that I hoped, and that they seemed originally. I am not sure what is going on, but I feel like I have just lost some trust and confidence. I have been debating what to do, and decided that I will cancel my sponsorship of the new girl, Midielande. I haven't spoken to her yet, and I started sponsoring her because I wanted her to go to school. I found out that she would not be starting school (until January) and I just felt, well, upset, because my sponsorship fees were supposed to cover that, but apparently are not enough. I'm not sure what is going on, and I know a lot is going on in Haiti right now, but for now I think it is just better to cancel this rather than start a new relationship with a child when I am not 100% of the organization.

For now, I am keeping Sandia, my other child there, who I HAVE developed a relationship with, but I decided not to do the IGP I was planning. I will see what happens.

I'm not sure what is going on with the organization, but I really hope it turns out well, because they have great ideas, but seem to have trouble organizing. I'm not sure. I feel really sad cancelling the sponsorship, but I just don't know if my sponsorship would really be benefiting her right now.

On a happy note, I got two letters today from 2 CI kids, Neha (my newest) and Saba. I posted both of them. And additionally, the other organization where I sponsor one child in India finally posted an update on Ghousia. I know little about Ghousia and the organization is run very differently, but I am very happy to say that her report shows that her grades have improves drastically (from pretty fair/poor to excellent looking grades!) She also got a "double promotion" in school, which I think may mean skipped up two grades? Though I haven't been able to develop a relationship with her, I am so happy to see these improvements!

Here is her report:

Overall Academic Performance
Ghousia s performance in annual exam is excellent. Since she has also performed well in internal assessments and academic support center she has been given double promotion in school.

Extracurricular Activities
She has enthusiastically participated in various sports and academic competitions organized in her school. On “Children’s Day”, a cultural event and a few outdoor games were organized in the school. She was an enthusiastic participant in this program.

Social Skills
She is a well-mannered girl and comes to the school neatly dressed.

General Health
She generally keeps good health. School health programme and midday meal programmes helps her to be healthy.

General Comments
We have started rigorous academic support classes called Balala Vidya Vedika held daily after school hours and during vacations by community youths trained on both pedagogy and joyful learning methods to reinforce the concepts learnt in the class.

Academic Year: 2009-10 Results of : Annual

Subject Marks / Telugu 75 Urdu 85 English 80 Mathematics 86 Science 87 Social Studies 78 Percentage : 82.6

Days Present: 175 Out of 220 days

An Income Generating Project for Sandia's Family in Haiti

Sandia, my partner through People in Need Partnership, and I have been talking a lot online these days (above, before I became her partner). One thing I had noticed was that she was always talking about plants, drawing plants, and asking about gardens. I thought it might be nice to help her start a small garden-- I had the PINP people talk to her family but they came back with another idea. Sandia's mom used to run a small shop outside the home, but was not able to anymore. The family is very interested in having her restart this business-- her mom even added that they could plant a garden with some of the profits. I thought this was a great idea. I was told they needed atleast $200 to get everything together, so now it's time to fundraise for Sandia and her family!

Sandia is 10 years old and lives with her mother, Maristima, who is 40, and her father Nazaire, who is 42. She has four siblings, her brother Sonson is 16, and sisters Junia (19, living in the countryside), Monise- 8, and Nadia 4. Nazaire is a porter and works 6 days a week, making about 0.25-0.64 cents per day). This as you can imagine, is hardly enough to feed the 6 people living at home.

Sandia is doing well (picture from July 2010 to the right)-- since she has a partner she was able to go to school and she completed 1st grade and is now a second grader. I am not sure if any of her siblings go to school. I know from my conversations with her that her family often has very little to eat, and I have arranged for her to have a few extra meals per week after school, and send food baskets (these include rice, beans, oil and some meat that makes about 20 meals and usually lasts a few days) for her family, but I think that restarting this business will really improve life for them-- they will have a greater income and have more food security, rather than relying on what little they have plus donated food.
Additionally, the business could provide further income to help them improve their home (it is made of sheet metal with a dirt floor, and is often wet and muddy in the rain) and send more of their children to school.

So far $45.00 has been raised towards the goal of at least $200. If you would like to help Sandia's family you can either contact me at lindseyrieder@gmail.com or if you prefer to pay by paypal, you can send a donation as a "gift" to the same email address without a fee. If you do so, please let me know so that I can add you to the list of donors. I will email everyone with the updated information and any photos or videos they provide one Sandia's family gets their small business up and running.

Above are pictures of Sandia at her front door, and her home. Her home is situated in a large slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Saba's SNG- received Oct 16, 2010

Hooray! After much torturous delay (well not really, but it felt that way to me!) I got my report form Saba's SNG which I sent in about 1.5 months ago. I asked that the money be used as needed for 1.) Saba's school needs, 2.) siblings school needs and 3.) anything else the family needs.

The family got:

4 months private tuitions for Saba (grade II)

1 Steel Almirah

1 detergent soap bar and 1 candy for the child

Child/Family Comments:

The child said, "Thank you Sponsor for the gifts and also for providing me with tuition support in my studies, which I needed."



How will the gifts benefit the child and/or family?

The child is in grade-II at present. She will be promoted to grade-III in Jan'11 only if she fares well in her grade-II final examination in Dec'10. The child and her family will use the steel almirah to keep their clothes, personal items and other valuables in a safe and proper manner. The family will use the detergent soap bar to wash their clothes regularly. (LOL, thanks for clearing that up about the soap! Wink)

Additional Comments:

The child has been provided with school fees, school bag and other school supplies from the Sponsorship Program funds. The siblings also did not have any immediate need for educational supplies. Hence, the family used the donation partly to provide tuition support to the child and partly for household needs.




P.S. I was quite surprised by the headscarf-- I had never seen Saba wearing one before, and as you can see in the picture, her mom doesn't wear one. My guess is that it is what she wears to school-- she switched school and studies at an Urdu school so I am guessing it is a Muslim school and requires a headscarf.

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.)

Khayrunn's Education

Khayrunn is getting so much older. I can't believe she is 17 already! When I visited her, she was a little 11 year old girl, and now she is a young adult. She is maturing so much, and I really love her letters. She recently told me that she wants to be a teacher, and she wants to study English in higher education. She only has 2 years left until she graduates from Children International (typically some time when the child is 19).

Since joining the google group of CI sponsors, I have learned so much about what I can do to support my sponsored children, that I didn't know for so long when I was sponsoring Khayrunn (and I was much younger myself). While my younger ones will benefit a lot from this new knowledge, Khayrunn only has a few years left, so I thought I should inquire and see what she needs and work on that first. I know she is a good student and hardworking, so I definitely see her doing well continuing with school.

I sent an inquiry to CI about her education plan and needs as well as any special needs for her family. I got back the information for her education:

This year she is in 10th grade and would benefit from tuitions (as they call private tutors in India) in two subjects, which amounts to $78.

It also gave me the information for her next two years of school, high school-- which is 11th and 12th grade. For these two grades she needs help with admission fees, textbooks, and tuitions, which need to be provided by the beginning of each school year (more on those later!)

In terms of special needs, her family suggested a bicycle, which I think Khayrunn will use to more easily get to school, and cooking vessels for the family, the total amount for these is $100.

So for the 10th grade needs, it said she needed the money by June, and it was the beginning of July when I got the information. Since I am in the middle of my nursing graduate school, I don't have much (er, any!) extra money these days. I thought I would quickly do a fundraiser to get the $78 and then save up the rest. I shared this information with my friends on the google group as well as on liftone.org (the new CI networking site for sponsors). I was amazed at the quick response... not only did the funds for her tuitions come in, but also enough for the special needs gift (SNG).

So for now, the $178 has been sent in, and I will be waiting for the photos and updated when she receives all this wonderful help. It feels so great to have a community of supportive people around me, passionate and willing to help children. I am so thankful and proud to be a part of this community. Thanks to all for making such important differences in the lives of children.

Stay tuned for updates!

New Picture of My Partner in Haiti

I received a new picture of my partner in Haiti. Obviously very different than the first pictures I got:



Sorry I haven't updated much lately, I have a very busy course load this summer!

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.