The way we see it, Mitch and I have six children. We have three little boys that we have been blessed with and who we bring up ourselves in Australia. We also have three little girls that live overseas and it is our privilege to sponsor them. We are so blessed to regularly send letters to, and receive letters from, our little girls. We worry about them a lot but trust that God and the girls' real parents are doing everything they can to keep the girls safe and well.
The letters from our little girls regularly move me and make me smile, sometimes I cry. The one we received today from our six year old in Rwanda is such a sweet letter that I just wanted to share it with who ever is reading this blog (yes, mum, that's you!). When this little one writes a letter she dictates it to a project worker who than arranges for it to be translated into English. They send us both originals.
She writes:
"Dear Mr Mitchell M-
Your daughter D- greets you in the name of Jesus Christ.
She is glad to write you and inform you about her family's news today. The whole family is alive. They are grateful that you love them and have pity for them.
D- informs you that she is in holidays of the first term of school for year 2011 but she don't know yet the results of exams, so she will tell you about that later. What she is sure of is that she did well in her exams.
In the region of Rubavu where she lives with her family, it rains so much. Right now it is dark outside and it gonna rain.
Have you seen an animal called gorilla? She would like you to come in Rwanda and visit gorillas.
She sends wishing you good luck."
I would like to go to Rwanda and visit the gorillas!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the sweetest things about the letter is that she obviously has respect for the gorillas. She is proud that Rwanda has gorillas and knows that it is something that foreigners might like to see. That gives me hope for the gorillas because they will only survive if the Rwandan people want them to and if there is tourism value in keeping them alive, rather than hunting them for meat or clearing the forest. As a nature lover myself, I find that quite heartening.
If I were you, I would write back about the gorillas and reinforce that message about how special they are and how the forest they live in is special as well. She's only six - it would probably make a great impression and one that she would share with her family and village.
What program do you use to sponsor your children?
PS I think it's great that you are sponsoring girls. Nothing against boys but women and girls need all the help they can get in that part of the world. I also really believe that raising the education and status of women is one of the best ways to peacefully manage the world's population.
ReplyDeleteYour comment made me realise that we haven't done any where near enough research into the countries that our girls are from. I am ashamed to admit that until this letter from D- i didn't know Rwanda was where gorillas are from. Time to get researching! We sponsor girls for the reasons that you commented about. Girls in particular can be so vulnerable to exploitation. We're hoping to make a difference in our girls' lives.
ReplyDeleteWe sponsor through Compassion. We love it because of the personal contact through letters. Through letters both we and our girls are changed and encouraged. We are also hoping to visit our girls over the next couple of years - this is encouraged and supported by Compassion.