In different parts of the world, lives are changing for the better. Why? Because of sponsors like you. You’re making an impact where it matters most, and it shows.
The definition of “generosity” is the readiness to give. With the giving of time, kindness, and commitment, the generosity of a sponsor creates a magnificent shift in the life of a child and their family. It can also form a bond so strong, it’s unbreakable.
Here are a few stories from around the world that prove how generosity from sponsors changes the lives of sponsored children in a huge way.
- Warmth and gratitude sealed in her heart – Fang, China
- Becoming a leader and helping others – Stephen, Kenya
- Sponsorship through the eyes of a mother – Aya & Khalil, Lebanon
Warmth and gratitude sealed in her heart
“There is always hope and warmth waiting for us in life, to help us get through the high and dry. For me, that kind of warmth was the love and support I received from generous people from all walks of life,” Fang says.
Now a teacher in the Jiangxi Province of China, Fang was once a sponsored child through World Vision. Her parents worked away from the home, so Fang and her siblings lived with and were cared for by her grandparents.
She remembers receiving an extra meal every day at school. Her teacher would give her a bag of milk to drink—and milk was not something easily affordable for her family.
“A bottle of aromatic and sweet milk every day put warmth in my stomach as well as in my heart. I wondered why I could get to drink milk every day even though I didn’t pay anyone. Where did all the free milk powder come from? Later my confusion was cleared after our teacher explained that these were all provided for us for free by World Vision,” Fang said.
She received letters from who she calls, her “kind-hearted sponsor.” Everything in those letters gave Fang a special feeling. “She would even mail me many school supplies and some educational toys. Every letter was a surprise and a joy to me,” she remembered.
“My life was brightened with all the care she gave me, and I even had better scores at school,” Fang says. She also acknowledges that her sponsor has always been the light in her heart throughout the years.
“It goes without saying that there are still many stories about World Vision for me to tell,” Fang said. “More than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye, and all the warmth granted to me from society has not skipped my mind. Instead, gratitude is sealed at the bottom of my heart.”
Becoming a leader and helping others
“When I grew up, my father gave me the chance to go to nursery school,” Stephen remembers. “There, I noted a very big difference. World Vision helped me to cater for my education.”
Now an adult, Stephen is living proof of World Vision sponsorship and how it creates change that lasts. His life now looks very different than the childhood he spent herding cattle.
Growing up, Stephen’s community in Kenya valued animals more than children, which meant education was not a priority for his family. But then he became a sponsored child and that’s when things changed. Stephen’s sponsors helped him get an education and he began attending school.
“Along the way, changes started to occur in our community,” he says. “Because we faced challenges like drought, diseases and conflict, the community started to understand the importance of school.”
Through his education, Stephen gained the skills to become a mechanic and eventually secured a loan to start his business. Not only does he own a garage and run his own shop selling spare motorcycle parts, but Stephen also trains other young men in the community who are in the mechanic business.
“That helped me to improve and bring my own family out of poverty,” he says.
Like Stephen, there are now millions of adults across the world living and working productive, fulfilled lives thanks to the partnership of sponsors who decided to make a difference.
Sponsorship through the eyes of a mother
“Both of my children are registered with World Vision,” Safaa, Aya and Khalil’s mother, says. “I am receiving moral and financial support. Thank God, it is helping from all sides.”
Aya, 13, and her little brother Khalil, 5, are both sponsored children living in Lebanon. Their mother, Safaa, tells us how much World Vision has helped her children and the family.
Wanting the best for children is every parent’s main concern and Safaa is an advocate for education and against early marriage. “Whenever my daughter and nieces are gathered, I try to explain to them the importance of pursuing their education,” she says.
As for how World Vision has helped her family, Safaa says, “They never fail us. They offered a lot of things like how to raise a child and how to deal with my daughter and son. We are receiving stationary, school bags, toothpaste.”
Prior to the crisis in Lebanon, her husband was a police officer but was let go because they could not pay him anymore. With no one working, food parcels given to the family by World Vision “Helped us and relieved us a lot,” Safaa says. “That eased a huge burden.”
She was also given the opportunity to participate in sessions that helped her nourish her relationship with her daughter and son and taught her how to communicate with them differently.
“You know dealing with a girl is different from dealing with a boy, we deal with each one differently. [The sessions] benefited me a lot. They never failed to help us even on matters regarding my son. This organization is amazing,” Safaa says.
The impact of sponsorship should never be underestimated—kindness and generosity go a long way. What might feel like a simple effort to a sponsor, is actually a transformative power of compassion that creates ripples of positive change extending far beyond our scope of sight.
Simple yet profound gestures light a path where every act of kindness makes a world of difference for everyone living in it, especially children.