When we talk to sponsored kids and their parents, one thing we hear from them, time and again, is: Please extend this generosity to other children. Please take this good work to other communities.
Humans have a beautiful instinct to pass along good gifts—to “pay it forward.”
As Christmas approaches, we parents especially have our kids’ joy and well-being at the top of our minds. We long to see their needs being more than met but exceeded. And when we can’t hit that mark? It presses on a very tender spot.
So it’s a joy to read stories about parents who, because of your generosity, are finally able to provide for their kids in ways they’ve longed to. Or sponsored kids who see the gifts given to them, and immediately think of ways to put them to use in service of others.
Read on to see how:
- Emanuel, a dad in La Belle-Mère, Haiti, is finally giving his daughter the education that was once a distant dream.
- Amos, a sponsored child in Menkao in the DRC, is brimming with gratitude for community volunteers, doctors, clean water, and the gift of health.
- Abed al Karim, a dad in Akkar, Lebanon, rushed to give his son new pants and a shirt the minute he was able.
- Phanet, a former sponsored child in Cambodia, is passing on life lessons as a teacher in her childhood classroom.
Thank you for the role you are playing in this beautiful cycle of giving.
Emanuel wanted to give the world to his daughter, Rosekamène. Now, he is.
When Emanuel’s crops and income increased, the first thing he did was invest in Rosekamène’s education.
Emanuel remembers when the dream of educating his 13-year-old daughter seemed like an unattainable luxury. Even feeding his family sufficiently was out of reach.
“The land was dry, and our crops would wither away,” Emmanuel explains. “I felt helpless as a father when I couldn’t provide for Rosekamène. Watching her go hungry and knowing I couldn’t afford her school fees was heartbreaking. I feared she would never have the chance to escape the cycle of poverty.”
Through World Vision’s work in La Belle-Mère, Haiti, 1,750 farmers, including Emanuel, were provided with high-quality seeds suited to the local climate and received training in sustainable farming practices. Equipped with new seeds and knowledge, Emanuel transformed his small plot of land. In time, the once-barren soil teemed with abundant crops that fed the whole family, with enough left over to sell. Emanuel used the earnings to pay for Rosekamène’s school fees, books, and uniforms, ensuring she had everything she needed to succeed.
The impact on Rosekamène, who is now in Grade 7, has been profound. “My life has changed so much,” she says. “I no longer go to bed hungry, and I can focus on my studies. I dream of becoming a teacher one day so I can help other children like me.”
Emanuel, too, is thinking of others.
“I hope [sponsors] can continue to support World Vision to implement its activities in many other communities in need,” he says.
Sponsored child Amos, 11, and his family now have access to clean drinking water.
When 11-year-old in Menkao, Democratic Republic of the Congo, talks about the things that inspire him, his enthusiasm is contagious.
“I’m passionate about what’s going on in my community through World Vision. People in the community visit me to see how I’m doing, whether I’ve been to school. What a love for others!” he exclaims, referring to the community volunteers who routinely check on sponsored children. “This drives me to be as considerate of others—not only in my family, but wherever I find myself.”
Amos plans to become a doctor. He’s made the connection between the clean water in his community and improved health in his own life and others. “I’m often inspired by doctors, what they do to help people recover their health. It’s my dream to become a doctor, too,” he says.
Amos used to suffer from stomach aches and vomiting because of the unclean water supply he and his neighbours relied on. Through the hygiene club at school, he has learned some critical practices for better health—like how to treat water for safe drinking and when to wash his hands.
“It helps me to avoid illness and to be in good health,” he says. “I’ve noticed a big change in my life as a result of these good habits.”
Abed al Karim’s son just wanted some new clothes for school. Finally, this dad was able to deliver.
An education project offering cash support took immense pressure off Abed al Karim’s shoulders.
“I still remember when my son Mohamad asked me for new clothes for school,” says Abed al Karim, a Lebanese dad in Akkar, Lebanon.“I told him it’s a bit hard to get them now since I don’t have money. He slept crying that night.”
An education support project* run in their community offered caregivers eight monthly payments of US$20 to cover their children’s school expenses. Along with the financial help, World Vision Lebanon ran awareness campaigns on the importance of education and literacy sessions, along with positive parenting sessions and text messages that encouraged continuous learning.
With the first $20 he received, Abed al Karim remembered nine-year-old Mohamad’s wish—"I got him a new shirt and pants,” he says. With the continued support, he was able to purchase most of the school supplies that Mohamad and his sister Hasan, 11, needed.
“I've got three copybooks, each in a different colour! I'm so glad to have this collection,” says Hanan.
“This US$20 is essential for my children so I can provide for their minimal educational needs,” says Abed al Karim. “Especially during the hard economic situation we are going through.”
*Project funded by the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund (LHF) and World Vision Lebanon, in partnership with Hadatha as a sub-implementing partner.
Chin Nat looks admiringly at her daughter Phanet. The former sponsored child is now passing lessons learned through sponsorship to the next generation.
Phanet, in Cambodia, was 10 years old when she was sponsored.
“I felt excited that I had someone abroad to ask me these things—like my education, my health, and living conditions,” she remembers. “I would like to say thank you to my former sponsor, for sponsoring me to be where I am now.”
Today, at 19, Phanet is a Grade 5 teacher in the very same classroom where she began her own education. Forty-one students are reaping the benefits of what she’s learned.
“I am proud to teach others and help them become like me,” she says. “I wanted to educate the young generation to understand our culture, history.”
“She has the fire in her,” says Chin Nat, Phanet’s mom. “The fire helped her be the teacher she is. That’s what teachers should have.”
Chin has a fire of her own. While Phanet was learning and growing into the young woman she is today, Chin joined World Vision savings groups and training opportunities that led the family from small-scale farming to an extensive chemical-free agriculture venture, growing papayas, dragon fruit and much more.
“50 per cent of my knowledge came from World Vision, and the other 50, [I] will have to give it to my own effort,” she says. You can almost hear the wink in her words.
Written by Katie Hackett, with files from Dominique Moussignac, World Vision DRC, World Vision Lebanon, and Amy Van Drunen.