Save A Child is a charity project started by us from donations and pledges of generous players taken from the fantasy wealth we gained by playing on BlogShares Fantasy Stock Market.
:: Laila* :: RWO ::
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Sarah, our sponsored child Today after many months of waiting, Laila and I finally met Sarah, our blogshares sponsored child, through Save the Children.
We have been keeping in touch with Riel Andaluz
since I returned from my Christmas visit to Manila where we had applied
too late to visit with Sarah. Riel sent me all their forms and I
applied for a visit which was accepted. We received our itenerary
yesterday, and after getting up early this morning, eating breakfast
and then starting to get ready, Pearl told us that someone from Save
the Children was at the door. They were an hour early, and we were not
quite ready. Also Denise was asleep on the couch and we didn't really
want to have them come in and see that so, somehow Laila excused us and
asked if they could come back at 9 AM, as scheduled.
We went
ahead and got ready and went downstairs at about 8:30 in case they were
waiting for us. They were not and then at 9 Laila decided she wanted
to wait upstairs. I told her to be patient and wait but then we went
ahead and started going upstairs. Just as we got to the fourth floor
they drove up and we went down again and got into the van. We then
headed off to their headquarters for a brief presentation and to meet
some of the folks that work there.
Traffic was really
terrible and it took us quite a while to get there, but when we did
finally pull up we had a very warm reception. We toured their office
and met some of the staff. We then went to the conference room for a
power point slide presentation that had Laila quite amazed.
Laila was always skeptical about Save the Children. But then she
suspects anything being run in the Philippines if the government is
involved. The slide show showed all the different things they do and
where our sponsorship money goes.
Not all of it goes to Sarah
and I think that shocked Laila a bit. I think Laila was under the
impression that they just gave Sarah a monthly allowance and she spent
the money on her own, which is not the case.
They use the
money to buy some school supplies in the beginning of school year, but
then they also run programs for the younger kids to prepare them for
school, assist with school, and teach them how to eat right, and
sanitation. Sarah, in fact, serves an ambassador to all children who
are in the same school where she studies. They received the same
program benefits what Sarah receives. They help children from 4 years
old up to 18 years old only. They also address birth control, and bad
habits to older ones.
Anyway after seeing the presentation it
was off to McDonalds to meet up with Sarah and her family. We again
got caught in traffic and it took us quite a while to get there but we
finally did.
Sarah. Her Mother, and Sister Sheila
Sarah is 12 years old and I was quite surprised by how small she was.
We met Sarah, her youngest sister, Shiela, and her mother. Sarah is
one of seven children in the household and her father abandoned the
family six months after her youngest child was born.
ME, Laila, Sarah
Her mother works as a fish vendor but, it is a really low paying job
which is equivalent of 4 -5 dollars a day. Anyway Laila learned a lot
about the program from talking to some of the workers and the family.
Sarah didn't speak English so we just kind of smiled and used sign
language or let Laila translate for me.
We then went to a
community center where they were teaching job skills with materials
they have available. I felt really bad as this was an extremely poor
area, but the folks at the center were working hard, and there were
many volunteers there helping them out.
Tomorrow, we will be taking Sarah out on a shopping trip to a mall. We
were thinking of school supplies but after Laila talked to Sarah, I
guess we will be going grocery shopping instead, as Sarah prefers
grocery items and rice for her family. As a rule, we are not allowed to
give any cash donations to Sarah or her family.
Anyway, after
that it was time for the long ride home. Laila's knee gave her so much
pain. Somehow, it is really nice to finally put a real child in place
of the picture and letters. We're excited to take her and family out
for shopping tomorrow...
Posted at 08:27 pm by RWO
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