Sean Nolan has been sponsoring children for over 25 years. He tells us Child Sponsorship has always brought him great joy, even more so now that he finds himself sponsoring Beatriz, who is the daughter of a girl he originally sponsored in Brazil many years ago.
Sean tells us: “I get great pleasure from it. I love to get the letters. I get tremendous satisfaction from seeing what they are doing. I like the idea that we are giving them a lift in their hard lives.”
“I made a commitment…”
Sean explains that when he first started sponsoring a child, he was determined to carry on, no matter what happened in his own life. “I don’t give out of abundance. In some ways we could never really afford it but I made a commitment. When I think how little it really is to us in Ireland each month compared to how much it means to the children I’m sponsoring, I just decided I’d always keep on doing it, no matter what.”
Over the time that Sean has been sponsoring children, his two sons have grown up, got married and given him three beautiful grandchildren. “I’ve always thought of the children I sponsor as part of my extended family,” Sean says. “They’re always in my heart and in my thoughts.”
Beatriz in Brazil
Sean sponsors two children; Beatriz, who lives in a sprawling shanty town in Brazil and Manish who lives in rural India.
Beatriz is the 8 year-old daughter of Vania, a girl Sean sponsored many years ago. They are living in a ‘Favela,’ a shanty town, where life is tough. Sean says. “They write to me and say that they’re going to buy some bricks because they are trying to build their own home. The gangs make things really difficult over there. You can only imagine what they’re going through. My support has meant that Beatriz has had access to immunisation, and healthcare and is getting the chance of an education. It makes a huge difference to her and her mum.”
The other child Sean sponsors is Manish, a 9 year-old boy who is growing up in rural India. Sean says. “It’s great to hear about entirely different problems from the other side of the world. But also some of the issues are the same, no matter where you are. Manish is getting an education because of my sponsorship. That could change his life forever.”
“I get so much love…”
So after 25 years, we asked Sean what he gets out of being a ChildFund Ireland Child Sponsor: “I love the personal side of it. The connection. I get a homemade card and I know how much effort goes into it. The whole thing enriches me. It’s wonderful to help someone in dire need. I get so much love for doing something that is really quite small.”
We’d love to hear from you
If you have any stories about the children you sponsor that you would like to share with us, please email us at info@childfund.ie and we’ll get in touch.
If you don’t currently sponsor a child or you would like to add another child, please visit our sponsorship pages or call the team on 1800 22 10 10. It doesn’t take long to do and it could be the start of a rewarding lifelong relationship, just like Sean’s.
