Sponsor a Child today!
Did you know that 11 million children die each year before the age of five - that is about 30,000 every day - because they have not received the care they deserve as a right. This dreadful reality must change.
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To visit your sponsored child, contact the Dublin office It was late in the day when we decided to go to Sri Lanka for our holidays. The little girl I sponsor, Sashika, was talking and talking about her country in her letters to me. I wanted to know more about it. I made a request to ChildFund Ireland in Dublin, knowing it was late to visit Sashika. Everybody was very helpful to us in the Dublin and Columbo offices. The Colomban office made our hotel reservation which was near the project and we decided about dates for our 2004 holidays. When the day arrived for us to meet the ChildFund staff we were collected from the hotel and we set out for the remote village where Sashika lives. When we arrived we realised that a small ceremony of welcome was awaiting us, but also all the people from the village were present. I was really shy, but when I took Sashika’s hand and squeezed it I forgot all about my shyness. We had a meal in Sashika’s house and I found I was eating with my fingers, like she did herself. I was introduced to her parents, her sister and her grandmother who had an operation a few months earlier. Sashika showed me the bicycle I had helped pay through the project and all my cards, letters and photographs she carefully keeps in a folder. I usually send her a postcard anytime I am going away, knowing that children like to get cards. It was tree planting time in my honour in the small garden behind the house. I really felt honoured about it. Sashika speaks Singalay but our conversation was translated by a ChildFund Staff member. After a while sentences came more easily and Sashika’s smile broadened. Sashika’s mother offered us some bananas, oranges and home baked cakes. We stayed around for about an hour and a half and then departed for the project in Pollunarawa. We were introduced to everybody there and it was a good experience. I had brought some English books, pencils and pens. We had a good discussion about the projects that ChildFund were managing. I learned that the project where Sashika is enrolled takes care of 1,200 children and only 600 had sponsors, therefore much more help is needed. Everything about the visit was really interesting and we learned a lot. Sri Lanka is a very nice country with very beautiful, smiling people. The trip meant a lot to me and now, when I write to Sashika I think of her village and of her beautiful smile. The trip made a difference and has formed a strong bond between Sashika and I and between her country and mine. I am a Ugandan, currently working on a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh. I am married to a wonderful husband, with two biological children (twins), and an adopted son. I owe my present success and happiness to Mama Joyce who sponsored my education until I graduated with a B.A. Education degree from Makerere University in Uganda in 1991. I am born into a family that was not only poor but also did not value education for a girl. At the age of ten, my father deserted me in the care of my mother. Being uneducated too, my mother had no substantive job; so I had to stay at home while the other kids went to school. My future like that of many young girls in Uganda would be doomed had not Mama Joyce came to my rescue. In this time of desperation, I was lucky to come in contact with ChildFund who finds sponsors for disadvantaged families and abused children like me. In developed countries where the government provides free education, it might be hard to appreciate the ChildFund contribution to the future of children in Third World countries. Many bright kids, especially girls, drop out of school because their parents are either poor or do not value education for girls. By providing education to these children through sponsorship, ChildFund has given these girls hope for a better future. Mama Joyce, my sponsor, did not only give me her financial assistance, but also she gave me her love. I remember the birthday, Christmas, and special gifts she used to send me. She really cared for my happiness as a growing girl. Her love inspired me to forgive my father before he died. Through my sponsor's love, I felt the desire to extend this love to other disadvantaged children. Uganda is right now in an AIDS tragedy; the number of orphan children grows year after year as parents die leaving the children helpless. I would like to encourage every one with good will to contribute. 
I started to sponsor Chethana, now 14, in Sri Lanka after hearing of ChildFund from a friend. Her family is Buddhist her father works as a seasonal farm labourer. Life is unpredictable as sometimes there is fighting between Tamil Tigers and government forces in the area. I decided to visit Chethana and finally in September we met.
She brought her brothers and father with her, as well as all the letters I had sent her over the years. It was such an emotional meeting and I felt very privileged.
Chethana wanted to visit the zoo-it was her first time. After we went to the ocean and beach-the wonder in her eyes to see such a sight for the first time was truly heart warming. After a relaxing meal out we went shopping. It’s very reassuring to know that 14 year old girls world wide are all the same-something pink with bling and sparkles and her first pair of jeans-her obvious joy will not be forgotten.
Eventually our special day together came to an end and we parted with very fond memories. It was so worth it.
Doctorate Student University of Pittsburgh, USA.
