People were extremely generous to me when I was in dire straits, and now that I'm more or less sorted I want to "pass it on" or "pay it forward" as they say. I decided there were children in this world who were in desperate need of help, and I remembered my mum sponsored a child in Africa, so I googled "SOS Villages" and found the link to this page. I decided I couldn't choose ONE country out of the list, so I went to the page where it said where the most need was, and chose El Salvador because a) I was madly in love with a (rich!) boy from El Salvador living in Switzerland when I was 18 and b) I can speak a little Spanish which might help when sending cards or letters. I am so looking forward to making someone's life a little better. I got this email today:
Thank you so much for your application to sponsor a child living with us at an SOS Children's Village in El Salvador .
Within three to four weeks, we will send you a photograph and details of the child most needing support, plus full information on how sponsorship works.
A Direct Debit collection for £20.00, due in respect of your Direct Debit Instruction will be collected on or just after 01/12/2006. This amount will continue to be collected on or just after the given date of each month thereafter, and should the details change we will inform you in writing. You have the right to cancel your Direct Debit at any time.
We guarantee that all of your sponsorship payment will be used without deduction for the welfare of your sponsored child. Thank you for completing the gift aid declaration enabling us to reclaim tax under Gift Aid rules. This means we can claim £5.64 for every £20.00 you send and this we will use for the charity's general purpose.
We are very pleased to welcome you as a sponsor and have attached a document answering some of the more frequently asked questions about child sponsorship which we hope you find useful. May I add on behalf of SOS that we hope you will enjoy your association with SOS Children's Villages and in the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact us and we will do our best to help.
I read on that website that "it has been estimated that the whole world's poverty could be cured for the amount of money that Europeans spend on ice cream". Now if THAT doesn't make you think, I don't know what would!
That is such an awesome thing for you to do Jen and it is VERY rewarding. We have been sponsoring a little girl for almost a year now and it is a true joy to receive news from her. :)
Giving is truly an amazing gift we can give ourselves.
Posted by: maria | 11/14/2006 at 06:30 PM
it is amazing what a small amount of money does in other countries :) PIF is such a powerful tool.
Posted by: anam | 11/14/2006 at 10:41 PM
it is amazing what a small amount of money does in other countries :) PIF is such a powerful tool.
Posted by: anam | 11/14/2006 at 10:41 PM