By Pam Hughes
My husband and I are warm-weather, tropics-loving folks. Our idea of paradise is the white beaches and beautiful waters of the Caribbean. So you might wonder why, if we're so in love with the Caribbean, we haven't ever been there. It's because many of the people we know who have been to the Caribbean told us it was great once you got to the resort…but you had to drive through several miles of poverty to get there. That, somehow, just didn't seem right to us. To embrace the Caribbean, we had to embrace the whole of it.
For that reason, I've always had this idea that perhaps helping a child or family in the Caribbean might be what we were meant to do. So, I have had child sponsorship in the back of my mind for a long time... but if you Google it, people have some not so good things to say, like: "The children are forced to write letters" or "The money doesn't really go to help the kids," etc. People are suspicious, and so was I. But I just couldn't kick the idea – it was always in the back of my mind.
“I thought I would send my money and get one photo and two letters a year and that would be it, but I feel that I am a part of a wonderful international family now.”
A while back, our church rector sent out an invitation to attend a seminar on child sponsorship. He's been involved with sponsorship and gave a great testimony about its merit. He actually worked with a sponsorship agency (not CI, but another well-known agency). That was the agency he encouraged us to sponsor through. Was this a sign? Perhaps. But I had to investigate for myself.
So I narrowed it down to two agencies – whoo hoo!!! I was almost there! CI topped the scale a bit because they seemed to have a more pragmatic, secular approach to sponsorship, and I liked that. I decided to look at the children of the Caribbean at both agencies. And then... there was Melanie! I stopped dead in my tracks the first time I saw her beautiful face. I had looked at dozens of adorable kids, but there was Melanie. What was she like? I was a girlie girl at her age, an only child. I loved dolls and art. I clicked her bio…she's an only child and loves dolls and art! Was this a sign? Perhaps!
So what were people saying about CI? Review after review, the people who talked bad about CI (which weren't many) were those who had no actual experience – or limited experience – with them. The reviews from people who were actual sponsors were glowing, as were the two blog comments I saw from ex-employees. No matter how many rocks I turned over, no worms slithered out! I spent two weeks looking at review after review. Reading blog after blog, trying to find anything I could that might make me not want to sponsor through Children International, I found nothing. That's when I decided: if Melanie was still there on Saturday, I would sponsor her.
"I stopped dead in my tracks the first time I saw her beautiful face. I had looked at dozens of adorable kids, but there was Melanie."
When Saturday rolled around, and Melanie was still there, I took so long to press the "Sponsor This Child" button, because I knew it was for life – for as long as that child wanted or needed me – so I didn't want to enter into it lightly.
Since then I have been blown away! I thought I would send my money and get one photo and two letters a year and that would be it, but I feel that I am a part of a wonderful international family now. The CI family and staff have been so welcoming and kind! This was one of the best decisions ever!!! In fact, I just can't get over it – how much work must go into an organization like this. What a labor of love. I am honored to be a part of it.
Melanie has stolen my heart, and so has CI! I've even started a little blog to follow our experience as sponsors (http://melaniessmile.doodlekit.com/home). It's mostly for my family and friends to follow along, but I'd also like to use it to encourage other sponsors. I have a few folks who are interested but have a few things making them hesitate. I created the blog to answer why I made the decision to go with CI....and to serve as a living scrapbook of my experiences with Melanie.
Note from the editor: This is an abridged version Pam's original blog post. To read the entire entry, check out her full version on www.liftone.org.
