If you ever had a doubt about how appreciative CI kids are about the Easter gifts (and, for that matter, all the gifts) you help send them, let's dispel that doubt right now.
We recently asked some of our most articulate teens to tell us how they feel about the Easter gifts you provide. Their letters will warm your heart.
Yomaira: We know that we can count on someone...
Dear Friend,
I'm addressing you on behalf of all sponsored children to express my feelings.
Due to the poverty we live in every day, we almost always stop purchasing some things to afford others we need more. For example, we don't buy a pair of new shoes so we can buy sheets or towels, or we don't buy clothing so we can buy something for the kitchen. Most of the time, families recycle or inherit older siblings' or cousins' clothing.
We can't buy something new – almost never.
Thanks to you, though, I have essential benefits like shoes and apparel for Easter, plus medical and dental attention, and youth groups, which – even more than informing us about social problems – help us improve ourselves.
You give us benefits that help our parents stop worrying a little about our needs. And the money they save is important because it helps to pay other fees or meet other needs, for instance, to pay for relatives' medical expenses, for food or for other basic services.
Children and teens are grateful to receive such positive and appropriate support. We are proud to have your help and know that we can count on someone we can't physically see but who always is looking after us.
That's AMAZING!
Best regards,
Yomaira, age 18
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Lenin: Receiving an Easter present is so special and important ...
Dear Sponsor,
Where I live in Guatemala, a lot of children and young people have few resources. Every day, they face great challenges to survive – vital challenges such as no health care, bad nutrition, lack of education and few job opportunities. Plus, they face challenges about things that don't seem so important to many people but are fundamental to a full life – things like decent clothes, shoes and other necessities.
For many, it is routine to hand down older siblings´ clothes to younger siblings. Sometimes the clothes are not in good condition. The same happens with shoes. It is common to see children with worn and tight-fitting shoes. And though many children and youth don´t say anything, it causes them embarrassment and sadness.
That´s the reason why receiving an Easter present is so special and important. The gift not only supports children´s self-esteem but also provides economic support because parents' abilities to buy such things themselves is low or null; they live just getting by with basic daily needs.
It´s important to us to know that sponsors like you worry about us. Your friendship and kindness are more than help; you provide hope to us for a better life.
Thank you for your generous heart.
Sincerely,
Lenin, age 17
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Isai: It's not very common to receive new clothes ...
Poverty is the daily life of sponsored children. There are youth who, on a daily basis, don’t have the means to get a quality education or even eat. Because of this, there are many cases of youth on drugs, because they don’t have the opportunity to have a good quality of life.
At Children International, though, children and youth, like me, are learning to be better people, to move forward and to have a better life, thanks to your support.
Being a part of CI and receiving the benefits is a great source of happiness for us.
For some of us, it’s not very common to receive new clothes, because sometimes, in our homes, there isn’t enough money to buy them because the family resources are used for other necessities, such as food, medicines, rent, etc.
I have seen children who wear used clothing passed down from their siblings. It makes me sad that they don’t have access to a good change of clothing like we do because of our Easter gifts. On the other hand, those of us who receive benefits from CI are filled with incredible happiness.
The benefits that CI offers us helps us and makes us feel that someone really cares for us. That is very important. When we receive help from the sponsors, we feel like we are important and that someone is paying attention to us.
Thank you for caring about us!
Isai, age 15
Barranquilla, Colombia
Mónica: I remember the day my mother brought home the new shoes from CI ...
To Our Sponsors:
All over the world, there are thousands of sponsors whom I want to thank for their interest and support toward thousands of children and youth from low-income families. I often ask myself what motivates them to be interested in our lives.
My name is Mónica, and I have been sponsored for 13 years. I understand that being able to count on a person who is part of Children International and whose trust is in the foundation has given me the support I need throughout my childhood and adolescence.
I live in a neighborhood where insecurity is easily noticeable and poverty is everywhere; every day, I see very young children carrying their younger siblings on their backs and, at the same time, working and doing their best to earn some money, or simply living as beggars, which is easier. Having no money is common for them, and that's when Children International intervenes.
When they receive a pair of shoes, a jacket or some new clothes for Easter, those children feel important. I will always remember the day my mother brought home the new shoes from CI that I would wear for the new school year because it made me feel very happy.
Nor can I forget the blankets for Easter that would unburden my family. Because of those gifts, they would save the little money they had to pay other expenses, like electricity or water.
Let's not talk only about the material things but also about the fulfillment I feel in contributing to my community with other children and youth by taking part in the programs that CI offers. I can show off the knowledge I have acquired and have the chance to pass it on to new youth who want to learn also. I get to help them develop and be independent and better every day.
I like to help others and, whenever I can, I volunteer to distribute benefits from CI. It is nice to give a child that Easter gift that maybe the parents could not afford to buy. It is a nice gesture that gives sponsored families much happiness and a good time.
Because of all of this, I'm here to thank all of the sponsors who are part of the big Children International family; it's important for you to know that the organization grows due to your cooperation and effort in allowing more children to improve their lives every day.
Gracias for all you do!
Mónica, age 17
Quito, Ecuador
