sponsorship entry!!

[arisha]

Backstory: I sponsor several children through Children International. This will have to be a quick entry because I'm supposed to be asleep, but here are some awesome photos that I got yesterday!


Rocio is thirteen and lives in Honduras. In late November I received a letter from her in which she told me that her father had passed away after falling off of a building that he'd been painting. This is the worst news I've ever received from any of my sponsored children and I was kind of unsure what to do. But I replied to Rocio's letter, and, because her father's job had been the family's only source of income, I sent a Special Gift to help them out a little bit.


Everyone in the family got a new pair of jeans, and the kids each got a shirt. Rocio also got a pretty snazzy pair of sandals. In Rocio's letter, she wrote that they were all very happy to get new clothes and they were looking forward to wearing them on Christmas, although it would be a sad Christmas without their father.


They also received what the report simply calls a "food basket," although it's more food than I would've thought based on that description!


I really like this batch of pictures, it seems like the family's different personalities really come through in them. :) Seriously I love the expressions on Rocio's face!


These are the first photos I've received of Rocio where she isn't wearing her school uniform, and for those of you keeping track at home, the number of children I sponsor who have more style than me: ALL OF THEM. x)


Let's end on my favourite picture of the bunch. Adorable!!

I'm not sure what the family is doing for income now, or whether they have relatives who can help them out or what. Back when I first started sponsoring Rocio, I asked if the family was interested in starting an Income Generating Project, and the reply came back that they were interested in starting a store. Unfortunately the plan would have been to remodel one of the rooms in their house to make space for it, and as a result it was way more than I could afford to fund. Hopefully this Special Gift, although it was small, has helped them out a little bit at least.

Comments

[mydochas.livejournal.com]

Sarah, can I ask how much it is to start a store for them? Cause maybe we could have a fundraiser... gather the money here among your friends and family and people you and I know in Vic and try to help them out that way too. I think what you're doing is great if I haven't already told you!

[arisha.livejournal.com]

According to the reply I got in December '09, it would be $990 for the supplies for the store and $411 to remodel their patio to accomodate it. I'd been thinking about doing a fundraiser for them, but of course my motivation to do so shoots way up if I know other people are interested in the idea. :D Only thing is, CI recommends not basing fundraisers off of replies that are more than a few months old, in case the prices have fluctuated, and to get a new estimate would take about two months ... but I've started IGPs before with a little less than the full amount and they seem to have worked out fine?

Anyway, it looks like I might be whipping up a Firstgiving page (the same site I used for Keyly's fundraiser) this weekend. :) Thank you for commenting!! I'm really happy to hear you're interested in helping Rocio and her family. :)

[mydochas.livejournal.com]

Seriously! Put a request in, we'll fundraise the money in the meantime. Give it a bit of padding for the page--like an extra couple hundred in case prices have changed. And, yes, I am interested in helping too! I really think you're aces for doing this.

[arisha.livejournal.com]

All righty, I have e-mailed CI and I have quickly whipped up a fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sarah-obee/rocio

I shall post more properly about this when it is not four in the morning, har har har. ^^;

[frauleinfrog.livejournal.com]

That's really sad news to hear. I'm sure anything you do is helpful, though, especially when they must still be trying to sort themselves out.

I agree with mydochas above- I would definitely contribute to a fundraiser for them.

[arisha.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! I think I'll be setting one up over the next couple of days.

[arisha.livejournal.com]

Bazinga! http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sarah-obee/rocio

It's four in the morning and I whipped that up pretty quickly but hopefully it's pretty much good to go! I shall make a proper post about it a little later.