Disappointing News….
I believe I have mentioned in past posts that I am a sponsor for a child in Thailand.
About six years ago, a girlfriend of mine was travelling through Australia when she came across some information at a church she was at, about sponsoring a child. She sent out an email to a bunch of people with information about sponsoring a child. At that time, it was something I’ve always been interested in doing but just didn’t know which organization to go through. There are so many stories that your money doesn’t actually go to a child. I wanted to make sure that my money goes to where it’s needed. She said that it seemed quite reputable, so I decided to go for it. After talking to her about it, we thought it would be an amazing experience to be able to go and visit the children we ended up sponsoring. So we decided that we would sponsor a child from Thailand and that we would plan to take a trip to meet them.
In September of 2005 we boarded a plane heading for Thailand. We were able to meet each of our sponsor children. It was an absolutely amazing trip. I wish that we would have kept a blog about our experiences…..Anyways, on to the whole point of this post. A couple days ago I received a letter from Compassion Canada stating that my sponsor child and his family have moved to another location in Thailand, and where he is living there is no Compassion Representative. I have to admit that I was quite bummed out about this information. Even though I only received about 3 letters/year, they were something that I always looked forward to receiving. He was finally old enough to write the letters himself. I even received pictures that he drew himself. I have thought about the idea of going back to Thailand to visit him just before he turned 18 and I wouldn’t sponsor him anymore. Now this has all been taken away. They told me that I could send one last letter to him. What exactly do you write in that letter? They also said that they are in the process of selecting another child for my consideration. I don’t know if I can sponsor a child right away. It’s kinda like losing a pet, you feel guilty getting another one right away. I’m sure by the time I receive the information of that child, I will be ready to sign on with another child. I would really like to be able to visit this other child, but who knows if that will be a possibility. Tara, you up for another trip to Thailand??? lol.
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child, you can visit their website at Compassion Canada.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 20:08 and is filed under Odds and ends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Responses to “Disappointing News….”
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August 16th, 2010 at 20:37
That’s really sad. I’m sorry for you. I’ve said that I want to do that too when my kids are older. Kind of like having a step brother in another coutry. Take the time you need. You’ll do it again when you’re ready.
August 16th, 2010 at 20:49
Do you have to go through an agency? Can’t you just do something directly with this child and his family?
August 16th, 2010 at 20:52
The problem is that in a lot of the remote areas of Thailand, there is no postal service. That is why they use Compassion to get the letters to and from the child.
August 16th, 2010 at 21:01
That is so sad Carly. :’( Treasure the memories that you have shared with him.
August 16th, 2010 at 22:58
Well I would love to go back to Thailand. Unfortunately I had to stop my sponsorship for financial reasons. I still feel guilty about that. I still have all his letters tucked away. Hopefully your little guys move was for good reasons. Maybe his dad was able to find work and they are off to a better life for themselves. Maybe your sponsorship has provided him with enough education that he will be able to communicate with others in his new area. Also like you mentioned earlier, there are tons of organizations established in Thailand so there is a good chance that he will be taken care of by another organization. Your sponsorship and visit showed a little boy whose mother abandoned him that he is special and loved. That is going to carry on with him for life even after your money has stopped helping him. Remember that. Do you remember his hesitation and shyness at first and then after 10mins he was in love with you. You made a difference in his life. Unfortunately you won’t get to see him reach his full potential, but he will be a different person because of you. Be proud of that.