A Connection to America Gives Children Hope
Written by: Jenn O’Neill
Did you ever wonder as a kid what it would be like to have a pen pal from another country? Perhaps you had one and you experienced the excitement of checking the mailbox every day and finally getting that letter from halfway across the world!
Children at our child centers have many of these same thoughts but for them, growing up in a second or third world country, America feels out of reach. They hear what it’s like to live in the United States with everything at your fingertips and the freedom to dream and become who you want to be when you grow up.
So, when our children find out they have a sponsor from the U.S. or they see their friend getting a video from their sponsor, it really is a dream come true and it is very special to them.
We still have lots of children at our centers who are waiting patiently for the day they will have a sponsor from the United States who wants to get to know them. It may be hard to truly grasp but when you grow up in a world where there’s times you go hungry or you can’t go to school or you don’t have shoes, that connection with someone from America gives you hope to push through difficult circumstances and strive for more.
“Families feel blessed that their children can attend the Child Hope Center. But in the waiting, when the child sees that others are sponsored and they aren’t supported, that child feels left out. It’s just something that they think, ‘Why me? Why are others sponsored and not me,” says Bishop Theophile Rugubira.
“That’s why I continue to pray and call upon the people who have a good heart to join these children,” Rugubira says.
When our Founder and CEO, Angel Galvis did research on child sponsorship organizations and traveled to other countries before starting Mission Life, the same topic came up over and over again. The children longed to have a relationship with their sponsors. Occasional photos and letters were nice but they didn’t really know them.
When Galvis travels to Colombia now, children always ask him when their sponsor is going to send them a video.
“Angel! Do you know who my sponsor is? Do you have a picture? Can I see it? I haven’t received any videos from my sponsor. I don’t even know if he or she has received my videos. I hope I get to meet them.’ These are just some of the questions I get”, says Angel.
That’s our vision, to revolutionize child sponsorship by connecting children and sponsors using video technology. Right now, video messages are sent but it is a time consuming, manual process. We pray for God’s provision to give us tools, resources and connection to the right people to develop an automated system so the process is seamless so even more videos can be exchanged.
When you sponsor a child, you’re not only inviting them to have a meaningful relationship with you, they’re benefitting from attending our child centers. It is our mission to give children the resources they need so they can discover God’s mission for their lives. They receive what they need to attend school. They are guaranteed at least one hot, nutritious meal a day, help with homework and they learn about Jesus. You’re also helping to pool resources so more children can benefit from the center’s programs and you’re creating jobs for teachers and staff.
It all starts with us. We need more people like YOU, more families, who want to be that someONE from America to give our children HOPE… Hope to strive for more, hope to dream, hope to live out their chosen purpose and hope knowing that Jesus is right there guiding them on their journey.
Connect with one of our children today: https://www.missionlifechange.org/child-sponsorship
Become a sustaining member to help us create an automated video message system. Do you know of a technology company who would like to partner with us to achieve this mission? We’d love to hear more at admin@missionlifechange.org. Thank you for your support!
