I think everyone's sponsorship arrangements are unique to them. With some schemes, you effectively sponsor a village and don't develop any personal relationship with the one you are technically sponsoring. That is the right approach for some, or you can just give to Water Aid or something like that. But for me, learning about how she lives, the difficulties she has faced with the family, being there for her at critical times has meant a lot to both of us and built a better understanding of each other. The problem with sponsorship is that at some point, usually at the end of secondary education, the sponsorship ends and the student can be left high and dry to fend for themselves. Some do okay, but others fall back without the feeling that someone still cares for them.
When I first went out there, it was part of an educational programme for a group of us to understand how our sponsored children live. We experienced the slums which were an incredible eye opener and it really brings home to you what true poverty means in a way that no news programme ever could. Often we were brought to tears by the things that we saw. At the end of the week we met the children we had been writing to for years, and it was very emotional.
When the children are coming to the end of their sponsorship, they are asked if they would like to continue contact or not, it is entirely their decision, and my girl said she would. DH and I had always wanted to go on safari, so as we would be in Kenya anyway, it seemed sensible to see her again then at the end of her sponsorship, which the sponsorship organisation arranged for us. It was at that point that I was able to take her the phone. Naturally the sponsorship organisation checked it over first to make sure there wasn't anything dodgy on it! All safeguarding carefully done, but then we could exchange messages from then on. She no longer has any contact with the organisation, they have moved on to supporting others. There was one occasion when the family went down with malaria, and thanks to my contact out there, I was able to pay the few pounds for their medical treatment and get them some mosquito nets. My dream is to encourage her to earn enough to get into college, and really make a go of her life.
It reminds me of the story of the starfishes, remember that one? The man walking along the beach sees many thousands of stranded starfishes shrivelling up on the sun. Then he sees a little boy throwing a few of them back into the sea, one by one. He says to the boy 'what are you doing, there are many thousands here, you can't possibly make a difference'. The boy slowly bends down, picks up another starfish and hurls it as far as he can into the sea. 'It made a difference to that one' he said.
