For the past two months, I've been worrying about how I was going to get my overdue World Vision Philippines child sponsorship funds to them. I didn't want to fill out the sponsorship form and mail in my credit card information because the risk of the mail getting lost was too great. I didn't have a scanner so I couldn't just e-mail the form with all the details.
Today, I realized that when I fill out the online sponsorship form and submit it, it takes me to an online credit card payment system similar to PayPal. Duh, self, duh! After my payment went through, you would've thought that I won the lottery: muntik na akong magtatalon sa tuwa. Geez, all that stressing for nothing.
And since I just told you how easy it is to sponsor a child, I'd like to invite you to do so. For only Php7,200/year, you can change the future of one child. That's only about $12.50/month!
I decided to be a child sponsor after the annual WV all-staff-retreat in 2006 (surprisingly, the WV-International staff were allowed to participate for the first time). At that event, the annual report was displayed. Now I've seen many annual reports, but this one struck a chord because the stats and figures displayed were about how many children had sponsors. It wasn't about who sold the most products or how much money the company made. No, it was about how many lives were being transformed that year. Along with that, there was a ceremony for the employees who have been with the organization for 5 all the way to 25+ years of service. Despite their salaries, they stayed with the organization year after year because they believed in the mission statement. I can't do what they're doing, but I definitely can support their work.
Since 2006, I've been sponsoring a girl in Aklan. Every year, I've been getting a picture and progress report plus a handwritten letter from her. I'm glad to be able to share my blessings and store my "treasures" in someone rather than something.
And in case you still don't believe in the power of sponsoring a child, Efren Penaflorida, one of CNN's Top 10 Heroes nominees, was a former WV sponsored child. Today, he's changing the lives of others himself.
I hope that everyone I know can sponsor a Filipino child. Regardless of our situation, I know that by far we are still richer than most of our kababayans in the Philippines. Sana we can invest our money in them rather than material things na napapagsawaan ng madalian.
Cue music with matching swaying: "...Heal the world...make it a better place..."
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