I Need Your Help!

Image copyright World Vision; photo by Matthew Paul Turner

I returned from Sri Lanka four weeks ago. I still calculate how many rupees I’m spending on a cup of coffee (usually a day’s wages). I still occasionally wake up at 3am, remember jet lag, and wonder what my friends in Sri Lanka are having for lunch. I think about Diwyan, the little boy my wife and I sponsor there, and wonder how he is doing. I wonder if he managed to hide from his brothers all three packs of colored pencils I sent home with him, as his parents said he would probably do.

It’s interesting to me – having seen the work that World Vision does, my return home hasn’t left me dragged down by the chains of guilt. I saw the hope in the people’s eyes as they spoke eagerly of welcoming World Vision into their community. They realized that because of World Vision, their children would be better off.

Laura, one of my new friends from the trip, wrote over at Hollywood Housewife:

I didn’t come home from Sri Lanka brokenhearted.  I know I’m not supposed to say that.  I know that I should tell you how hard it was to meet the poorest of the Sri Lankan nation, how my soul melted into a puddle at the sight of their anguish and how I wanted to come home and sell all of my earthly possessions.

But that is not how I felt.

…Our first stop was at a parade, where the joy was palpable.  The next few days were spent meeting people in great need.  They needed resources, education.  They needed clean water, a hug, and more food.  They needed access to electricity and drivable roads.  What they did not need, it seemed, was an explanation of hope. 

All of this to say that I’m not writing to you in an attempt to make you feel guilty, but rather with the goal of helping you to see that by spending only $35 a month you can help fulfill this hope for someone. Give them access to clean water, education, employment, and give them the hand they need to create a sustainable community.

I have set a personal goal of trying to get the following ten children sponsored in the next two weeks. They all live in the same community as the little boy that my family sponsors. Check out their profiles and consider sponsoring one of them (once you choose a child and move forward with sponsorship, please email me at shawnsmucker@yahoo.com and let me know so that I can take your child off the list).

Click on any of the names below to find out more about the child or to become their sponsor:

I VIDANELAGE D, K Hiruth V (4 year old boy)
HITIHAMI A, Kawishka (4 year old boy)
M SAJAHAN M, Sajan (4 year old boy)
LASARASLAGE, Shaluka Nethmal F (4 year old boy)
MARASINGHE A, Thisarana R (4 year old boy)
MOHOMMADU SAJIT, Fathima Nihma (6 year old girl)
ANBURAMANI, Madushnavi (5 year old girl)     SPONSORED! THANKS!!!
INKARA PRAKASH, Nimeda Praba (7 year old girl)     SPONSORED! THANKS!!
NERHTHI K, Navindi Thrimasha A (3 year old girl)
FATHIMA, Imara (2 year old girl)

 

Thank you thank you thank you for considering this. And please help me to spread the word by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, or on your own blogs. Let’s work together to get these ten children sponsored. I’ll let you know as we make progress.

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