We sponsored a little boy from Dominican Republic through World Vision and he has changed my life. His name is Luiyi Orlando and he is 7 years old. His parents have been 'separated' from him for some time and we think that he is living with his Grandmother. We received our first letter from him a few weeks ago and it was hand written by his Aunt is Spanish and also hand written by a translator in English. She made no mention of his Grandmother or if he has any siblings so I hope to learn more if they write again. The letter included a drawing of 'mi casa' (Luiyi's house)that was colored with pencil crayons. It really made the whole process very real for me. Our kids speak of him daily and he and his community are in our prayers each and every night.
I have become so passionate about this charity and my heart aches when I see and hear of others experiences while doing missionary work in areas devastated by poverty. I am humbled by others acts of love and selflessness. I really value the relationship that our family will develop with Luiyi and my hope is to help our kids understand the consequences of poverty and the power of kindness. My husband and I thought that a $35 donation every month was such a huge commitment, but when I breeze over the MasterCard purchases on our bill statement I see that there are dozens of purchase made that are not a necessity( liquor store, department store, theatre, dollar store, even many grocery store purchases). The donation for 35 bucks just gets lost amongst the numbers. I'm sure that if I clipped coupons more frequently I could save that amount or more. We can do this... we have money sitting in a bank and kids like Luiyi are getting sick because they don't have water. Water!! Something as simple as a water pump, yet absolutely vital for life.
I seem to reflect a bunch these days on our lifestyle and our excessive consumption of just about everything. I feel honoured to have Luiyi in my life but helpless and frustrated that I am not doing more to help him and millions like him. I think I have just scratched the surface...
AWW, he is precious! A lot of people think that the Dominican is a fairly well off country, because that is all they see when they go to the 5 star resorts, but the poverty in that country is devastating and I have met SO many like Luiyi- it is heartbreaking. He is going to benefit SO much from your sponsorship!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you were brainstorming ideas of things to send him, in DR the BIGGEST need is kids spanish books. They are lots on amazon and at the website Barefoot Books- http://www.barefoot-books.com/site/pages/choice.php
The only time that I went to DR we stayed at a resort but took a horseback tour into the hills and stopped at this small 1 room house that didn't have a door. A family lived there and they offered us their plastic 'dining' chairs and climbed a tree to get some fruit for us. They were so hospitable yet they had nothing. I had to remind my husband of that family when he questioned the 'poverty status' of DR.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book ideas. Do you know if they know Dora the Explorer and Deigo? I think those characters come from Mexico but they have tons available in Spanish. How sticky is the postal service for sending larger parcels? I sent a larger Christmas package separate from our smaller one with pictures and letters... I can only pray it gets there.
Sorry- just saw this now! The kids love Dora and Diego... I think they love having a character that looks like them. Postal service in the DR is definitely sketchy, however with World Vision it always seems to get there. The problem with their postal service usually is with getting it to other places, which often don't have standard addresses. But I wouldn't worry about your packages not arriving safely.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a child in the Dominican Republic through World Vision, and my wife and I have been sponsors now for about 15 years. We believe so much in how Canadians can make such an amazing difference in the lives of others through organizations such as World Vision - to the point of where I now work with World Vision in our regional office in Winnipeg.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever have any questions about sponsorship / etc, feel free to contact our office at mb_inquiry@worldvision.ca. We also have volunteer opportunities in the region, and would love to assist you if ever required.
Thank you for having the heart - and taking the action - to make a difference. Your actions are making a difference.
Chris Schroeder, World Vision Central Canada
Thank you Chris for your message and words of encouragement. I think once you decide to open your eyes to the devastating situations in other parts of our globe, your heart can't help but follow. It took a month of me talking about it and sharing the stories of some of these kids lives for my husband to open up too. I am really working on sponsoring another child.... soon.
ReplyDeleteI became a World Vision special event volunteer a few months ago and have been to one concert so far. I hope that I can serve World Vision well.
On a separate note, have you had any problems with communication from Dominican Republic? We don't know if any of our letters or packages have made it to Luiyi. He is at the El Selbo ADP close to Santo Domingo. We received one initial letter from his aunt and a Christmas card... but there has never been any mention of receiving any of our things. I have heard that the regional workers in Santo Domingo are very slow to get out to the actual ADP. Just wondering if you have had any experience with this in the past.
Thanks again.