I have no idea what it is like to go without. Without food, without clothing, water, a house, a family. I have no idea what true hunger really feels like, what wearing the same clothes every day looks like. I am a lucky one, along with my immediate community and most of the people I interact with on a daily basis. However, I know someone who knows all too well what it is like to go without, who has lacked more in her eight years than I have even come close to in all fifteen of mine. Her name is Anyeli Medina. She lives in the Dominican Republic, and she is my “little sister” that our family sponsors through World Vision.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children and their families and communities worldwide to provide opportunity and confront the causes of poverty and injustice. My family was first introduced to World Vision through my grandparents, who sponsored a boy from Honduras through a similar organization. Our family decided that we needed an alternative to gift giving, something that would reward more than just the initial surprise of pulling off the wrapping paper.
My brother and I each were given a child to support through the World Vision website for our Christmas present four years ago. My brother identified a boy his age from Vietnam, Quang Thang. I found an adorable little girl from the Dominican Republic that I wanted to support, hoping to use my Spanish and communicate with her in her language.
Child sponsorship is a simple process. I communicate with Anyeli through letters every six to eight weeks, or however often I write. World Vision also sends me birthday or holiday greetings that I then sign and send to Anyeli and her family. The organization also provides a community update every year to show the impact our support has had on her world.
Most of the sponsored children’s families, Anyeli’s included, are either sick, struggling, or affected by the HIV/AIDS virus. Many things are provided for children through the support of sponsors. Two of the most important things provided are healthcare and education. Sponsorship gives children an opportunity to be tutored or attend their local school, and gives them and their family access to healthcare, or implements a healthcare facility in the community.
In the Dominican Republic, where Anyeli and her family live, World Vision is providing specific support especially relevant to the area. They are helping farmers improve agricultural techniques and gain access to irrigation systems. For the communities, they are building water systems that increase access to safe water, and recently the organization has responded to the Cholera outbreak in the Bateyes, in coordination with the ministry of health.
My family and I realized that our check once a month has the potential to be much more than just a monetary contribution. Our check, through World Vision, can provide Anyeli with more than just basic necessities of human life. I can give her the opportunities that she doesn’t have, which I was born with. Child sponsorship is a year-round commitment, but the communication with the child is so much more rewarding than opening presents on Christmas morning. Every time I read a letter from Anyeli or open a drawing she sent to me, I am reminded just how fortunate I am and how easy it is for me to make a difference in her life.
~Katie Hurst