Priscal

Happy Easter to all of my family and friends!

One of the great things about making a life list is seeing it in print and actually starting to do things to work towards items you wish to accomplish. It also gets you thinking about what is truly important to you. My life list has really helped remind me of my word for this year, PRIORITIZE.

When I go through my list, I look at things that will take some time and then I make small steps towards that. I also look for things that are easy to do and that I have been procrastinating on. Those are some of the things I have attacked first. Some of the things I wonder if I will ever be able to do because they seem so daunting. I keep coming back to "small steps". Then there are some things on the list that I feel should be a priority and what am I waiting for?

One of those things that I have thought a lot about and just never did was to sponsor a child in a foreign country. In elementary school, we had a sponsored child that the whole school took part in helping. Her name was Mercedita, I still remember her face from the photos she would send. This experience left an impression on me. I still wonder where she is and what has become of her. She would be the same age as me.

Now that I can, I want to share this same experience with my kids and send our help and love to a child who is desperately in need. To get to know that child personally and contribute to their education, health, emotional wellbeing.

I did a fair amount of research on the various organizations that provide the chance to sponsor a child in a poverty stricken country. I ended up at the Compassion Intl website. 80% of what we give goes directly to 1 child, the child that we select. Compassion is ranked among the top 1 percent of the thousands of non-profit charitable organizations. They have a stellar reputation.

This brought me to Priscal.When I saw her picture and read her story, I knew she was the one I wanted to sponsor. I looked through hundreds of profiles but I kept coming back to Priscal. She lives in Tanzania in a small town name Spillway. It has a small population of 3000 people and most are unemployed. If work is available, they make about $16 a month.

Priscal is 7 and she is an orphan. Her parents have both passed away and she is cared for by her aunt. To help her family, she washes clothes, carries water and runs errands.

Through the sponsorship, Priscal will get healthy meals every day, medical care (especially important since she lives in an AIDS affected area), and an education.

I look forward to introducing the kids to Priscal and having them participate in caring about her. I need to work my business extra hard so I can continue to sponsor her for years to come.

I promise to update you as we receive letters and our relationship with Priscal develops.