D

K is another girl in the Child sponsorship program. Initially she did not qualify because her family was categorised into a relatively higher level of poverty.  Later, the organisers realised that the traditional categorisation was too rigid - the financial situation of a family can change rather rapidly but the system was not agile enough to catch up.  Subsequently the present financial situation of the family is used instead, to better determine who are the children most in need.  Only then did D qualify - and her life changed. 

K is one of 6 children in the family, with one more expected.  At first, when we visited her, we were a bit puzzled because D’s mother look very young.  It turned out her father remarried - the children come effectively from two different mothers.  In the past, Rwanda families tend to have large numbers of children, when 6-7 seemed to be quite common.  Now it is more likely to be 2-3, particularly among the educated.  

The sponsorship, starting in January 2025, have given D hope for the future, in which she wants to be a doctor.  One of the many benefits of the sponsorship is that she can now pay for medical insurance.  Now when she gets sick, she pays only 0.15 US dollar to see the  the doctor.  With medical insurance, she might have to pay 40 times more, an impossible amount for her family.  Poor health is one of the main reasons a child drops out from school, besides not being able to afford books, supplies, uniform, etc. Her family can also purchase a small pig, for about 30 USD each.  As the pig grows bigger, it is going to worth a lot more.  A sow may also produce many litters of piglets, with 5-6 per litter, while each piglet may fetch 20 USD.  As pigs eat almost anything, it can be a good source of additional income.  

D has been praying for blessings for her sponsor.  When I brought her sponsor to see her, both were overjoyed. 

Some in the developed world are opposed to providing financial aid to developing countries.  Some hold the opinion that financial aid can become a disincentive for those in poverty to work hard to improve their own lives.  And much corruption breed from the handling of the financial aid.  In the case of child sponsorship programs like this, I see little danger of that happening.  I can see for myself that the money do actually produce real benefit of the child and her family.  The amount of money is significant enough to give the child a brighter prospect in a critical stage of her live.  But far from enough to make her and her family be complacent - to go lazy. I know the organisation enough to be sure there is no corruption. The organisation that runs the program - distribute the money, monitor their progress, community with the donor, etc., put in a lot of their own resources to run the program.  And the child ambassador, who is the first line of contact with the child, is one of many volunteers, typically a member of a self help group, one of the major endeavours of AEE Rwanda.  

I am very grateful that I have been able to come and see for myself how the program works, and play a part in this great program.  It is truly a case of where a little heart and a little money can go a long way, when one knows how and where to place the heart and the money.