We have probably all had a moment, a small tug on our heart at the glimpse of a face not so different from our own, really: the face of a child longing to be seen.
Maybe like so many of us, you’ve hesitated, too, at the thought. You’ve considered what it might be like to sponsor a child through our program, but it’s tough to put your finger on what still has you waiting for the right moment. Maybe it just seems like there’s a gaping hole between your experience and theirs and how will you relate? Or perhaps you’re just trying to figure out if it’s a cost you can afford.
As our Sierra Leone school program (Hope Rising Academy) continues to grow into supporting the health, education, and wholistic care of so many children we’d like to encourage you with something we love seeing over and over. The most beautiful and simple motivating key to sponsorship is this: there is power in “you and me.” For you and for a child full of hope and potential, there is something incredible waiting on the other side of this new connection, a gift waiting to be unfolded layer by layer, unique to each relationship.
We believe in the transformation that can happen in your life and the life of a child who begins to hear words of encouragement and affirmation from across the ocean when there is another person in their corner. Can you imagine receiving the same sort of reminders throughout the year? Cards, gifts, letters, and pictures of a person or family who hardly knows you but chooses to remind you, “I believe in you” “You can do this” “We are hoping, praying for, thinking of you because you are valuable, worthy, strong.“
This kind of thing changes lives, changes futures, and it is a connection we at Let Them LOL are excited to continue forging, encouraging, and growing as we see young lives bounding into their futures with newfound excitement.
Hope is rising.
Here are a couple stories of children still hoping for another person to stand alongside them, another voice in their life to say “From now on you’ve got someone in your corner, it’s you and me.”
“I am Aminata N. I am now in class SSS1 (high school freshman). I was forced to drop out of school when I became pregnant, the father of the child is also a young boy who is from a poor family. Our families are working together to make sure my new child survives but it is not easy. I have committed myself to finish school so that my child and I can have a future and I will be able to support my family. Thank you to Let Them LOL for registering me for school, it is very rare that a girl in my situation would be given this opportunity.”
“My name is Junior J. I am 8 years old an in Class 3 at Hope Rising Academy. My father passed away when I was very young, and my mother was unable to raise me herself. I came to live with my grandmother and have not seen my mother in many years. My grandmother is old now and struggles to raise me but Let Them LOL came to our house and offered to enroll me in school. I love my school and having a lunch every day. I want to grow up and be successful, so I can take care of my grandmother.”
If any of this means something to you, we’d encourage you to go for it. The cost is $35 per month (around $1 per day) which provides a nutritious daily meal, access to healthcare, education fees, uniform, and supplies. You will have multiple annual opportunities to write to and receive letters from your sponsored child, in addition to a Christmas gift shipment each year. In our experience, what’s waiting for you (both), is well worth it!
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We’ve got an entire wall of stories representing hearts and hopes and futures excited to connect with an advocate like you across the ocean. Come by our LTLOL Volunteer Center in Buffalo or click here to sign up to begin your sponsor relationship today!
BuffaloHope Rising AcademySierra LeoneSponsorshipVolunteer Center
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