One memorable afternoon for Florence and her sponsored children
There is more to Child Sponsorship than letter writing and gift-giving. You can actually visit your sponsored child/children and bond with them in person. This is what Florence did and it was a memorable experience for her and her World Vision sponsored children.
Florence works as a marketing person in a big restaurant. She started sponsoring a child since 2009 and sponsored another one in 2017. It has been her desire to meet her sponsored children and interact with them. In November 2019, her wish finally came true.
Florence travelled all the way to Cebu City to meet her sponsored children who are both from a municipality in the northern part of the province. The sponsor described her feeling as overwhelming when she met Riza and Tristan in person.
In the whole afternoon, Florence treated the children in a game arcade inside a big mall. Both children played their heart out, especially Riza who shared that it was first time to get inside such establishment.
After playing, they took a break and had their snacks in a fast food chain. There, Florence asked more about her sponsored children’s lives.
“I got the chance to interview them and I was saddened about the kind of life they have. I never knew that only the fathers work for a living and the mothers stay at home to take care of the family,” said Florence. “But it makes me happy that these children find happiness in their own space despite the reality that surrounds them.”
The children were also gleaming with joy when their sponsor handed out gifts to them. Riza, who received her first doll, was smiling ear to ear. They both spent the rest of the afternoon bonding and playing more arcade games.
At the time when they needed to be apart, Florence was teary-eyed. “It’s a bittersweet feeling because I got the chance to see them and at the same time, wondering if I may be seeing them again,” she shared.
“I felt that Child Sponsorship is something that every person who has the capability of giving, even not monetary, should do. I’m sure many children will be happy especially that they will have access to quality education and health care,” said the sponsor. “It drives me to support World Vision’s campaign to call more people to sponsor children.”
