Mariel Bo - Not just a photo anymore

You know those ads on television which feature forlorn children in faraway countries, dressed in rags and looking at you with pleading eyes? "For less than a dollar a day your contribution can make all the difference in this child's life." For years I would see those ads and think, how sad, I should be sponsor, and yet I never did anything about it. Then in San Francisco, about six years ago, I was stopped on the street by someone working for Children International. A perky girl who had been doing handstands on the sidewalk to get people's attention zoomed in on me when I laughed at her routine. Photos of starving children in hand, she gave me a very convincing pitch and I walked away committed to sponsoring a child in the Philippines for $22 a month.

At the tail end of my trip to the Philippines I finally got a chance to meet this now twelve year-old girl who I have been helping to support since she was six. I never really thought much about the money that I automatically contributed every month (with extras for birthdays and holidays). Occasionally I would fill out the pre-fab holiday wish cards or write her a letter. Every few months I got a lovely handwritten letter from Mariel, thanking me for my help and updating me on how she was doing in school. But it is quite a different thing to donate abstractly than to see the direct results of one's contribution.

A staff member of Children International picked me up at the Legaspi airport with Mariel and her mother in the car. Mariel was quite shy and didn't actually say much of anything the whole day we spent together, despite prompting by staff and her mother. But her mother said that's just how she is, and she grinned at me shyly when I talked to her and asked her questions. She was wearing an outfit that apparently the money I had given her for her birthday had purchased. I was quite surprised when her mother said she had prayed that her sponsor would come and visit a few months ago. Her hope was based on the fact that a few years ago I casually mentioned in a letter that someday I might visit the Philippines. Mariel was so excited to meet me that the night before that she didn't sleep at all.

The day was extremely fulfilling. We went to the mall and I spent $50 to buy Mariel some new clothes and sneakers and a radio for her family. I have never known a child's eyes to go so wide - she couldn't believe that she was getting all this stuff and couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you miss!" Her mother said thank you to me many times for supporting her daughter all these years. To put things into perspective, the income of Mariel's family is less than $100 a month and she has five brothers and sisters. I also saw the facilities where thousands of sponsored children in the region go to get medical checkups and receive other services funded by sponsors. Damn - I thought - how legit is this! It was unbelievable to see the realtime product of sponsorship.

At the end of the day I had a chance to see where Mariel and her family live. I was shocked. The whole family live in a very small cement building with dirt floors consisting of two bedrooms and a kitchen area. In fact, this building belongs to Mariel's grandmother and the family just recently located there keep her company in her old age. The home they normally live in didn't have four walls and was one room with a thatched roof. All of Mariel's brothers and sisters were super excited to see what she had brought home. Thanks again for everything - said her mother, and I told her it was a pleasure to finally get to meet them. I promised to be in touch more often. When I left, all the people in the village crowded around the van, smiling and waving, curious to see what this random white lady was doing there.

Suffice to say, I am more than pleased with where my money has been going for the last six years and will continue to sponsor Mariel until she is nineteen. I feel lucky to have met her and happy that I can contribute to such a good cause. There are so many children (and adults) with so little in the world and it's so easy to forget that in the consumer-driven society of the United States. I love that traveling constantly reminds me to be grateful for what I have.

I have even more cause to be grateful after receiving the news that my Grandmother's cousin's daughter would like me to be Godmother to one of her twins (who she is pregnant with now). We met briefly during the family reunion I discussed in my last entry. They have decided that they went to keep the family connection alive. Being a ninong in the Philippines is a huge honor and I am expected to have a lifetime connection with the child. I now have another opportunity to be supportive, but this time for family. I am thrilled, and I don't think I've seen the last of the Philippines.