Written by Laura Tschirgi

Lucia Tulhaise celebrates her nineteenth birthday next month in her village in Uganda. I have never met this young woman face to face, but every year since I can remember, my family has had her most recent photo taped to the refrigerator door. Lucia is our sponsored child. Through an organization called World Vision, her family can afford a party and presents for Lucia because of a small donation on our part. But the money we send to Lucia and her family goes far beyond balloons and cake. Because of World Vision, Lucia has sustainable access to nutritious food, clean water, healthcare and education.

I became personally interested in World Vision this summer. The Student Life and Learning Staff at my college challenged me to look for a way to take a small sum of money, and multiply it in order to benefit a charity of my choice. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that currently assists over one hundred million people, in close to one hundred countries around the world. The hope of this organization is to collaborate with the community of every child who receives a sponsor until it becomes self-sustaining. World Vision provides farming and other job training, business coaching and small loans. It was for these reasons that I chose to send money to Lucia through this organization.

I wrote this article to encourage you to consider sponsoring a child. The website works very simply. Choose a child to sponsor by gender, location and age. Ten days later, a welcome kit with photo and information about the sponsored child arrives, as well as an introductory DVD. Six to twelve weeks later, the first handwritten letter from the child arrives. World Vision sends a progress report and updated photos of the child annually to every sponsor.

Check out the link below. For every Lucia who receives care, there are hundreds going without. It blows my mind when I realize that simply by sacrificing one dinner at a restaurant, or two tickets to a movie each month, I can help to change a life. Lucia’s handwritten letters over the years bespeak such compassion and appreciation for education, that Lucia has changed my life as well. www.worldvision.org
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Tammy Bowers is a Charter Member and Community Reporter with the Village Connector Community News. She is the Co-Owner of Rolling Ads of Maryland, a unique branding company as well as an Outdoor Mobile Billboard Advertising Vehicle. She is also the Owner of Inspiring Hearts LLC, a boutique specializing with handcrafted and uniquely designed items that are motivational and inspirational. You can reach Tammy at 410-615-4117 or 410-812-6024 or via email at Tammy@rollingadsmd.com.