Sponsoring Laarni
22nd April 2007
"Sponsorship" and "crevice" used to be dirty words to me. Now
only "crevice" is.
On my first trip here,
I made a conscious effort to not get involved in sponsorship.
I figured I was already paying a lot to be here, so why pay anymore?
But as a great bard once said, the times they are a-changing.
I get fired up on many issues. Women's rights is one of them.
One great way to begin to bring a country out of poverty, is to educate
the females. Too often they are undervalued and their only real
option is to get married and become a house wife. As we all (should)
know, women can accomplish so much more than a house wife*.
They can lead countries, fight for their rights and change the world.
An education unlocks this potential.
This is why I decided to sponsor a child from
Pulao
Elementary School, and a female in particular. I asked
Mam
Thercy - a teacher at Pulao - what her thoughts were and she suggested
Laarni
to me. Laarni has just
graduated
from Pulao Elementary School. She is off to High School next year.
She finished third in her class and is a bright, intelligent and mature
young lady.
There were some other bright, intelligent and mature students that I
could of chosen, so why did I choose Laarni?
Arleen - Laarni's mother - has breast cancer. She has been
receiving chemotherapy to try and treat it. She says she has been
praying that God will give her another ten years to live so that she can
ensure her children get an education. I don't think she has another
ten years in her. Mam Thercy tells me that whenever the word
"mother" is mentioned, the tears pool up in Laarni's eyes. She is
not coping with the potential loss of her mother very well.
Laarni is the oldest of three children. When her mother does
eventually pass away, she will be expected to care for her younger sisters
and drop out of her education. This will be tragedy for all sorts of
reasons.
This is, of course, where I come in.
I discussed my ideas to send Laarni to a private school with both of
her parents. They were keen to say they least. We then
discussed it with Laarni. She was a little hesitant at first because
she would miss her friends. Her mother told me that she had always
dreamed of going to a private school. Laarni was quick to come
around and agreed.
I felt good that she was now going to a private school, but not so good
that she would miss her friends.
Pam
Pam and Christine Joy - another couple of graduating students and
close friends to Laarni - were in a similar position to Laarni. They
wanted to go to a private school, but still wanted to be with their
friends. When they heard that Laarni had gotten sponsorship, they
quickly signed up as well! Their parents can afford to pay they
fees.
So now Laarni gets to go to a private school, and gets to be with her
friends! Yay!
I plan this to be a long term sponsorship of Laarni. Not just
high school, but probably university as well. She is a good kid and
deserves good things.
Some of the other students have practically begged me to sponsor them,
but I just can't afford it. Tuition, uniform, books and school trips
add up to about 11,000 pesos a year ($NZ 314). I know many worthy
candidates at the school. If you are interested in sponsoring one of
them, drop me a
line and we'll sort something out.
* Not that there's anything wrong with being a house wife
per se. It is a very noble calling that many educated women
choose.
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2005, 2006 and 2007 Malcolm Trevena.
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