NicolesLetters.org

From Michele:

Dear sponsors,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for joining our blog and being involved in your sponsored children’s lives. The difference you are making in your child’s life is more significant than you may realize. The people of Uganda have no support systems in place to help those that are poor and destitute. There is no welfare system, no government assistance, no public healthcare system and no one to turn to.
We have 800 children at the school that would have nowhere to go if it were not for your loving kindness.

There is not much hope beyond what you, the sponsor gives them, they live for your letters and gifts. There families are dysfunctional at best, and at worst, abusive. I am constantly feeling a tug on the sleeve, “Michele do you know my sponsor? Have you brought me a letter? Do you know when my sponsor will come to see me? Have you heard from my sponsor?” They desperately need to know that there is someone out there that knows they are alive, who cares, and who can give them hope that the future will be better than the past.

Nicole and I are in Uganda to interview children and will come back to San Diego to try to get as many of these children sponsored as possible. We have just finished a week of interviews and let me tell you hearing their stories is heartbreaking. We hear story after story of kids being shuffled back and forth between relatives, neighbors, and frequently even strangers. We have children who have been stuffed into latrines, abandoned at restaurants, left with neighbors and beaten to death. The ones that survive, get through their days, and never complain, but you feel a heaviness about them and see the sadness in their eyes. You know there is pain deep down but they can’t share it. Often during the interview some will drop their heads, and begin to cry. Probing questions just bring back memories too painful to bear.

It hurts to be here. I am ever on the verge of tears. As a mother I feel their pain but know there is not much I can do to console their sorrow. We give them hugs, and tell them things will be better now but we cannot guarantee it. We cannot guarantee that we will find a sponsor, that the sponsor will be able to go the distance, or that we can keep them safe from abusive parents who may return and want to take them away from the school.

All we can do is pray. Pray that God compels people to sponsor them, that they form bonds, and that whatever we can do for them will be enough.

Nicole and I are trying our best to keep everyone involved and connected and as you can see from the photos, the kids are coming around. They have smiles on their faces and sometimes even a song to sing.

We ask you to pray with us, as we go through this year of economic instability. We have had quite a few sponsors drop this year, which is heartbreaking to the kids. Kids get turned away from schools here if they do not have the fees to pay, it is shameful and humiliating. We do not turn kids away when the sponsor cannot pay, we keep them in the program and try to get new sponsors, and we have many children at the school that are not yet sponsored. The school still struggles to make ends met, we need to get 300 more kids sponsored to keep the school going and create self-sufficiency. We pray that you ask a friend to sponsor a child, and keep us in mind for your end of the year donation or even a donation as a Christmas Gift to a friend or family member.

Please pray that our sponsors are not affected by the economy and that they will be able to continue their support. Pray also that the Lord compels friends and neighbors to listen to your story and want to join our program. We need to keep this program going so that these kids do not have to be turned back to a life of uncertainty and fear. We need your help and your prayers.

God Bless and thank you

Michele Travis