meeting our sponsored child

The highlight of my trip so far was meeting India’s sponsored child Ayantu. I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I found myself with butterflies in my stomach as we pulled up to her house, and I can only imagine how she might have felt to have a stranger from another country coming to visit. Ayantu was very shy when we first met, but her personality came out when we started to chat.  I told her about India, and some of the things that India likes doing.  I asked her what she enjoyed, and she told me she likes to draw and play jump-rope. She mentioned something else, but the translator could not figure out the English word.  They went back and forth for a bit, and finally she decided to pantomime the game, drawing lines into the dirt floor and then tossing a rock and jumping.  After a second, I got it.  Hopscotch!  They thought this word was quite funny. I gave Ayantu a few gifts – a dress, some colored pencils and a coloring book with stickers. I told her that India would love for them to exchange drawings with each other, and she smiled the cutest smile.  Ayantu lost her mother when she was four years old.  She now lives with her father and his new wife, and three siblings.  They struggle to make ends meet, and Food for the Hungry fills the gaps for them.  I’ve always been blessed by the experience of sponsoring kids, but meeting her in person and getting to see the way her life is impacted was an amazing experience. If you are interested in learning more about child sponsorship. click here. {photos by David Molnar}