July 22, 2011
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adoption
When I was young, I always thought I wanted to adopt a child. (Now, I'm not so sure I want any children, but...)
I also have an ongoing joke at the flowershop about adopting Cambodian or Haitian kids.
Now that I am married to a Japanese person, I'm pretty sure adoption is out of the question.Today I got this intriguing offer to earn 1000 frequent flyer miles by signing up to sponsor a child through ChildFund International. I checked them out on Charity Review and they seem legit.
Pros
1) 1000 airline miles (I like to think in the immediate)
2) letters and pictures from a kid of my choice
3) ChildFund can arrange a meet-up if I want to travel
4) helpingCons
$28/monthI should focus on my debt, but you have to look at these kids! So cute. This is like International adoption-lite
Decisions
I want a girl aged 9-12, but I can't decide what countryTop 5 picks (there are many more)
1) Cambodia (seems like they could really use it and the agency has not been there long)
2) Philippines (I went to the Philippines and stayed with a friend's family for a week. I was deeply moved by the beauty, generosity and kindness of everyone I met. Also, they seem to be a US ally, not that that should make a difference, but.... anyway, I feel a kind of love for the country. I always make Kiva loans to the women in the Philippines)
3) Sri Lanka (just seems exotic and cool)
4) Dominica (I have a friend who is Dominican, and his family is great!)
5) A tie with USA, Indonesia, Thailand, India and BrazilOK, I am probably the most shallow and self-interested person, but at least I am up front about it. Given that I could potentially meet with my little kid someday... I want to choose a country that I want to go to. I know, my drive to sponsor is partially based around airline miles and tourism. So should I choose a place that is nice or close? I'm at a loss.
What would you do? Who would you pick?
Comments (8)
I've thought about doing it myself for a looooooong time. But selfishly, I haven't. My buddy sponsors a child in Vietnam and she loves getting the letters. Says it's worth every penny. She says it's such a personal way to help and she likes that she is directly affecting one person's life in a positive way that she can actually see.
Cambodia is one of the best kept tourist secrets around. They have some magnificent temples and gardens. On the other hand I have never met a Philippian I didn't immediately like. They really seem to be a genuinely warm people.
@RushmoreJ - @coolnahalf - Wow, I'm so glad you replied. I've been thinking about this a lot over the last few days and I was so bummed out yesterday when NO one responded.
I'm fairly sure I will do this now, I just have to decide on a place. I mean, it is really cheap to get to the Philippines from Japan and I DO have connections there now. hhmmm
brazil of course
I just got back from Ecuador and met my sponsor child. It was amazing, and totally worth every penny of sponsorship. =)
@Saferia - Wow! I didn't know you sponsored a child and that was one of the things you were going to do on your trip! That is sooooo cool. I'm glad to hear from you too-- I was about to send out the dogs
So I am a dufus-- I waited too long and now the offer isn't on my airmiles thing. I know, it is ridiculous, I could just sponsor anyway, BUT I think I've seen ChildFund on there before, so they will be back. Foolishly, I waited too long to see if Kyohei wanted to select a kid with me. damn! Do you mind me asking what agency you sponsor through?
AND are you going to post more updates about the trip? I'm going to check now
@Saferia - Oh yeah, and why did you choose Ecuador for your sponsor child?
@justgotspaid - I was looking to sponsor an older child, and one that had been waiting a long time for a sponsor. The organization I used had photos of the children and I just connected with the picture. It's been 4 years and meeting her in person was an amazing experience. She was a very shy teen, but we walked arm in arm for the practically the whole day. =)
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