“Whatever happened to the child I used to sponsor?”

Child sponsors are often curious to find out what happens to children once they've left the sponsorship programme. So recently we managed track down the child that Irish man Gerry McKenna used to sponsor to see how sponsorship changed his life and future.
 

Former sponsored child Kisia Adili grew up in one of the poorest parts of Tanzania where daily life was a struggle to find enough food and water. Today Adili works in the Accounts Department of a local Government Office and is married with one child.

We offered both Gerry and Adili the opportunity to ask each other six questions. Here's what they said;

Gerry: What was it like growing up in Kwamtoro in Tanzania?

Adili: I was lucky enough to be able to go to school. I enjoyed that a lot. I have one brother and one sister and growing up we used to spend a lot of time hunting.

Gerry: What is your life and job like now?

Adili: I am married and I have one child, a baby boy named Baraka who is one year old. I live in a rented house which has two rooms.

I studied for an Advanced Diploma in Accounting at the College of Business Education in Dodoma and this helped my get a job in the Salaries Department for a local Government office. I have made many new friends at my workplace. I enjoy my job and life because my job gives me independence.

Gerry: Did child sponsorship make a difference to you and your family growing up?

Adili: Yes, we were visited frequently by World Vision staff and community members. They gave us insecticide treated mosquito nets and showed us how to use them so we wouldn’t get malaria.

We also got tools to help us with farming and received training from some experts so we could grow more and better crops. The biggest benefit was the mosquito nets.

Gerry: Would you recommend child sponsorship for other communities?

Adili: Yes, it is good. I would recommend it to other communities but I would also like to see more sponsors come and visit their sponsored children so they can see for themselves how all the children are getting along.

Gerry: How do you spend your free time?

Adili: I like listening to music, watching football matches and going on outings with my family and sharing ideas with my friends and relatives

Gerry: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you most like to go and why?

Adili: If I could go anywhere, I would like to go to Ireland because I have a great desire to know and learn about Irish culture. I would also visit my sponsor and make a tour of the country. I hear it’s beautiful and very green.

Adili poses six questions to his former Irish sponsor Gerry McKenna

Adili: Have you ever been to Africa? If so, where did you visit and how did you find it?

Gerry: Unfortunately I have not yet made a trip to Africa. I would love to go sometime in the future. Tanzania sounds amazing and it would be nice to go there.

Adili: Do you like any sports? Are there any African sports people that you admire?

Gerry: Yes – I like watching many sports such as golf, athletics, soccer and rugby.  I am a big soccer fan and Tottenham Hotspur is my favourite team.

The South African rugby team is very good and will be very difficult to beat in the Rugby World Cup later this year. Also looks like there are many good soccer teams coming through from African countries now so the future looks very good for African sport.

Adili: Do you have any children?

Gerry: I have no children at this time…maybe one day. 

Adili: Why did you become a child sponsor?

Gerry: I felt that the World Vision program would be very beneficial for all children and their families, when I first heard about it many years ago.

I was lucky to have been born in a country where there are good opportunities in education and choice of career but I realized that not everybody can be that lucky. I wanted to play some part in helping to provide education and career opportunities like this for children who were trying to do it in more difficult circumstances.

When I saw reports back from World Vision about the improvements they had made in places like Kwamtoro, and received letters from you and other children it made it very worthwhile and gave a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.  

Adili: I remember one day you advised me to study Mathematics, what was your aim and why?

Gerry: I always believed that mathematics is one of the most important subjects anybody can study. It can help you in many different career choices, no matter which one you choose, so I knew if you studied mathematics and did well it would help your career prospects in the future.  Maybe I was just a bit right about this?

I want to congratulate you on gaining your Diploma in Accounting and getting a good job, well done and good luck in the future.

Adili: How do you feel communicating with me?

Gerry: I was very happy to hear from World Vision in Ireland about the great progress you had made in your education and career. I often wondered how you were getting on, as you grew up, what you were doing and hoped you had made a good life for yourself.

You are a role model to many others and provide great inspiration to what can be achieved when you sponsor a child through World Vision.

Gerry currently sponsors a child in Sierra Leone.