Your kindness really is appreciated this Christmas
Christmas is a very special time of year to me, as I am sure it is to many. It’s not very often that we take time out to enjoy the company of those dearest to us and really appreciate them. It also gives me an opportunity to reflect upon just how much World Vision Ireland’s sponsors are appreciated by the children and the communities they support in Africa.
At Christmas time we give each other gifts but the gift that our child sponsors give to communities is a life changing one. Because of our child sponsors children are being taught in schools in Swaziland rather than under trees, many families in Tanzania now have access to clean water and no longer have to witness their children becoming sick from contaminated sources. Many farmers in Kenya, in the Horn of Africa, have managed to produce much needed food, thanks to the drought resistant seeds and irrigation training they received, funded by World Vision Ireland child sponsors.
The summer this year brought the devastating news that thousands were dying in the Horn of Africa because of the worst drought it had experienced in decades. Despite tough economic circumstances here, the response from World Vision Ireland supporters was overwhelming and over €105,000 was donated to our Horn of Africa appeal. Thanks to each person who made the effort to donate their hard earned money, because of your generosity thousands of lives have been saved.
I had the pleasure of witnessing just how far child sponsorship money goes when I visited Mutonguni in Kenya in November. What really struck me when I was there was just how grateful the people in the communities we support were to our sponsors back home in Ireland. Everywhere I went people came up to me and told me that they were praying for us in Ireland and they asked me to please let the special people who sponsor the children there know just how much they appreciate their kindness.
So this Christmas, as you spend time with your family and friends remember that there are so many people in Africa thinking of you. The money you have given has changed the lives of thousands of children. You have given the greatest Christmas gift imaginable.
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year.
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