A Letter from Carol Roberts

In Malawi, the home of one of Carol Roberts' sponsored children, more than 83,000 individuals including 76,000 children benefited from sponsorship-funded programs in 2008.

Dear Save the Children supporters,
My experience as a Save the Children sponsor has truly changed my life, in that it has become part of my overall identity. In the end, I’m not sure who has grown more from the experience – my sponsored children or myself.

I first became a Save the Children sponsor in 1986. Receiving the picture of Matrida, then nine years old, was electrifying. She and I quickly became the best of pen pals and then visiting with her in person in Malawi three years later seemed like a small miracle. My three-day visit was unforgettable, and was crammed with so many activities — meeting Matrida’s family, teacher and friends and observing the local Save the Children programs in action.

And that was that, I was hooked. I have traveled to Malawi every other year since that first visit and each time I am further enriched because of it. My trips are among the most gratifying experiences of my life.

There have been five additional sponsored children in my life, each one special and unique. My repeated trips have been to meet my new children and to observe the work of Save the Children in the field. The children I’ve sponsored participate in a number of different community-based programs depending on their age — from primary education programs, which focus on things like building schools and training teachers, to school health and nutrition programs that help strengthen the health of children so they can learn.

I've listened to the discussions of village school committees and visited the schools they themselves, built with the help of Save the Children. In a leaky rowboat surrounded by hippos and crocodiles, I've crossed a river to see fields that were part of an income-producing project; I've visited HIV/AIDS patients and their families and witnessed the training and supplies that are provided to caregivers by Save the Children in order to try and cope with the devastating effects of the disease.

Sponsorship has enriched my life immeasurably, and the joy and sense of purpose have grown with each child I sponsor. I wish the same and more for all sponsors!

- Carol Roberts

Save the Children sponsors change the lives of more than 2.2 million people every year, leaving communities healthier and with better access to education.

Save the Children has learned that one of the most effective ways to help children is to combine sponsorship gifts with those of other sponsors and donors — rather than giving them directly to your sponsored child — to support programs that help make life better for many children in the communities.

Last Updated September 2009