Dear Friends of Betikara,
You are such
dear friends, always looking for ways to serve. Several of you have
already inquired about sponsoring one of our new little lambs.
Here's how sponsorship works. You begin sending your support
checks to the church in the States which handles all Betikara donations,
and I will communicate with you directly (we prefer email). Let me introduce
myself. My name is Stacy Rosie. I'm the assistant director of Betikara.
These days we
need about $75.00 per month per child for sponsorship support. That
covers food and partial schooling needs. We may have to increase to $100.00
per month soon, but right now we are holding at $75.00.
Not all sponsors give full support. Some give $75.00 per month,
some give $50.00 per month, some give $25.00 per month. Some of our children
have only one sponsor, some have two, and some have three.
Sponsors
are as involved with the children as they want to be. Some only send
money and do nothing else. Others write regularly via email and I act as
postman and interpreter. The kids often times write back to their sponsors
and I reverse the process, scanning their pictures and letters, translating
them, and sending them on to their sponsors. Some sponsors send gifts through
the mail, some don't. Some send extra money from time to time and either
specify that money for something for their particular child or for a treat
for the whole group. Some have even come to visit their children.
We do not allow
the children to travel out of the country to visit sponsors. The government
is very touchy here about their children and would question our motives,
so in order to be very transparent with the government, we keep all the
children here and some sponsors choose to come here to see them.
It's pretty
much up to you or your group. We do ask that you send a photo of yourselves
to the child you sponsor. We make up a little photo album for each child
and they cherish these little connections to the people who make life easier
for them.
If you or your group decide to become a child sponsor, simply
write your check out to Betikara and mail it to:
Indiana Church of Christ
225 East Pike
Indiana, PA 15701
Mark the memo section of your check “Betikara sponsorship”.
You can send a year's support at one time, or you can choose to
pay quarterly or monthly. It's up to you.
When you have
decided if and how you want to sponsor, you can just send your first check
to the church in Pennsylvania (address on the front page and also down
below) and let me know via email what you have decided. I will then send
you an individual picture of the child you sponsor and I will send you
more info about that child and about our plans and dreams for that child.
After that, it's entirely up to you or your group how involved you want
to be.
We thank you
for caring and serving. We are impressed with your serving spirits that
have reached out all the way over here to help a Malagasy child. We look
forward to hearing from you soon.
A New Volunteer
Danielle Allen with Betikara’s Anjara.
She has fallen in love!
What about Christmas?
It’s just around the corner. Many of you have already asked,
“What can we do for the lambs for Christmas?” We have already received
several boxes and are building a stash of goodies so that the lambs will
have a wonderful Christmas again this year. If you are a Betikara
child sponsor, or if you just love the kids and have thought about sending
a goodie for Christmas, here are some ideas of things we need at Betikara:
-
Clothing (especially for ages 4-11)
-
Shoes (4-11 age range)
-
Personal supplies (shampoo, deodorant, combs, brushes, toothbrushes, hair
thingys, etc.)
-
Balls (basketball, soccer, rubber, ping pong balls and paddles) and games
or,
you can feed a child for a year by
becoming a Betikara sponsor and
share the gift of life this Christmas.
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