Child Sponsorship Program

Hi, Bloggers! I'm enroute home from attending the International Youth Day at the U.N.   Eleven of Children International's sponsored youth attended, along with about 700 youth from around the world.

As always, these sponsored youth blew me away with their poise and maturity…to say nothing of their pretty highly developed sense of humor that manages to transcend language barriers. These guys were having fun, and if they were experiencing any culture shock from their first airplane ride, first trip out of their country, New York City etc, they weren't showing it. (I think I experience some shock whenever I'm in New York!)

I was SO proud of these kids…they put on a workshop about leadership yesterday to a roomful of other attendees, and I think those peers were impressed by how much leadership training "our guys" have already practiced in their youth councils.

The theme of this gathering was, Committing Youth Leadership to the Millennium Development Goals, many of which are directly linked to overcoming poverty and enabling youth to develop in a healthier, fairer world. I'm telling just about anyone who will listen that I can't imagine a group more qualified than our sponsored youth to deliver against that theme. They've grown up in the grip of poverty, and they've been focused on leadership in their youth councils the past five-plus years. They are awesome, charismatic young people!

We had a reception for our sponsored youth last night. We heard from each youth…they spoke eloquently about what the sponsorship program has meant to them, and really it was very humbling and gratifying to hear them heap praise on the program and how instrumental it has been in effectively transforming each of them. I would also add that their own initiative and "want to," along with a healthy dose of perseverence, also had something to do with their success to date!

In addition to the youth, we hosted a number of sponsors and "Friends of CI" from the New York area.  It was really nice for me to be able to put some faces with names of people I've visited with on the phone over the past few years.  It was a fun, vibrant group, all connected by the common thread of making children's lives better!