As long as I can remember, my mother always had a foster child whom she supported through Plan (aka Foster Parents Plan). I went with her to Greece to visit with her foster son there and once we went to Haiti to visit a foster daughter. My mother was so committed to it that she gave George, from Greece, the opportunity to be educated in Ontario and he subsequently graduated from Western University.
After my mother died in 1998 I took over her account and sponsored, Shabuz, a little boy from Bangladesh. After he turned 18, I then got Jahirul, also from Bangladesh.
Quite frankly, I'm a lousy foster parent as I don't write and I rarely send extra presents and I feel a bit badly about that. However, something must be better than nothing for the poor wee souls.
A lovely woman from Plan called me the other night to "Thank" me for my support (bring on the guilt machine) and then she went on to explain to me Plan's new initiative for girls: to change the world by changing the world for girls. The big push of course is for education, "Educated girls become educated women who raise educated children."
Without a second thought I said, "Yes." The woman gasped with surprise - I wonder how many rejections she got that night? - and nearly wept.
My 'package' arrived this week, and I would like to introduce you to my darling little Jade:
I'm smitten, make no mistake about it. She's 18 months old and lives with her parents and 5 siblings (including her twin brother) in the Philippines.
I'm really pleased to help Jade and her family.
