Kanika's Story

If you read my blog it should be obvious to you that I am very devoted to my sponsor children.

Since September of last year I've been working my way through my list of 18 children, trying to start an Income Generating Business Project for each family so that they can hopefully work towards a better lifestyle for themselves. If the family is unable to sustain a business, then I have tried to help them with any special needs like home repair, buying beds, cooking supplies - anything they might need to live more comfortably.

So far I have helped seven families (one family has had two projects- so eight projects total) plus I currently have three more projects in the works. So ten families have been helped in all! At this time, I have only heard back from three of the projects so I am looking forward to lots and lots of pictures and reports in the near future. I can't wait!!

I also have plans for projects for six more of my families. Right now I am waiting for various updates and clarifications etc. so although I can't tackle those projects right away, I will probably start in on them in the late summer. The last two of my sponsor children are my newest kids and I have not yet made a plan for them.

So - whew! I've been BUSY!

In addition to my own sponsor kids, I am also part of a group that raises money to help other sponsors fund projects for their children. To date this group has funded eight projects and the ninth one is very close to completion! The group operates on a "pay it forward" type philosophy that has been very successful so far. All of these projects have been funded in the space of just a few months! In fact, we've been funding projects so fast that we haven't even gotten the report or pictures back from our very first project yet! So cool. I'm happy to be part of something so positive. I'm really looking forward to seeing those results as well.

So - all of this brings me to the subject of today's post. Our group has stepped up to help a young girl named Kanika.


Kanika

Her story really touched me, and her situation is so urgent that I've decided to post about it here. Kanika lives in India. Her region was recently affected with severe floods which totally wiped out Kanika's home.


Kanika's family in front of their mud home, now totally destroyed.

All of their possessions were lost as well. The family literally escaped with only the clothes on their backs. The good news is that the family does own the land on which their house stood - a rare circumstance amongst sponsored children. So if we can raise the money, we can build Kanika a new home! The other good news is that the US dollar goes VERY far in India. We can probably build Kanika a new, more permanent structure for very little money. The family had also proposed a plan for an Income Generating Business before the flood. Children International will now work with the family to determine the best course of action - proceed with the IGP or put the funds towards rebuilding.


Kanika with gifts provided by her sponsor, unfortunately now all destroyed by the flood.

You can read more about Kanika's story here. Any donations are tax deductible.

Someone said to me the other day that, "You have to do what you can, but you can't really change anything."

My reply was, "I may not be able to change everything wrong in the world but I know for a fact that I can change one child's world."

I hope to help change the world for Kanika!