Love in a Letter

Unbound describes how letters changed the lives of 3 individuals and their families.

Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

The Linguistic Society of America estimates that words have been around for at least as long as modern humans. Whether spoken aloud, whispered, signed or written, words can be a window to our souls.

There’s power in words. Throughout Unbound’s more than 40 years of walking alongside the poor and marginalized of the world, nowhere is this fact more obvious than in the lives of children and families when they receive a letter from their sponsor.

Individuals in poverty often feel invisible to the rest of society, as part of the faceless mass called “the poor.” Children growing up in poverty, according to Unbound’s director of international programs, Dan Pearson, can especially feel invisible.

“The impact [of receiving a letter] is different for each person, but for many children, it is hard to overestimate the potential impact of feeling seen for the first time in your life,” Pearson said.

Because sometimes the path to rising above poverty begins with the words “I believe in you” from a stranger on the other side of the world.

Here are several sponsored friends and families who were motivated to keep moving forward by the love they felt in a letter from their sponsor.

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A FAMILY’S CONFIDANTE

In Anabela’s Unbound parent support group, she helps families in the Guatemala program write letters to their sponsors, as she values the relationship her family has with her 15-year-old daughter’s sponsor.

“I call her sponsor comadre (godmother),” said Anabela, who appreciates that the sponsor expresses in her letters how much she cares about how they think and feel. "[She] wants to know that we are happy."

When Anabela’s daughter Gregoria writes back to her sponsor, Anabela tells her daughter that a letter “should go with a lot of desire for joy” so that her sponsor feels her motivation.

The love that Anabela's family feels for Gregoria’s sponsor is “very big,” and their sponsor has become their confidante from half a world away. They enjoy getting to know a little about her life through her letters to them, and hope that she comes to understand their lives in their letters back to her.

“From the first correspondence that we received [8 years ago], she told me, ‘Right now, you are my comadre. And from that date on, I have told her that she is my comadre.” (Anabela, mother of sponsored child in Guatemala)

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AN EDUCATION, A LIVELIHOOD AND NEW HOPE

Charles, father of sponsored child Ismael, remembers Christmas holidays in Kisumu, Kenya, when all he could do was watch other families give their children gifts while he had nothing to give to his eight children and one foster child.

But that all changed almost 10 years ago when Ismael, now 16, became sponsored. Through workshops at Unbound, Charles learned about investing and saving his money. He took a part of Ismael’s sponsorship funds and invested it into starting three different businesses. Today, Charles can meet the needs of his entire family, and Ismael has access to the kind of education his parents could only dream of — due, in great part, to his sponsor.

“I’m really thankful to Mr. John (Ismael’s sponsor) for his support and, mainly, for really encouraging [Ismael],” Charles said. “[He told him] not to get worried about his background, just work hard, and the hard times will pass.”

“They’ve [the sponsors] really helped me by their [support], encouragement and, most of all, praying for us. Sometimes they say they’re praying for our success, and that means the world to us.” (Charles, father of sponsored child Ismael in Kenya)

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OSMIN’S POTENTIAL

For the last 10 years, 22-year-old Osmín’s special relationship with his sponsors gave him the extra motivation he needed to stay diligent in his studies to earn a degree in systems engineering. Osmín had the chance to meet his sponsors face-to-face when they visited Costa Rica in 2012 as part of an Unbound Awareness Trip.

Osmín tells his sponsors everything about his life—about romantic relationships and soccer matches, about his family’s struggles and his educational goals. And his sponsors, in turn, shared their life with him, so much so that when one sponsor passed away, Osmín also felt the loss.

“My sponsor is part of my family,” he said. “Even though I am not his real family, I can see his love is always there for me; I can always feel it.”

“I told my sponsored friend that I am about to finish my university career, and he told me that he will stay with me as long as he can. I can see that he likes to be with us, sharing his time with us, and that he wants to stay. I can see how we both feel loved.” (Osmín, sponsored youth in Costa Rica)

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Having communication with their sponsor is a common point of pride for many individuals and their families within Unbound. #CatholicMom

The mother of a sponsored young adult in the Dominican Republic proudly shows handwritten letters, postcards and photos her daughter received from her sponsors over almost 15 years of sponsorship. Having communication with their sponsor is a common point of pride for many individuals and their families within Unbound.