Sponsorship Aging Stories - Sponsor Aging, Child, Teen, Mother's Group, Special Needs

Though it is only September, sponsored members around the world are writing Christmas cards and CFCA projects are planning Christmas celebrations. The celebrations provide an opportunity for sponsored members to come together and reflect on the blessings of sponsorship.

Sponsored member Maria, 69, from the Bhagalpur project in India, especially appreciates the blessings of Christmas. Since becoming sponsored in 2004, her life has changed dramatically.

“The impression we gather after visiting her home is that she is alive today because of CFCA,” said Father Mathew. “She is able to have sufficient food due to sponsorship. She encourages her grandchildren to go to school. Maria is illiterate and now she knows the value of education. She has no idea of the modern world, but her faith has become very strong. She experiences God’s love through her sponsor.”

Ruth Nordstrom, Maria’s sponsor from Charlton, Mass., feels close to Maria even though the two have never met.

Maria enjoys sharing her blessings with her three children and two grandchildren at Christmas. She decorates her house, gives part of the Christmas money she receives from CFCA to her son and daughters to buy Christmas gifts, and prepares a special dinner for her family. They all attend midnight Mass together.

Two years ago, Maria’s situation was very different. Widowed for 20 years, Maria lived alone in a mud hut. Her only source of income was from the sale of rice she harvested from a small plot of land she owned. That income source was jeopardized when, in an emergency, she mortgaged the land to a money lender.

“Here, it is common for tribal people to mortgage their land whenever they need money,” said Father Mathew. “Once the land is in the hands of money lenders, it is very hard to get it back because of the high interest rates the lenders charge.”

With the help of CFCA and the sponsorship program, Maria was able to recover her land. She received a new home with a tile roof.

Today, Maria’s health is fragile. Sponsorship supplements her income from the rice harvest so she can buy nutritious food and pay for medical needs. The CFCA Christmas disbursement made it possible for her to purchase the two saris (traditional Indian dresses) she owns.

Maria recently started a savings account through the local parish savings program. This account will help Maria build savings so she won’t have to resort to money lenders again in an emergency.

Editor’s note: CFCA allows projects to distribute small monetary gifts from the CFCA Christmas Fund as part of their Christmas benefit if they choose to do so but the expenditures must be approved.

Donate to CFCA’s Christmas Fund online, call Sponsor Services at (800) 875-6564 or (913) 384-6500, or fill in the Christmas Fund line on your remittance form and return to CFCA with your check.

If old age is a blessing, as it is considered in many cultures, then living past 100 should be the jackpot of good fortune. Though it is difficult to measure the number of centenarians because of primitive record-keeping in many parts of the world, the population age 80 and older is projected to make up a considerable proportion of the global total. In conditions of extreme poverty, it is remarkable that someone would reach the age of 100. Nevertheless, CFCA is proud to count centenarians among its sponsored aging. Two of them share their memories and wisdom.

Sofia, 101, was a young girl when the Mexican revolutionary, Pancho Villa, roamed the countryside with his gang of marauders shooting wildly from horseback and harassing villagers.

“A bad man arrived at our house and forced my father at gunpoint to open the granary so he could steal corn from us,” she said. “I put myself between my father and the man and hit the man’s hand, setting off his pistol. ‘Aha,’ said the man. ‘You killed yourself.’ But the bullet went into my knee. After visiting the doctor, we decided to leave the bullet because to remove it would have left me lame.”

Sofia attributes her long life to an unusual diet of prickly pear, purslane (a short, weedy grass), carp, garbanzos and chicken feet. She abstains from pork and beef.

“The doctor tells me I have the bones of a man,” Sofia said. “He also calls me Grandma. I very much enjoy this.”

Sofia appreciates the fellowship and benefits provided through the Cuernavaca project. She receives monthly food baskets and enjoys doing needlework with other sponsored aging. After Mass, she eats breakfast at the parish, receives a medical checkup and gets her nails and hair clipped.

A severe case of rheumatism left Joseph Ruuri Ikiugu crippled in both legs and forced him to quit school. He knew he would have to do something to earn a living.

Joseph learned to repair shoes from one of the town residents of Timau, Kenya.
But with one child from a previous marriage and two with his new wife, Joseph was not able to meet his overwhelming needs alone.

Some friends told him about the CFCA sponsorship program. Determined to get help, Joseph wheeled himself several kilometers down from his home on the mountain to the Timau project office where he asked to be sponsored.

Joseph, now 57, bears witness that his life has greatly changed through CFCA sponsorship.

Through the Timau, Kenya, project, Joseph has received help with medication and food. The project has also helped him service his two wheelchairs.

“Joseph is one of the good examples and a challenge to others because even though disabled, he has utilized the project resources so well to uplift his living standards,” said Charles Kamathi Musa, a social worker at CFCA-Timau. “His active participation in the project and the community at large is worthy of mentioning.”

By saving a little each month, Joseph has managed to repair his roof and buy a cow and some sheep. He also runs a small kiosk from his home where he sells household supplies such as tea leaves, soap and salt.

Perhaps Joseph’s biggest accomplishment is the Walemavu Self-Help Group, which he helped found. “Walemavu” means disabled in Swahili. The group’s 16 members each have some type of disability. They meet weekly to discuss issues and set goals. Members each contribute a small amount to a fund. The group saves half the money and the other half is given to a different member each week. The recipient uses the money in his or her ventures.

The members have bought a group phone and are saving to buy a small plot of land where they hope to build houses that will provide them with rental income.

Elizabeth Teah, 66, of Monrovia, Liberia, remembers vividly what life was like before she became sponsored by CFCA in 1998.

“Oh, it used to be very difficult,” she said. “Those days were so difficult that I had to go into the swamps to gather swamp snails to sell before getting food to eat. Now I don’t go to the swamps anymore.”

Now she enjoys a daily meal of rice with simple sauce, thanks to the rice ration she receives from CFCA. Elizabeth also appreciates the cooking oil, kerosene, soap and toothpaste she receives, and she proudly points to a set of cooking pots and coal pot given to her by CFCA as a Christmas gift in 2005.

Her children—four boys and a girl—all are grown now and Elizabeth lives on her own in a slum area of Monrovia called West Point. Her room measures 10 feet by 10 feet. She manages to pay the $5 a month rent by selling bits of charcoal.

Elizabeth keeps all of the letters and photographs she has received from her sponsor. When visitors come, she retrieves the correspondence from storage in an old suitcase and shows them off.

Elizabeth said her “heart is glad” because she receives help from people she doesn’t know.

“I sometimes wonder why they do it,” she said. “But I’ve come to look at them as my own family members like brothers and sisters. I believe it was God who passed through those people to help me. This has made me draw closer to God.”

To show her appreciation to God, Elizabeth has made a commitment to clean her church—Star of the Sea Catholic Church—every Monday. She also volunteers her time to help distribute CFCA nutritional benefits to others and to look in on elderly people who are too frail to walk to the parish.

Daniel, 79, of Timau, Kenya, realized he was one of the lucky elderly in his village who knew how to read and write.

Ninety-five percent of the sponsored elderly were illiterate and had to "sign" papers with a thumb print and rely on someone else to read official documents or newspapers.

"This challenged me to approach Sister Joanne (the project coordinator) to start an adult class," he said. "I was very happy because my request was granted."

Daniel is now president of the aging class. He assists the teacher by making sure adult students attend class, he keeps the classroom orderly, and he teaches math and English when the teacher isn't available.

Daniel uses his leadership skills to assist students who may need extra help and organizes support for class members who are sick or bereaved.

He even helped launch a tree nursery. The nursery sells seedlings to the neighborhood so that more trees will be available for firewood in the future.

Daniel's mother died when he was an infant. His father didn't take care of him so he ran away from home.

Daniel drove a tractor on a farm and then worked as a night watchman until his health deteriorated. He has lived as a squatter his entire life. His first wife died. He now lives alone following the separation from his second wife. His three daughters and one son visit him occasionally. Daniel dreams of obtaining his own house someday.

"It is CFCA that I can depend on for help when I need it," said Daniel. "For example, five years ago, I needed surgery and CFCA paid for it."

Daniel and his sponsor write letters to each other and have formed a close relationship.

"I enjoy writing to my sponsor and share with her everything that pertains to my life," he said. "She, too, enjoys hearing from me and it is my prayer that one day we shall be able to meet face to face."

“Lolo” (Grandfather) Alberto shared memories of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II with his daughter, Ceritas, the sixth of 11 children.

“My family suffered a tremendous sacrifice, hiding in the hills because they were afraid of the soldiers carrying jungle knives and bayonets,” he said.

Longevity runs in Alberto’s family. His mother is said to have lived 118 years. Alberto doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol. He eats a balanced diet and exercises regularly. Ceritas credits her father’s longevity in part to his life as a farmer and fisherman, as well as to the family’s prayers.

Leigh Hudson, a retired nurse from Oxford, Conn., and Alberto’s sponsor, has another explanation.

“I think having survived World War II, he is intrinsically a very strong man,” she said. Leigh enjoys sending notes to Alberto throughout the year, to which Alberto responds “always with lovely handwritten remarks.”

Alberto says of his longevity, “Only God knows the reason for this long life.”

Alberto and his family are grateful to CFCA for the medical care, spiritual formation and nutrition benefits he has received through the Legazpi project in the Philippines. Alberto enjoys accompanying other sponsored aging members on outings arranged by the project.

“CFCA improved my father’s life not only through material benefits, but psychological, emotional, social and spiritual as well,” said Ceritas. “For that we are grateful to the Lord, to his sponsor and to the CFCA family.”

Please note: CFCA does not post photos or other personal information about children or aging persons waiting to be sponsored in order to protect their privacy and the privacy of their families. This is in accordance with our child protection policies and also in keeping with our commitment to respecting the dignity of those we serve. At the same time, we know sponsors may wish to sponsor a child or aging person of a particular age, gender or country, and we do everything possible to honor those requests. Sponsors are invited to indicate special requests in the "other criteria" box when you sponsor online. Once your sponsorship has been established, you will receive a photo and family profile of your sponsored friend, the address of the CFCA project where you may write to your friend and other helpful information about your CFCA sponsorship.

Sponsorship stories - aging stories