My Itch: Meet the Kids - I

It's been a little while since I last wrote about My Itch, so I thought I was overdue for another installment.

This one will be a little bit more personal. There will still be statistics, but there will be a face for you to associate with those hideous numbers.

We have two kids now.
Nemiya is 8 and lives in Gajapati, India.
Naomi is 11 and lives in Blantyre, Malawi.

We received Nemiya's annual report a couple of weeks ago, with his updated photograph, and he is looking really well. He has moved up a class in school, his favourite subject is Oriya and his dream in life is to become a doctor.

Meet Nemiya...



Now I'd like you to meet his community.

Life expectancy: 64 years
Under 5 mortality: 85 / 1000
Adult literacy: 61%
Gross National Income per capita: NZ$ 955 (US$ 620)

He's a cute kid - there's no doubt about that. And what's great is that he is getting an education, his community is getting clean water, the kids are being immunised and the farming conditions are being improved through irrigation.

All in all, not bad for a whopping NZ$ 40 a month.

Okay, so not everyone is in a financial place that can support a child through programmes like World Vision. But considering the wide range and life state of child sponsors I know of and have met, it might actually be easier than you think. Most people who work in the western world would not miss NZ$ 40 a month. That's one takeaway curry, a latte and a slice of cake, a bottle of wine and one magazine a month that could be redirected to a small boy or girl living in poverty.

Hmmm. Here's the win-win of this. No curry, latte, cake and wine is not only great for kids like Nemiya - I'm also doing my waistline a favour! And what are libraries for, if not to browse through a magazine that I'll read once at best and then throw into the recycling?

Yep, I'm glad that I got over my excuses. I like being a couple of kilos lighter, and knowing that an 8 year old boy might just have half a chance to become that doctor because of me.

If you've ever thought about it - take the next step, visit your local World Vision website and see what is involved and where your community is helping globally.
If you are a Kiwi, check out World Vision New Zealand, you can arrange sponsorship online.

"Be the change that you want to see in the world."
~~ Mohandas Gandhi