This movie got me thinking about adopting/supporting a child who needed it. Of course I realize that this is something of a cop out in that I'm throwing my money at a problem to take the guilt away, but I think I am learning something from this. And I fully intend to do other good things so that I don't have to feel guilty.
Anyway, I went through a long process of trying to figure out which agency I would go through. I ended up deciding on Plan Canada (formely Foster Parents Plan), mostly because they were non-political and non-religious – in short, they were just there for the communities and their well being. They have no hidden agenda. Their website also claims that roughly 80% of the money they get goes to “programs benefitting children and families”, 11% goes to “public education and fundraising” and 9% goes to administration.
So I sent my application in over the internet. Plan allows you to choose which region of the world your child comes from, but I let that open because I thought that it wouldn't be fair to support a child based on their geography – something that they don't have a choice over. A few weeks later I got the information in the mail, including a picture of my boy. His name is Phichit and he lives in Thailand. We have exchanged a couple of letters back and forth and I have several pictures of him (and I sent him a picture of me). One day I hope to visit Thailand and to meet him in person. Perhaps I will get money one day to do this. I certainly hope so because it would be nice to actually make a personal connection instead of just sending the money. But if you're unable to go somewhere to help people, something like this would be a small step towards making the world a better place.
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