Christmas is a great time of year to reflect upon the ideals of giving and receiving, but typically, the focus is on the receiving. This year, and for many previous years, one Sherwood Park church has been realizing their goal of giving back not just to their community, but to the world at-large.
The Sherwood Park United Church, through the help of the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), has sponsored a young boy named Abdul from the area of Tamale, Ghana, since 1998. “This story is so great because of the depth of involvement of the church community,” said Ian Robertson, communications manager for CCFC. “They’ve not only sponsored a child, but they’ve sent additional gifts to help the community.”
According to Carol Green, the co-ordinator of the sponsored child program at the Sherwood Park United Church, they have been sending their minimum annual monetary commitment of $396 each year since Abdul was three years old, but they also have been able to supply additional funds through fundraisers organized twice a year, one on Abdul’s birthday in October and one on Family Day in February. “They used a symbolic collection plate as it were,” Robertson said. “What they did is use pencil cases to represent the support of the educational fund for this child.” They not only have supplied money for Abdul’s education savings account, being that the now 12 year old boy would like to become a doctor or a teacher, but they have also raised money for extra food, clothing, a bicycle, books, toothpaste and brushes, sheep, crop seeds for the farm, income support for the mother’s rice-selling business and national health insurance for the entire family.
According to Robertson and Green, Abdul’s family, consisting of his father, mother, brother, two cousins, one set of grandparents and three other relatives, all live together in one small mud hut. Green, with written letters in hand from Abdul and his father, related the thankfulness of the African family over the generosity of complete strangers so far away. “There is just absolutely no barriers to the love of a poor child in this situation,” Robertson said. Green said they hope to one day meet Abdul and his family, but no one from the church had been able to attempt the long journey up to this point. Just transporting letters and cards from Canada to Tamale takes about 12 weeks, Green said. In fact, they usually only receive one or up to two sets of letters in a given year. But despite the geographical challenge, Green said that Abdul had really become a part of their church family, especially for the Sunday School students who treat him as if he were their brother. “They give all of their offerings to his support and they all have a picture of him,” Green said, noting that the children also send Abdul cards and letters throughout the year. “With the response that we’re getting, we could maybe start sponsoring another child in six months or a year,” Green said, explaining that their support of Abdul will finish in four years’ time when he turns 16. “We certainly have been impressed with their ongoing commitment and their depth of commitment,” Robertson said.
CCFC is an international development organization which focuses on meeting the needs of children and their communities in developing countries around the world through provision of fundamental necessities, such as safe water, proper sanitation, health and nutrition programs, education and income opportunities. CCFC works both in the sponsorship of children and providing provisions and funds through its gift catalogue.