|  30
dollars a month supports the life of a child, but
what happens when that support stops? You can
help World Hope continue to care for these children!
Are you ready? It's back to school
time again, and the rush has begun! The stores are
full of parents and children picking the perfect pens,
pencils, and paper for the approaching months. The
new school year is here.
But what about the children who
don't have parents who can buy them supplies? What
about the children who can't afford to go to school?
Musu is one such child. Musu is a
gifted, beautiful seven-year-old girl in Sierra Leone
and the youngest of eight children. Her father is
unemployed and struggles to provide even one meal
a day for his family. Musu loves school, but in Sierra
Leone like in most countries, education is not free.
Families must find ways to pay for their children's
school fees, supplies, and uniforms. If they can't,
their children can't go to school.
Although most of her siblings aren't
able to attend, Musu loves school so much she has
pressured her father to do all that he can to help
her go. Unfortunately, because her father frequently
cannot afford the fees, she has repeatedly been forced
to leave the school. This has drastically affected
her performance and discouraged this promising student.
For years, World Hope has partnered
with individuals and churches to provide for children
like Musu through Hope for Children, World Hope's
child sponsorship program. Only $30 a month assists
with a child's education, food, clothing and medical
care costs. Literally thousands of children and
their families' lives have been changed by this program.
However, what would happen to Musu if she got a sponsor
and her dream of going to school came true-but then
her sponsor stopped giving? What if she was excitedly
preparing for the new school year, only to find out
she could no longer go? Her father would again be
unable to afford her school fees or notebooks or pens
or uniform. This determined girl with big dreams would
be crushed, as would her family's hope. Consequently
World Hope continues supporting these children until
new sponsors can be found.
It is crucial that we can continue
to cover this gap. Sometimes sponsors decide to stop
their sponsorship or are unable to continue. Sometimes
sponsors forget to send in their monthly support checks
and then forget to pay for the month they missed when
sending the next check. Though unknowingly done, the
financial shortfall is significant.
To respond to this increasing need,
World Hope has created the Gap Fund to help sustain
the monthly support on which a child depends. The
Gap Fund is used to support a child whose sponsor
has dropped out of the program until a new sponsorship
can be started. Thus a child's education, food and
medical care can continue uninterrupted, and a child
like Musu will not be heartbreakingly disappointed.
But we need you. Please consider
helping World Hope care for these children lost in
the gap by making a donation. A gift of $120 to
the Gap Fund will support one of these children for
four months. Your gift will ensure that Musu and
children like her will continue to go to school and
have access to the medical care they need until another
sponsor is found. Your gift to the Gap Fund will help
a child who needs you.
 As
we experience the excitement of a new school year,
please consider supporting the children who have lost
their sponsors so that they can experience the excitement
of fall as well. Your partnership is invaluable. Your
contribution means that children like Musu can be
given hope and confidence for their future. Your contribution
means that children can know that their support will
continue so that they can develop into educated and
healthy adults impacting their communities and providing
for their families.
Thank you in advance for your help in bringing hope
and healing to hurting children all over the world.
Jo Anne Lyon
Executive Director
P.S. Today Musu is flourishing. She
recently received a sponsor and thanks to the generosity
of that sponsor, she is able to regularly attend the
school she loves. Please consider giving so that precious
children can have hope for their future. |
