My husband and I first began sponsoring a child through ChildFund Australia in 1988 when we were just newlyweds. We started sponsoring Sarita when she was just eight years old. We’ve now been sponsoring her for almost 10 years and she is about to turn 17 years old in December.
I am a lecturer and tutor at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). I teach a few first-year subjects from the School of Communications and one first-year subject from the School of Business. I first came to USC in 1996 when I enrolled as a mature-age student when the university first opened. There weren’t many of us back then, though there were always a lot of kangaroos around campus! I finished my honours then took a short break before coming back to do my PhD. I began tutoring at USC in 2003 and have been teaching here ever since.
I was at work when I read about the Trip of a Lifetime competition and just decided to enter, not really thinking about the fact that I could actually win. I just really liked the question — what inspired you to sponsor a child? — because it made me think about my sponsored children and how much I’ve enjoyed being a ChildFund sponsor for the past 25 years.
Once I sent in my entry I didn’t really give the competition a second thought so I think I went into shock when ChildFund called to tell me I had won. I was feeling so many emotions all at once: utterly surprised that I had actually won, amazed that I had the opportunity to meet Sarita and completely terrified at the idea of going to India. I just kept thinking: India!
My husband and I have only recently started travelling. We’ve been to the usual “safe”, Western destinations, Europe and the US, so I was really worried about the idea of going to India as it was definitely out of our comfort zone. Everyone who travels to India seems to either love or hate it because it is a country of extreme contrasts and such an assault on your senses. So we just started madly watching as many documentaries and reading as many books as we could find on India to try to prepare ourselves.
From all that I’ve read and watched I’ve come to the conclusion that I do not want to judge India from my Westernised perspective of how things should be. I want to love the country and its people for what it is, not for what I think it could be. I know that I am going to encounter things that will make me feel uncomfortable, maybe even sick, but I don’t want to come to India with this attitude of how things could be improved. I just want to take it in and appreciate what I see.
After I calmed down from the shock of actually winning I started to feel a sense of guilt. I just knew that there were so many ChildFund sponsors who would have loved to have won the competition and be given this wonderful opportunity. So I just want to keep it in mind that I am representing ChildFund and I am representing all of ChildFund Australia’s sponsors. I want to make it the best experience I can for everyone: us, Sarita and her family, ChildFund Australia and their other sponsors.
My husband and I are really excited now, especially as our work winds down it feels like the countdown is really on for the trip! I just cannot wait to see Sarita for the first time in real life.
I recently went through all of the letters and photos Sarita has sent me over the years. I am going to take them with me on the trip to show her that I’ve I kept them all. It has been truly wonderful to watch her grow up into a healthy and educated young woman.
I grew up in central Uganda in a small village in Masaka District. Life was really hard. At only four years old I lost my dad. My mother struggled to have money for our education, medicine, access to clean water, electricity, clothes and even food. Many times we ate only once a day during daylight as we had no kerosene.
Our home was made of mud brick with just one room that we shared with our extended family, there were five people who lived in our home. We used a curtain that separated the space for my mother and the rest of us.
When I was seven years old I was sponsored by an Australian family, who remained my sponsors right up until I was 18 years old.
Being a sponsored child was fantastic for me. It enabled me to continue my schooling, which laid a good foundation for me to study a Diploma in Network Engineering and certifications in Support work.
I corresponded with my sponsors often throughout my sponsorship, I would write about how my mother and I were, what we were doing and how my education was going.
Some years later, I had the opportunity to come to Australia. I knew that whilst I was here I had to meet the kind family who had sponsored me for such a long time.
I was so excited to meet my sponsors but I was also scared about what was going to happen. I was coming from a very small village so to come to the big city of Sydney, on the other side of the world, was very daunting for me. When I landed in Sydney it was night-time, about 7 o`clock, so you could see all the lights of the city. This was something I had never seen before. I had many thoughts rushing through my head, what if they don`t pick me up, what do I do? What if I cannot recognise them?
I did not have to worry though, as soon as I exited the arrivals gate, they were there. They saw me straight away and ran right up to me! They were all so excited to meet me in person.
I am now an Australian citizen and I have my own family, I am trying to be the best dad I can be. For a living I work in IT and Support Work but my real passion is music and drumming. I teach drums and also give singing lessons. I mostly work with people with disabilities which I enjoy. We perform at community events, it is really helping them with their self-expression, social inclusion and self-esteem.
I grew up in difficult circumstances but music was something that was integral to my childhood in Uganda and made us happy. So that is why I wanted to share music with people here too because many people here are stressed as well. So I play drums and people feel happy. I think music really helps your emotional well-being.
My life has changed a lot since I lived in Uganda. As a child my friends and I used to sit on the side of the road and count the cars that would drive by €“ it was only ever four-wheel drives or cows! Now I live in a big, thriving city in Australia and I have everything I need €“ I have my family, food, my house, space, an income and I am happy.
My only reason for telling you my story is that life for me was hard and life for millions of kids in the world is still hard. All I want people to know is that there are children out there that really do need your support. Sponsoring a child does change lives.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ChildFund Australia`s child protection policy does not allow sponsors to bring children out to Australia. After a sponsorship ends, if a sponsor and their former sponsored child wish to stay in contact, this may be possible under special circumstances but only if you have sought consent through ChildFund Australia. Our Supporter Relations team can provide more information on 1800 023 600.
