When we first started sponsoring Jenerian, our eldest daughter, Jasmin, was only four years old. Josh was one year old and India, our youngest child, hadn’t even been born. Over the last 11 years, we had exchanged letters and photographs with Jenerian but the thought of actually meeting her one day in Africa was beyond our wildest dreams.

Jenerian and her family (parents and five siblings) live in northern Kenya and are part of the Samburu Masai tribe. Travelling to visit Jenerian was quite an adventure as it took nearly two days to travel from Nairobi through remote Kenya and over many bumpy dirt roads, which our driver jokingly told us was to give us all a massage!

When we finally arrived in Jenerian’s village, we were immediately struck by the vibrancy, colour and beauty of the people and the surroundings. Many of the women and children wore beaded ruffs and lots of men and the women adorned beaded jewellery – they looked majestic. There was a strong sense of community as young boys and men wandered over the land, stick in hand, guiding their herds of goats.

Excitement was growing amongst our family as we realised that we were soon going to meet Jenerian and her family. Jenerian’s father, John, was proudly waiting for us with Sarah (aged 12 years), one of his daughters who was shyly hiding behind him. John could not hide his joy – he had a smile from ear to ear. He greeted each of our family personally by name and then pointed up the hills saying, “There is your sponsored child – Jenerian”.

Jenerian smiled at us shyly with beaming eyes. She looked so different from the photographs we had seen. Thanks to the child sponsorship program she is now at boarding school in the outskirts of Nairobi and she is a picture of good health. We all embraced and had to continually pinch ourselves to ask if this was really happening.

It was then time to give our Australian gifts. We had brought gifts from Australia and food supplies, for which the family were so very grateful. But we never expected to get gifts in return. We were so touched when Jenerian presented us each with handmade beaded bracelets with our names embroidered on them. And as the father and head of our family, John gave Mike his personal leather flask.

We also shared stories of our respective lives. John told us how he owned 23 goats, and the children swapped stories of their lives at their Australian and Kenyan schools. John had obviously done his research about Australia and was keen to learn as much as he could about our country in the short time we had together. The children played and chatted, and Jenerian’s sister, Lucy, enthralled with India’s blonde hair, started to brush and plait it. Long lasting friendships were formed on that day.

It was such a blessing to spend time with this wonderful family. The eyes of our children’s hearts were definitely opened that day. This visit will hopefully sew a seed in their minds, which will bear fruit for a lifetime of understanding and sympathy of global inequalities.

Jenerian and her family have become part of our family now – our Kenyan family. Since returning to Australia, there has been a flurry of letters between Jenerian and our family. Indeed, since our visit to Kenya we have decided to build stronger bonds with the family and have also started to sponsor two more daughters – Lucy and Sarah.

Having sponsored Bedlu for over 14 years, Jeremy and his brother Michael travelled from Australia to meet him in person. This is Jeremy’s story.

Myself and my brother Michael recently went to Ethiopia to visit my sponsored child Bedlu. We arrived at Debri Berhan at around 10am, where we were met by Terefe. Debri Berhan is 130kms north of Addis Ababa and is where Bedlu boards and attends school during the week (going home on weekends).

Our first stop was Debri Berhan Adventist School. The grounds of the school were quite bare, but all the students had a wave and a welcoming smile for us. At first I could not see Bedlu amongst the other students and only recognised him when he walked over to us with his Principal. He was initially quite shy and let his principal do most of the talking. New classrooms are currently being constructed with the assistance ChildFund, so I could see the impact my sponsorship was making to the community straight away.

We were invited to meet some of the students, and after some prompting from their teacher, the questions began to flow. Most wanted to know about life in Australia, the country itself and about the animals, especially kangaroos. After leaving the school, we headed to the North Shoa coordination office. Here we were met by Endale the project coordinator. Endale took us through the project’s history and outlined the many plans for the future. This was a surprisingly rewarding part of the day, to see my contributions being put to such good use and to see with my own eyes the passion and dedication the staff have for their work.

We then drove on to Bedlu’s village in Keyit, some 15kms from his school. I was overcome with how welcoming his family were, given their humble life. Bedlu’s grandmother welcomed us with hugs and blessings, as did the other family members. We immediately felt like part of the family. Spending around an hour with the family was very special, each learning a bit more about each other and enjoying a few laughs.

Unfortunately, our day had to come to an end around 3pm, and after driving back to Debri Berhan we said farewell to Bedlu. After 14 years of sponsoring Bedlu this was a hard moment to shake hands and say goodbye after just a few hours. I felt, however, that both of us know each other so much better because of this day and look forward to our next letters. To know that my sponsorship has assisted that cute little two-year-old with a Mohawk haircut and a tear on his cheek to grow into a polite and handsome young man facing a brighter and prosperous future was incredibly rewarding.

The following day we went to the National office in Addis Ababa to meet the staff. Genet and Alem showed us around and I saw what happens to the correspondence letters and other procedures within the office. We had the opportunity to meet the national director and other staff whom were all very welcoming. I commend them all on their great work. Going to Ethiopia and meeting Bedlu and his family has been one of the highlights of my life and something I would highly recommend to other sponsors.