A Sponsor's Perspective
By Carolyn Creswell
Founder and CEO, Carman's Fine Foods and Telstra's Australian Business Woman of the Year.
I was so moved when I first heard Sopa's story.
Sopa is 13 years old and lives in extreme conditions - geographically, climatically and physically - in a remote village tucked away at high altitude in the Indian Himalayas.
For 6 months out of the year, day in day out, he deals with one of the world's harshest climates. In addition, Sopa is poor. He lives with his father in what are considered by his community to be highly destitute conditions.
Sopa's father has no means of an income. Drying cow dung on a rock face was all he could do to try to earn the equivalent of a few cents to buy his only son a pencil and a notebook which he had been without for many months.
I knew I had to sponsor Sopa. This little boy had lost his mother when he was 3. His clothes were torn and he had very little food, relying on leftovers from his community.
He was sleeping on exposed dirt in a lightless room with a broken window which did nothing to block out the freezing cold, wind and snow. Fuel for heating was a scarce resource Sopa’s father could rarely afford.
The difference for me now is knowing that my sponsorship will completely transform not only Sopa's life, but that too of his father. There is something very powerful in knowing what a difference my family has made to their lives.
When I received the photos from Sopa bursting with pride in his crisp red blazer from school, I immediately put them on my wall to remind me daily that, even on a small scale, it is possible to open up a door of opportunity for someone else.
Then a letter arrived addressed to his "God Parents" thanking us for giving him another life and telling us he feels very loved and happy. I felt as proud as I would have for one of my own children.
My company has since donated a greenhouse to Sopa's village to enable fresh vegetables to be grown all year round and to generate a sustainable income.
We have also helped to repair the broken window for Sopa's father.
I sponsored Sopa on my birthday. It's the best birthday present I've ever received.
Back to Sponsorship
