In Reply to: I know its lovely to give gifts but posted by willow on Wednesday, 27. January 2010 at 08:43 Bali Time:
Not Bali but when I visited a couple of school children for the first time that I sponsored, I took nothing. I felt I really needed to think about it further.
Well I was given plenty to think about all right. I found there was absolutely no way I could give to the sponsored children, when unsponsored children in the village were as poor as sponsored children.
The unsponsored children's parents were able to afford to send their children to school, but they had as little in the way of material goods and food as sponsored children.
So I found my own solution... I sponsored another child's education.
If I ever feel a need to give a gift, then I'll give it to the sponsorship organisation because they will know who has the greatest need. It might not be a child I sponsor, but that really doesn't matter.