Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Letters of Hope, I Hope


Women for Women matched me with a "sister" in Sudan named Monica who is in her early 30s, married, and cares for 5 children. My sponsorship allows her to attend a year long program that includes rights awareness education and job skills training so she can continue to support her family in the future. Monica also receives a portion of my sponsorship in direct aid so she can provide her family with basic necessities.

I am asked to write to Monica so that she knows someone in the world is supporting her. It's kind of weird to write to someone you hardly know anything about. I am told I may never receive response directly from Monica because most of the women in the program cannot read or write more than their name.

When I first received the information about our match, I wrote to introduce myself and provide Monica with a picture of me. This week I sent her a postcard from Ottawa thinking it might be interesting for her to see pictures of Canada's capital city. I also thought that a handwritten note would feel more personal. The Women for Women web site provides an option to write a letter online so I sent one using that method as well. That seems less personal but it will get to her more quickly.

All my letters have to go through the office in Washington, then they are forwarded to the office in Sudan. They have to be translated to Arabic and then read to Monica. It's a time consuming process that could take months. Anything that might be sent to me from Monica has to go through the same process in reverse.

So I just keep writing, hoping that my letters will eventually reach her and somehow be of benefit to my sponsored sister Monica.

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