Our 10-year-old Daughter

Thanks to C. and her... *generous* heart... we are now the proud sponsor-parents of this 10-year-old Filipino girl. Her name is Paula. She lives in Quezon City. Her favorite pastimes are "indoor games, playing with jacks and jumping rope". Her favorite subject at school is "languages". Her "talents or hobbies" is "dancing". Her home is described as "one multi-use room" with "plywood walls, a corrugated metal roof and a concrete floor". [I just called my mom who says these're called "squatters".] She lives here with her two parents, Victor and Lina, and her 8-year-old sister Christine Joy. Their approximate monthly income (in U.S. Dollars) is "$122".

[OK, I just got totally depressed typing all that out.]

C. got stopped by a girl on the street who managed to aggressively guilt her into sponsoring. Skeptic that I am, I went and did searches on the organization, CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL, and it looks like they're fairly legit. For $18 a month, C.'s hopefully gonna make a difference in this girl's life. (80% is used for the child.)

I wonder if we can change her name to "Malicia"...