SPONSORSHIP, LOVE AND CONNECTION

Lately I have been thinking about Shanti and what is our unique place in the world of compassionate giving. What comes to me over and over is the connectedness that seems to run through the fabric of this small organization. And I reflect on the primal need we all have as human beings to feel this connection, heart to heart; that this is indeed what Life is about.

A kindhearted person offers to sponsor a child’s education. This is a child they have never seen, who lives on the other side of the world in a culture that in some ways is as foreign and mysterious as the moon. Where is the understanding? How does one connect despite the challenges of very different life experience and world view? Through the heart.

A sponsored child carries the knowledge that someone they have never met cares enough about their welfare to send funds year after year, making it possible for them to go to school. This is a powerful knowledge. That child may receive letters, photos and encouragement. That child may write in reply and share a bit of their daily experiences, reaching out to this valued friend. A human connection is made and nurtured. Two lives are enriched.

At Shanti we are dedicated to making this possible. Education is our mission but we have come to see that a higher purpose is actually being served: the stitching together of lives through understanding and compassion. In a complicated world with its many stresses and problems, simple human connection is a balm to the heart.