Godparents tell

"As I knew that my sponsored boy Matías lives in Bogota, I wanted to take the opportunity to get to know him personally. I traveled to Colombia at the beginning of the year. The director of the 'Fundación Apoyar' gave me a warm welcome. He introduced me to Matías' caregiver: Each sponsored child is assigned their own caregiver who visits the child and their family regularly. Together we made our way to the apartment building where Matías and Clara, his grandmother, live in a single room. The boy's parents had separated, which caused the mother psychological distress. Since then, there has been no contact between father and son, who is being raised by his grandmother. When we arrived and I got out of the car, Matías ran up to me and gave me a warm and long hug. We immediately got on very well. The grandmother invited us in for a delicious coffee and showed us her room, which is in a larger apartment that is still occupied by other families. Some of the old rooms are infested with mold. Meeting Matías was a great enrichment for me. It was nice to see that you can really help a child with a small contribution for a sponsorship."

"Thanks to the kind mediation of Kinderhilfe Emmaus, we had the opportunity to visit our 14-year-old goddaughter Blessy in India this spring. It was with mixed feelings that we traveled from Mumbay to Belgaum, a commercial and industrial city in the state of Karnataka. When our plane landed at the small airport, Blessy, her two siblings and the priest looking after her, Cyril F., were already waiting for us. We were allowed to visit Blessy's family in their modest home. The family of five lives in two small rooms and shares the few beds. All the children attend school or a boarding school. The mother does the housework and works as a nursing assistant in a hospital. The father, a former alcoholic, contributes little to the family's upkeep. The children have accompanied us on all our journeys. We were deeply touched by their frugality, their contentment and, above all, their irrepressible cheerfulness. Our trip to the Indian continent gave us an insight into the lives of those who are not among the privileged. This valuable experience demonstrates that with the right attitude to life, it doesn't take much to be happy. A good opportunity to reflect on our own lives once again."

"I have been supporting children sponsored by Emmaus Children's Aid for around 30 years. As a high school student, I 'shared' a child with a friend, as we hardly had any money. In the meantime, I have supported many children from different countries. Currently, Luis Miguel U. in Santa Rosa de Cabal (Colombia) is my sponsored child. When I was planning my second trip to Colombia this spring, I asked myself: why not visit him? On the way, I had doubts about visiting my godchild. My interest in the life of Luis Miguel and his family is genuine, but I didn't want to appear as a 'rich aunt' from Switzerland. But when I met Luis Miguel, his mother and the caregiver, my doubts disappeared. The twelve-year-old boy is quiet and bright and loves playing football. As he is a diligent pupil, he is already in ninth grade. He would like to study languages later. Luis Miguel lives in a village, an hour's walk from school. His parents have a 9-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. It was a nice meeting. I had the feeling that Luis Miguel found it exciting to get to know his 'godmother' from the distant country. Should I ever be in Colombia again, he would like to see me again. I will certainly visit him!"

"My wife and I, our three children and our five grandchildren make music. Some classical, some rock. The youngest is already singing her first melodies at the age of one and a half. I was able to celebrate my 70th birthday this year. As with other milestone birthdays, we organized a concert to which we invited friends and relatives and in which I played the double bass myself. On August 28, we - five amateurs from the Thun city orchestra and three professional musicians - performed Franz Schubert's little-known Octet in the parish hall of the Ostermundigen church. The performance lasted one hour without an interval and was attended by 140 guests. The concert was a great success. The collection resulted in proceeds of CHF 2,300 for Emmaus Children's Aid and CHF 1,700 for Swiss Solidarity!"

"In February, I had the opportunity to visit three of my sponsored children in India. At the 'Our Lady of Providence' aid organization in Calcutta, I was warmly welcomed by Sister Celine X., who runs a school with 700 girls. Little Munni, my goddaughter, sang and danced for me. She proudly showed me her certificate. The building is simply and functionally furnished, everything is clean and well maintained. In Chennai, I met Father John B., the director of the Queenship of Mary Church. We drove through a wide plain with rice fields to my godson Bharath. The family with four children live in a house consisting of a single room. They sleep outside under the projection of the roof. Bharath is intelligent and attends a college so that he can support his family later on. We then drove on to my goddaughter Jebamalaimary's family, who live in a low, thatched hut. The father has leprosy and is unable to work. In the evening we visited Jebamalaimary in the hospital where she is being trained as a nurse. On Sunday, Pastor John B. organized a celebration that ended with heartfelt words of thanks. I would like to pass on these thanks to all the sponsors of Children's Relief Emmaus!"

"Dear Emmaus Children's Aid team, thanks to your kind mediation, I had the opportunity to visit my godchild Thirupathi at the Good Shepard Home in South India this April. This encounter with my godson and the other children at the home was extremely impressive for me. Despite their disabled bodies, these children's faces radiated a cheerfulness and contentment that made a deep impression on me. I was also able to see for myself that every franc donated falls on extremely fertile ground and is very gratefully received. I wish so much that we could do even more for these wonderful children. My very special thanks go to the caregivers in India, namely Father S., Mrs. Grace and Mr. Fernanddo, for their tireless efforts for the less privileged children. With grateful greetings!"