My name is Dana. I first came in contact with Hope St through its predecessor, Orphans and Refugees International (ORA). I did a little bit of video editing for Jan Barker who was a volunteer in those days and is now Hope St’s National Director. I saw the great work that she was doing and, although my involvement has been modest, it has been for many years now.
There are many charities deserving support for the good work they do. For me, I was most interested in Hope St’s focus on the Anti-trafficking of children and also working to alleviate child poverty. I have a particular family interest in Uganda and Hope St does great work there. As I have no children of my own, I’ve had the pleasure of sponsoring initially three, and now four, children in Uganda. Two boys and two girls. I have photos of these children by my desk and see them every day. It’s not a lot of money from our perspective here in New Zealand but it goes a long way for many in Uganda.
This sponsorship helps pay for school fees and other living expenses. In most cases, the parents have some sort of disability or inability to work and without my support, these children would be out working on the streets just to survive. Instead, they have stayed in school longer than their peers around them. Each year, I send them a little message, and each year I get a report and a personal message back from them, as well as photos to see how they’ve grown. It’s always a pleasure. I can’t help everyone, but I can help a few.
Hope St helped me purchase basic mattresses for one of the children’s families I support. The difference between sleeping on a wooden bed and then moving to a foam mattress must be huge. As the child’s father has disabilities, I hope that a small amount of money from me has really improved their life.
What I like about Hope St is that I know that it is working hard with all the donations it receives. Annual reports indicate that it is running a lean machine at this end which means a greater percentage of what I donate goes to well-deserving causes more directly than other NGOs. Hope St is working with the poorest of the poor and I will happily continue to support them while I can.
– Written by Dana, Hope St Supporter
