"Although I am of Indian origin, I have never actually lived there. As a child, Imoved all over the world with my parents and lived in different countries. However, I feel greatly attached to my home country – the country in which my parents were born and raised. I have been visiting India regularly, every two years and sometimes more often. Most of the countries I have lived in (i.e. Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, UK, etc.) have been developed countries, and in terms of poverty and quality of life, India is very different. Every time I travel to India, I notice this contrast and I wonder what I can do to help my home country.

Luckily, I stumbled across this charity and it greatly appealed to me. The charity allows one to donate money to an individual child and essentially pay for the child’s education throughout his/her schooling years. The child I will help is living in Bangalore and the money I send will allow the child to pay for education in a charity-sponsored school. I intend to continue supporting the child until he is able to complete school. This small effort on my part could help to improve this child’s life considerably. Knowing that I can help make a child happier and give a child a better life is very rewarding to me.

I liked the fact that the money I was raising was going to be spent on education for a child in need. By giving a child an education, you are actually giving the child the ability to get the things he/she needs for life. An education gives a child a chance to rise up from the depths of poverty and achieve his/her dreams. I like the fact that I can see how the donated money is being spent and track the child’s progress. I hope that, with the money I raise, I can make a child’s life a whole lot better."

Neil Mathews, age 15