All I want for Christmas is...

This year 13 year old Rachel, from County Antrim, in Northern Ireland, stunned her parents by asking for a very special Christmas present – to sponsor a child in Ethiopia. Rachel wanted to help a child of similar age to herself gain a good education. She realised that this would not only be her Christmas present for 2013 but for many years to come.

For some years now Rachel has been making a special effort to remember children in need around the world at Christmas time. She was touched by the many stories of children who did not know where their next meal was coming from and who did not have the security of a loving family.

In 2012 Rachel began her fundraising by putting small change in a collection pot in her kitchen, and she encouraged her family members, visitors and neighbours to contribute too. Rachel raised an amazing £110 for Stand by Me and after hearing about our work in Ethiopia at school, she knew this was where she would like her money to go.

In 2013, as Rachel requested, she was linked with a child in our care. She said,

‘I got an email earlier today telling me some information about my sponsored child. She is called Kumeshi and she is nine years old. She goes to the new Dembi Dollo school and I am very excited and can’t wait to see photographs of her.’

We encourage children and their sponsors to communicate by writing letters and sending photographs and Rachel is enjoying developing a friendship with Kumeshi.

Rachel may be small in stature – positively tiny, in fact – but among those with big hearts she stands tall. At a young age, she has already started to make a difference to children around the world and this is very encouraging to see.

If you would like to follow in Rachel’s footsteps then please visit our child sponsorship page or call 0845 604 5543 today.