What can happen in one year? For many, one year simply marks one more wrinkle, one more pant size, and one more bill to pay. Some are memorable, while others go by unnoticed. For others, one year marks the moment in which they decided to give the gift of another year to a child in need.
 

A child faces the greatest risk of premature death on their birthday. This is the case regardless of being born in a rich or poor country. However, families in developing nations are the most vulnerable to losing their newborns within the first couple of hours. According to a report published by Save the Children 98 percent of newborn deaths occur in developing countries, and families in Sub-Saharan African face the highest risk.
   

At fourteen, Aminata was hungrily looking in at the rice and sauce being served at her school in Freetown, Sierra Leone. By sixteen, she is married and pregnant. “My parents couldn’t afford to give me any money for food, so I dropped out of school and got into an early marriage to an older man.” As we Skype in a classroom, I in a spacious well equipped one in London and Aminata in a small, basic one, provided by the Global Giving charity in Sierra Leone, she and some of her classmates explain some of the problems they face.

Developing a relationship with your sponsor child can be one of the most significant experiences of your life.  It’s indescribably wonderful to learn about the special little person in your life and know that your love and support is giving him hope where otherwise it might not exist.  As you see your kid's progress, receive their drawings in the mail, and learn all about their lives, you’ll fall in love. 

The computer may be an integral part in the homes, schools and companies of developed nations but for Africans it is a distant dream. This could also be one of the reasons why the youth in African countries are unable to compete in the global market. Those aspiring to get even basic computer training need to enroll and pay the computer schools which come at a predatory price.

Last week my sponsor kid, Protogene, turned 12.  Under normal circumstances a 12^th birthday would be a big cause for celebration!  For Protogene -living in a remote village in northern Rwanda, where the AIDS crisis has killed many and crippled remaining family members, where lack of healthcare facilities make common illness life threatening, and where food insecurity and lack of clean water make survival a daily struggle-  it is a huge freaking accomplishment.  Either way, I’m proud of my kid!