This is a video of Yiseth on the way to the mall. This was after we our initial meeting at the CI center. By then she had begun to relax a little. The night before, I had written down a list of things to ask the children like how they were doing in school, what their favorite songs, foods, ect. were but when I saw them I just wanted to take photos and videos to make sure that this was real, I guess. After taking the videos and photos the children wanted to see themselves :) Francisco and his siblings each had a chance to take pictures with the camera too.

Yiseth and Sonia seem to be so opposite but they have many things in common, which are things that I did not plan when I decided to sponsor them 6 years ago. I did know that both girls were living in single parent families and at that time, Sonia was living with her mom who was separated from her dad and Yiseth was living with her mom. Her dad was deceased. Both were the same age and both had brothers who were the same age. I did not plan this! Now both girls live with their grandmothers with moms out of their home. The worker said that Sonia has possibly been neglected or abused.

Yiseth with a new top. It is a bit big and hopefully she will be able to wear it in the future. Yiseth's last medical report in 2010 listed her as malnourished.

Brother Nelson is so endearing that I decided to sponsor him when I came home. I am able to do this because I lost 2 children in another organization. I just love his personality!

Yiseth and Nelson

Yiseth and Nelson looking at the gifts. Nelson received some things also.

Yiseth at the center with her gifts

Yiseth and me at the center


Me, Yiseth, her brother, Nelson, and her aunt

Yiseth :)

Yiseth is my other sponsored child who is eleven years old. She also lives with her grandmother and one of her aunts brought her to the center to meet us. Yiseth has a younger brother, age 8, named Nelson who came with us on the outing. Incidentally Sonia also has a brother the same age, but he does not live with her. So these two little ladies have a lot in common. Yiseth was checking me out at first and a little reserved but then she began to relax and warm up after we spent more time together. I discovered that she loves to talk and I think that she enjoys being in front of the camera. Yiseth is the child that said that she wanted to see me on one of Steve's videos, so that is one reason why I took the trip to Colombia. She is very cute and full of life.

Yiseth

This is a letter that I received from Yiseth this week, thanking me for recent birthday gifts. I thought that she might like the colored pencils because she enjoys drawing. She says:


Dear and appreciated Shana C.,

I hope that you and your family are well. My family and I are well. I liked you(r) gift and the letter a lot. I just wanted to thank you for thinking of me. I received: a box of pencils color, a notebook cover, a card, two folders, a pair of ponytail holders, a calculator and a blouse. Good-bye. Be well. I love you so much. Thank you so much for the letters.

Yiseth

This is the back of one of letters. She loves to draw and write "I love you"on her drawings :)

The Families-Yiseth

I feel very close to the families of my sponsored children and hope to see the siblings and parents/guardians on the visit. Yiseth lives with her grandmother right now, since her mother has to work in another city. I think that she has lived with her grandmother for most of her life. Her grandmother seems to be very kind and interested in making sure that her granddaughter is taken care of. I don't know much about Yiseth's younger brother except that his name is Nelson and he is 9 years old. I don't know if he is sponsored but hope to find out. Yiseth has talked about her younger sister in several of her letters and I think that she was very excited to have a baby sister in the family. Her little sister's name is Melani and she is three years old.

Yiseth Vanessa Arrieta

Yiseth in 2010

Yiseth with first letter in 2005

Who Are The Children?

Let me introduce you to the children who stole my heart when I first saw them on the Children International website. A little over five years ago I decided sponsor children when I became financially able and one of the first children that I saw was a sweet shy little girl who lived in Cartagena, Colombia. I think that when I saw her, I was drawn to her sweet smile and learned from her bio that she lived with her mother and that her father was deceased. She also lived with a younger brother who was two years old. At that time the family income was $40 and they lived in a home that had four rooms, was made of concrete block and had a corrugated tile roof. Water was stored in a barrel at home and they used an open field for sanitary purposes.

This little girl's name was Yiseth Vanessa Arrieta and she liked art and playing with dolls. She also like to sing. I loved her name!

After a couple of months of sponsorship and after sending her a letter with a small gift, I was surprised to see new photos of Yiseth one day. She had the biggest smile and she was holding my letter along with the little necklace that I had sent. She was the cutest little thing and from then on, she had the brightest smile on her photos.

Yiseth turned eleven years old on April 13 and she still likes dolls. She also enjoys science, social studies, dancing and wants to become a pediatrician. She was a top student in her class last year. I was fortunate to have another sponsor visit her last April along with other sponsored children and this is when I decided to take the trip to Colombia. She had already asked me to visit in one of her letter and then stated to Steve that she wanted to see me and my family. Well, my family won't be able to come, but I hope to be there :)