So there’s an 8 year-old little boy named Alexander who lives in Kenya.
He’s a Compassion child, and he needs heart surgery. The surgery costs $8,303. Since his family lives on $13.70 a month, they can’t afford it. You can read all the details on the Compassion blog.
The people at Compassion didn’t ask me to post about this. I actually ran across a link to Alexander’s story yesterday when I was catching up on Twitter, and he has been all over my heart ever since. Maybe it’s because he has the same name as my little guy. Maybe it’s because I feel particularly burdened for the people of Africa. Maybe it’s because I know that WE CAN HELP HIM.
Here’s the thing: if each person who reads this post will donate one dollar – ONE DOLLAR – we can make a pretty good dent in the cost of Alexander’s surgery.
I know some of you are already Compassion sponsors. I know some of you contribute to World Vision and Mocha Club and all sorts of wonderful organizations that do incredible work in third-world countries. There’s no question that y’all are a generous bunch.
So today, if you’re willing to go one dollar beyond what you normally give to charitable causes each month, and if you feel led to participate (NO PRESSURE – I promise), would you please help Alexander in Kenya get the surgery he needs by making a one-time donation of one dollar to a special surgery fund that Compassion has set up for him?
I figure it never hurts to ask.
And thanks in advance, y’all.
Edited to add: Thanks to the efforts of LOTS of different bloggers and Facebookers and Twitterers and whathaveyou, Compassion met the goal for Alexander’s surgery in just three days (they started raising money on Monday). You can read the details here. Yay, internets – thank y’all so much!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Just sent in my donation! I hope everyone does the same! Come on everyone…even just a dollar helps! ;)
Thanks for letting us know about this BooMama!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I donated a dollar for everyone in my little family!
Thanks, Boomama :)
May 20th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Done! Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Sophie.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Done! Thanks for sharing… a few people can make a BIG difference and I’m happy to help!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Wow! I just sent my donation. I’ve been thinking about Compassion a lot lately and I felt God led me to your site at this exact moment. I normally wouldn’t have checked my blogs until this evening. Posting this is great. Thanks so much for making my day.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
just made a donation. My son had a VSD at birth, but it closed spontaneously. I am glad to help Alex get this surgery.
suzanne
May 20th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
hope its okay that I donated more than a dollar. ;)
Glad to have you back Sophie!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
So happy to help!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I would be honored to help. My little girl had to have open-heart surgery, too… ;)
May 20th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I have never been on your blog before, but my babies are playing peacefully together on the floor right now and I am bored, so I started clicking links on blogs and eventually got to your’s. When I read this post, it made me realize how lucky I am that my two boys are healthy and that if they needed a surgery we have good medical insurance to cover it. I am thrilled I found your blog today and that you gave us all the opportunity to help this little boy!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
So glad to! Thank you Sophie for spreading the word… I would have never known.
Love your heart, friend. You are beautiful inside and out!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Thank you for sharing…I donated!!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Thanks for sharing the needs of others with all of us so we can help!
Always enjoy your posts!
May 20th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Done – thanks for the opportunity to help. Hope you can keep us posted on his surgery.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I was so glad you retweeted this yesterday! I haven’t been able to sponsor a child yet (waiting on the hubby) but I was so glad to be able to help Alexander in even the tiniest way! Praying for him!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Done! Thanks for letting us know about Alexander!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Done
May 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Making my donation now! Thanks for making us aware.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I just donated a dollar for each of my family members. We are struggling right now but it makes you realize that we have a ton compared to others. Everyone can afford a few dollars especially when you think of what we spend that money on. A coke, vending machines, ice cream truck, gum, McDonald’s etc…. just skip that stuff one time and you’d have to enough to help this little guy! Thanks for sharing this Boo Mama!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Because every 8 year old boy deserves a chance…I wish him well. Thank you for sharing
May 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Done!:) Love being a part of the Body that can reach all the way around the world!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Alexander got my heartstrings and my dollar. I so want to sponsor a child but am not in a place to do so right now…thanks for allowing me an opportunity to help with just a dollar!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Done! Happy to help!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Done. And blogged.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Done!!
Thanks for letting us know about this precious boy!
May 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Will do! My Compassion kiddo lives in Kenya, as well, in a village near another one where I lived as a student ten years ago. It’s a place that’s close to my heart.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Just donated one dollar for each person in my family. Thanks for letting me know about Alexander!
May 20th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I just gave. I hope we can make a difference for him. Can you keep us updated on how much money is raised?
May 20th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Done + a few dollars. It’s not possible for us to sponsor a child right now, but this was possible! Thanks for letting us know about him.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
All five of our family members donated a dollar. :) Thanks for letting us know about Alexander.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Thanks for doing this. I donated, too.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
thank you so much for posting this! I was so happy to be able to donate!!
May 20th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Ahh.. God must be holding Alexander closely in His hands; not only is Compassion spotlighting him, but you and others are using the Fresnell lens of your blogs to amplify that spotlight into a life-saving beam of hope! Went there.. donated… and am standing firm in the belief that God has great plans for this boy. Thanks… for opening the door so that we can all be a part of those plans.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Was feeling a little bloppy today and decided to hop on over to your blog for a little pick-me-up. Helping someone in need is THE BEST pick-me-up. Thanks for spreading the word…
May 20th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Sure did X 5. Hope there will be some way for you to know when the goal has been reached. And I KNOW it will be reached!
May 20th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Thanks so much for sharing this information with your readers. Made a donation and prayerfully all of your loyal readers will as well. If possible, please keep us posted on his condition. Praying he can have the surgery very soon.
May you be blessed for making this request on his behalf,
Kaye
Matthew 21:22
May 20th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Thanks for posting this. I had no idea. We sponser 2 boys in Africa right now. How horible it must be not to be able to have your child well. Thanks for making me aware of it and I donated more than $1. Even in tough times it is doable.
Thanks.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Thanks so much for sharing this!
I was born with a VSD (and a few other heart defects). VSD is pretty similar to what Alexander has, just ventricles versus atrials.
I was lucky enough to be born in America and with health insurance, so I had surgery at the age of four at very little cost to my parents.
I’ll be donating and blogging about this one. Thanks again for letting us know about Alexander.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
$5 donated to compassion just now for this precious little boy…and maybe a sponsorship in my future soon. thanks for spreading the word!!
May 20th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I donated a dollar for everyone in our family – $5 total. We will be praying for him.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Dontated 10 of them for him!! Just want him to get what he needs a little faster!
Also, wanted you to know that I’ve wanted to sponsor a Compassion child for a while now. Been trying to decide just when to do it. Well, my hubby and I just had our 4th daughter together on December 3rd of last year. So, since my hubby didn’t get a son this time (he LOVES his baby girls!) I have sponsored a little boy for him as a Father’s Day present! I can’t wait for him to open his Father’s Day card and find 5 year old Charles from Uganda looking at him! A “son” he can help take care of in another country… Wow.
Thanks for opening your heart to Compassion and in turn opening mine. It’s been a blessing.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Done! Just a sweet little boy! Please let us know the total.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
You know the saying, “Great minds…”?
http://www.not2us.net/blog/lindsay/2009/may/doerdetails
I’ve sent in my $1. Thanks for being a Doer of the Word.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I donated a dollar for each member of my family (I wish I could do more…). I’m going to link this post on my (tiny) blog… Thanks for doing this.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
You are some kinda mama…love it! Thanks for being willing to ask us to help. We could not stand to only give $1.00, so…. thanks again.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I did 1 dollar for me and 199 of my closet friends :) GO GOD!!!
May 20th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I donated $1 plus some and blogged about it too. I hope this heart surgery comes very soon for little Alexander. I can do without some things to help.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
What an awesome thing Sophie!!!! I’m just sick I missed it, but beyond happy that they met his needs. So…in honor of him, I’m donating an “extra” happy to my baby girl in Uganda.
Hugs,
Fran
May 20th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Just made a donation. Can’t wait to hear how quickly you are able to rally the troops to fund the heart surgery!
May 20th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Made my donation. Will post a link on my blog too! :)