11 Feb Long-distance love stories
We are glad to publish the stories that so many “long-distance parents” have generously shared with us, demonstrating their great love, generosity and humanity.
Our heartfelt thanks to all of them!
Why is it worth being a long-distance parent? This photograph I have just received is the answer. I have been a long-distance parent for a few months now, and I am terribly happy. I hope that with the little bit of help I can give, Jerusalem can have a better future. Though I am not her mother, my contribution to her growth makes her a part of my life, a part of my family.
Receiving news of her from Amici di Adwa and Sister Laura fills my heart with joy, in the hopes that I may one day bring her a little gift and give her a hug in person. And perhaps little Jerusalem, whom I am now helping from home, will be a fully educated adult capable of teaching in the mission.
Serena
We share your “terrible” happiness, Serena!
My sister and I, both advanced in years, decided to undertake a long-distance adoption a number of years ago. It seemed right for us to share what we have with another human being who has been less fortunate than us.
Milete is, I think, the third girl who has been able to continue her studies with our help, giving her a better chance in life. It’s always a joy to receive the girls’ photographs and see how they are growing, until we are notified that they have completed their studies and begun their careers, and that another girl will now benefit from our donations.
Our only regret is that we only rarely have news of our adopted daughters, just one photograph a year to show how they have grown, though we do understand that reporting more frequently would mean more work for the association. In any case, we thank the association for all its hard work and dedication, and we hope we will be able to continue to contribute, however modestly, to everything that it does.
Maria Teresa and Raffaella
We are aware that many of you would like to have more contact with the children of Adwa… But the Salesian missionaries have chosen to help prepare the children to enjoy life in their own country, to give them opportunities for a better future, without feeling any need or generating any expectation of being received in Italy. Our goal is to “make ourselves unnecessary” in the future, as Sister Laura puts it. This is why we do not encourage the direct exchange of correspondence between the children and their long-distance parents.
My wife and I decided to begin a long-distance adoption in 2005, and time has shown that this was the right decision. The organisation led by Sister Laura, with all her charisma and inexhaustible energy, love and intelligence, has made it all possible.
This little girl, Taguas, is our second adopted child, after Samuel, and as in past years we have received the photograph showing how she has changed, this time with the nice frame you included.
It’s very easy to answer the questions you ask us as long-distance parents, because we want to contribute, in however small a way compared to the people working out there in the field, to offering hopes of a better life to people who are poverty-stricken and without hope.
The news you send us regularly is very gratifying in human terms, because we see that what seemed impossible has become concrete reality thanks to your tireless efforts.
You ask us whether it is worth the trouble to be a long-distance parent, and our answer is of course yes, because everyone who can afford it should feel obliged to help people who came into the world in a place that has made them less fortunate than us.
Being a long-distance parent is, as we see it, a simple label used to refer to the act of giving, which we like to do with you and with other associations.
But we believe this is the right label in view of the people we help, because it is through the presence of these parent figures that they can perceive the presence of this parent, even if in virtual form, and be reassured that someone stands with them and will help them to grow, allowing them to dream and to make their dreams come true, like so many children in this world. This is the message we would like to convey to Taguas, to ensure she trusts her long-distance parents, who will always be there for her, God willing.
Our thanks to you all, and especially the fantastic Sister Laura. A big hug for her, from our hearts!
With love, Ermanno and Mira
Your contribution really is important for these children, and your love and trust make it even more valuable!
“20 years of long-distance love stories” for Adwa, and almost twenty years for me!
I had read an interview with Sister Laura in an insert that came with the newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, and I was struck by what she said.
I made a call to Cento, and Sister Laura herself happened to answer the phone! That call was how my long-distance sponsorship began: a little girl who is now a grown woman (and I hope will be one of the large group of people who express their gratitude by working for the mission).
Now I am the long-distance ‘mamma’ of a twelve-year-old boy, and I have just received his photograph: what proud, gentle eyes! As well as being the mother of three adult children, I am now also a grandmother of three… but I feel the same tenderness toward my long-distance children, and the same hope that they will grow up healthy, educated, generous, and capable of making an impact on the place where they live and work, and on the people around them, through their future choices and the skills they have learned.
It gives me great satisfaction to know that my little annual contribution is important, helping to perpetuate educational and pedagogical work without borders! Thank you!”
Vanna
It’s great to know that the children of Adwa are like a part of your families, and that they hold a special place in your hearts!
“Dear friends at Adwa,
A difficult time in our lives can sometimes lead to a new way of living in the world. Why not treat our own wounds by dressing those of others?
This is how it has been since 1999. Our long-distance sponsorship, of Haua until 2011 and of Samarawit starting in 2012, not only contributed to the girls’ growth, education and medical care but made us feel at home in that little village which, according to a local Ethiopian proverb, is so important in a child’s growth.
Things happen. Then we dress them up in words. One outfit we like to remember (and wear) is a striking epigram by the Latin writer Martial: “Quas dederis solas semper habebis opes”. We like to translate it as: “You will only have that which you give”.
A big hug to our little Samarawit.”
Isabella and Alfonso
Thank you for offering us this motto, so appropriate for the experience of giving!
“My dear readers,
The idea of long-distance sponsorship through the Friends of Adwa arose out of a desire to do something in the memory of Dr. Luigi Cavalot, a physician (who passed away in Turin on August 20, 1997) who dedicated his life and work to anyone requiring help and assistance, especially in Turin’s Falchera district and in the farmlands of Mappano. Our choice fell on the mission in Ethiopia because of the presence of Sister Laura Girotto.
Our aim was to allocate monetary resources to the education and upbringing of minors in the hopes of encouraging them to go on to pursue a medical career, in Dr. Cavalot’s memory. The news of the new hospital is like a sign of Destiny.
We wish to thank Sister Laura for the courage she has demonstrated in the field over all these years, and send our kind regards to our friends in Cento.”
Maria Luisa
It’s true, Luisa: remembering a person who has passed away through a long-distance sponsorship is the best way to generate new life! And the medical care project is like a long-distance legacy of this great physician.
Many thanks for the translation to Joanne Roan