Often sponsors who visit their sponsored student like to give a gift in recognition of the hard work that these children put into their studies,often under very difficult home cirumstances. The sponsor of the small boy 'Pongpisut' (above) wanted to reward the student with a new bike and the text below is taken from an email from Liz of the Mercy Project to the boy's sponsor and shows the lengths they sometimes have to go to in order to be able to help bring the sponsor's wishes to fruition.
'Boonying and I went to Tesco Lotus, as arranged, to pick up a black bike for Pongpisut, to find that there was only one left - and it was red. So we bought it, and then went to plough our way through the floods to deliver it. By the time we arrived at the house the rain had all but stopped, and we were welcomed by a little boy with a big grin. It was obvious he been sitting around just waiting for us, and he was so excited.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you left behind one delighted little boy, and a warm memory...'
