Hi Everyone,

Well one of my closest friends, Dave, works for Emirites Airlines, and on his time off he made the trip to Kwale, Kenya, to visit the child he sponsors, and his family.

I am so very touched by his photos, and thought I would share some with you all.

There are a few, so I will get busy posting, I will let you know when I have finished.

Mutua, Dave's Sponsor Child.
He says of Mutua:
"He is a really sad child. He cried when I left, and ran off and hid behind the house. It broke my heart"



Mutua's house:



Mutua's family:



Mutua's Village:



Dave showing Mutua where Australia is:



Dave and Mutua.
He has been sposoring Mutua for 2 years now.



Dave gave Mutua and his school friends new school supplies. Staff members from Emirates all donated to the school:



Dave also gave some Aussie gifts:



David receiving a gift that Mutua's mother had made him:

What an amazing man your friend is.

This is truly beautiful thank you for sharing Proka.

Its things like this that make me realise how lucky I am and how much more I could do.

Thank You.

They asked Dave to plant a tree, which represents 'life and growth in the community'
Dave says: "The whole experience was an honour"



Saying Goodbye.
Dave says "It was really sad to leave. We both had tears. I wish I could do more for them. I would love to go back there and work for them. But I will definitely be going back there, that's for sure!"



Driving away:
Dave says "For people who are so poor, they are so rich in spirit."



OK that's the last one. I haven't posted all of them, but I will if requested.

What a fantastic experience for your friend! Thank you so much for sharing the photos Amy. I would love to visit our sponsor child one day.

Thanks Ladies, I am very proud to call him my friend


Oh I didn't notice! But then again, Dave is a giant so I am just used to how big he is!! LOL.
I will post some more, but tomorrow, as I am just about to go to bed. Thanks Lib

Wow Amy, they are great photos,. Thanks for sharing.
It's good to see that people care so much about others.

LOL I guess, but he's like my brother (he lived with my family for awhile) so I don't really see him that way!

***NEW PICS ON PAGE 2***

It wouldn't let me edit the title...

How incredibly beautiful. How did he go about sponsoring him? Thank you for sharing. What a brilliant human being.

thanks for sharing such beautiful photos!! they are really touching

That is really touching. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Wow, what an inspiration! Thanks for sharing! I would love to see more photos!

Thats got me all teary, what a powerful, amazing experience for him. Wow... Did you say there were more pics? Id love to see.

From David:
"www.compassion.com You can sponsor children all over the world, not just africa. i've been sponsoring him for a couple of years now, but there are children aged from 1 to 18 who have been on the waiting list for over 5 years."

He has also set up a Facebook group about sponsoring children, with more info on Compassion:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29909579366


Children from Mutua's school walking from the village to school:



Children from Mutua's school:



Mutua's younger brother, who is 2:



Two of his cousins:



Dave with Mutua's mother and brothers. The Emirates backpacks were donated from the crew from Nairobi:



Having a joke with his family:



Dave and Mutua:



The entrance to the school:



The classrooms at school:



Having lunch with the organisation who looks after the children:



Last one:

Mutua on the school swing:




No, he has a girlfriend...

Finn is fascinated by it all, great opportunity to educate going on here.. thanks Amy!

Thanks for posting these Amy. What a wonderful experience for your friend and his sponsor child.

Wow it really bring home how poor these places are, it is always something that you are aware but not aware of. Thank you for sharing that Amy, sponsoring a child has been something I have always been going to do. I am off to talk with my husband now. What a kind generous man your friend is.

What lovely photos

It's so nice to see something good for a change

Those pictures were fantastic - they brought tears to my eyes!!!! Thank you for sharing them!

It made me feel even better knowing that we also sponsor a little boy in Kenya through World Vision - I hope one day I can meet with him and his family too!

They were just beautiful.....thanks so much for sharing!!!

I love the photos of Mutua where is he standing so tall and proud and has his socks pulled up with little love hearts on them..... very handsome

Oh that's great!

Thank you so much for sharing those photos, Amy. They made me quite teary. Your friend is a good person.

I have 2 sponsor children - one in Nepal and one in India. We hope to visit our girl in Nepal in 2010. If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child - Plan - the organisation that I go through - are wonderful. I think we pay approx $40 a month to each child.

http://www.plan.org.au/

I had tears when I saw them too. They have really touched me.
One thing Dave said was he realises that people who sponsor children don't get the chance or opportunity to meet their sponsor child, but if you ever want to or have the opportunity, he highly recommends it, he says it has truly changed his life.


I agree

Just beautiful. That pic of them saying goodbye and the expression on Matuas face should come with a warning! I've got quivver chin

Wow...what an amazing experience that must have been for Dave. I can see the sadness in Mutua's face .

We have a sponsor child as well in India. He's the same age as my son Nate. It would be wonderful to visit him one day

Fantastic, thank you.

Amy what a wonderful generous man your friend is. A true Australian who has brought love and laughter to a small community such a long way from home.

I must admit I got a little teary reading that - damn pregnant hormones! We need warnings girlie

Thank you for posting the photos Amy. It is so awesome to see someone doing such a wonderful thing

Oh thats lovely Its sad that he's not a happy kid though and I bet it would have been really hard for your friend to leave...

Ive just recently sponsored a child through Compassion so these pics were really nice to see. Thanks for sharing them

Funnily little thing happened today, I opended my facebook, and a friend of mine had been tagged in some photos. The album belonged to David!! Wow what a small world! I think she works for Emirates too.

OMG that's funny! Yes he did live in Brisbane before he moved to Dubai. What's her name? (Or PM me her name)

Wow, just puts alot of things back into perspective for us, the little things we take for granted mean so much to kids like them.

So wonderful of your friend to sponsor a child & everyone else who does it also..

Thank you for sharing Amy. Logan and I have had a sponsorchild for a couple of years now, he's in Nepal. I've always toyed with the idea to go and visit him and this just makes me want to go there even more.

Thank you so much for sharing his story, what an amazing experience.

Megs.

Thanks for sharing, I've always dreamed of visiting my sponsor children - I have a little girl in Columbia and a boy in Peru - These pics are just beautiful and touching in so many ways.

Africa is amazing. He was so lucky to be able to see his sponsor child

What an inspiration!!!

thanks proka!!!

im off to sponsor a child - seriously

That is so touching and what amazing photos. What a awsome man for going the little bit more and visiting.

**************UPDATE!!! **************

David has gone back to visit Mutua and his family

Will post a couple of pics soon

Look how much Mutua has grown!!!
He is so much happier than when David first met him. He said he is growing up to be a lovely young boy who wants to be a pilot!



Market



Mutua



Dave and Mutua

Wow! Mutua looks like a different child! So much happier! And your friend still just as hot

Wow what a difference 3.5 years has made! Mutua looks happier and healthier - your friend must be thrilled, his aid is really helping Mutua and the community

I didn't see your original post back in 2008 and was just looking at the pictures now. When I saw the photo of Mutua's home my eyes pricked with tears and I was instantly aware that I was sitting in my lovely home in the nice, cool air con, and just how much I take for granted

How wonderful that he got to go back and meet up again! Still brings tears to my eyes! I hope he gets his dream!

Dave is HOTTTTTTT!!!!! Thank you Amy for sharing him with us. He's just so perfect *swoon*

I remember your post from back then, I also signed up with the same organization and sponsored a Ugandan girl. I was passionate about Uganda after reading a book on the Lords Resitance Army LRT and then reading your post and seeing the pictures inspired me further. However a couple of years later my marriage broke down and I was unable to continue the sponsorship I have always been very passionate about Africa and now with Kony2012.com I feel that I can make another effort to do my part.
Sorry for a bit of a hijack of this thread, but if any of you are still unaware of Kony2012 and the issues in Uganda, it's worth a look.

Good on your friend btw