Hope for Wilmer

You may remember reading about Wilmer in the blog post “Sixteen to Life.” While his mother was in jail, Wilmer was forced to quit school and struggled to take care of his younger sisters.

I remember interviewing this family in Honduras. In a small, resigned voice Wilmer told us about the days they went hungry and how alone they felt while their mother was away. As the interview came to an end, I urged Wilmer to go to the Children International community center just five minutes away from his home and enroll for sponsorship. He took that to mean that his sisters could be sponsored. When I explained that he could be sponsored too and might have the possibility of returning to school, his sad eyes lit up a little. But then he said something that broke my heart. “I’ll have to ask my mother.” I knew what those words meant. My eyes welled with tears and I had to excuse myself for a moment. I was losing hope for him or his sisters ever enjoying the benefits of sponsorship that could ease some of their hardships. We thanked them for their time, and I slowly walked away from their home feeling sad and defeated.

I still think about Wilmer and his sisters. A story like theirs is not easily forgotten. I looked up his record the other day just to see if he’d taken that one crucial step, and there it was, staring at me on the computer screen. At the urging of our field staff, Wilmer finally made his way to the community center and enrolled himself for sponsorship.

It may have taken Wilmer a while to go to the community center and enroll, but it didn’t take long for Wilmer and his little sisters to find sponsors. In fact, when I told our new writer, Garrett Kenyon, about Wilmer's story, he immediately decided to make Wilmer his very first sponsored child. I’m sure things will still be difficult for Wilmer and his siblings, but knowing that they are sponsored renews my hope that their lives might just be a little bit better.