Having been with CARITAS For Children for a few years, I've had the pleasure of getting to know some of our long-time sponsors and hearing some of the stories of their CARITAS children. I love connecting with Eve, a retired teacher, who has watched her sponsored child, Ruthie, grow up to be a lovely, capable, young woman.The story of this great love began in 2007, when Eve was attending Mass at her parish church with her friend Patty. Their pastor was speaking about a child sponsorship program which had been founded by another parishioner, Christopher Hoar.

After listening intently, Eve looked over and said, "Patty, let's sponsor somebody."

Patty agreed and Chris asked them to sponsor a girl named Ruth whose sponsor was unable to continue her support. The Holy Spirit must have been involved that day when you weigh the joy that has grown from the relationship between Eve, Patty, and Ruth.

Ruth was about ten-years-old then and attending Stella Maris Primary Boarding School in Nkokonjeru, Uganda. Her father had passed away and Ruth's mother could not afford to pay the school fees on her own.

"Ruthie is very bright. The nuns recognized that right away," Eve said, "I've kept all of her letters and grade reports. Her command of English is amazing – even as a little kid it was."

Eve read from Ruthie's first letter:

Dear Miss Eve,

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am very happy to get you as my sponsors. Thank you for taking over to help me continue my studies...

Ruth, standing, about the time Eve and Patty decided to sponsor a child.

Eve and Patty continued to get letters consistently from Ruth through the years. Because of Ruth's scholastic success, the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi elected to send her to Mount St. Mary College, an academically prestigious high school in Uganda. During Ruth's tenure there, Eve received a video message from her, filmed by Chris Hoar during a mission trip.

Eventually it became Eve's goal to meet Ruth face to face. That opportunity arose when she traveled to Uganda with a church group in 2012. One caveat was restrictions on visitors at Ruth's school and the fact that Mount St. Mary was out of the way for the rest of the group, but everyone gave a little and Eve's dream came true.

Ruthie and her "American mom" Eve meet at last! It's clear that sponsoring a child can really make a difference for them.

You might think if you'd traveled thousands of miles to meet someone you should be able to spend days with them, but the visit with Ruthie, although brief, was some of the most precious time of her life according to Eve.

"It was so thrilling to meet her!" Eve said.

She had taken Ruth some dresses and a photo of the two of them taken during that meeting hangs on Eve's wall at home.

"I look like I'm about to weep, but she looks wonderful," Eve said.

After meeting in person, Eve purchased a laptop for Ruth which was carried to Uganda by another visiting sponsor the following summer. Since then Eve said Ruth's letters have become far more personal.

"She's so good about writing. She e-mails at least once a week," Eve said.

Through the growth of this relationship, Patty and her family haven't been left out. Ruth keeps them equally tuned in. Although Ruth and Eve have a special connection, that works out fine with Patty. That's the nature of sponsorships, folks develop their relationships at their comfort level. Some of our sponsors write all the time and some not at all. Our CARITAS children have many parents who love them, whether biological, spiritual, or distant.

Ruth calls Eve her American mom. Eve intends to continue supporting Ruth through her university education. A few months ago, Ruth was accepted at Mbarara University of Science and Technology pursuant of a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science.

Eve says the campus is only a few hours drive from Ruth's mom. In one of her recent e-mails Ruth told Eve about the welcoming Mass at the university, and that first year students are called "freshers".

"She sounds really relaxed and happy," Eve said.

According to Eve, sponsoring Ruth has definitely impacted her faith: "I pray for her at Mass every morning that I get there. She's very keyed into God and His love and help. She's extremely grateful."

"I hope it's [sponsorship] a confirmation of my faith, but to be truthful, this little girl has meant a great deal to me. I consider Ruthie my family, so it's not totally altruistic," Eve chuckled. "It's much more than just sponsoring her. It's a sacrifice for me that I'm more than willing to make."