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#1 Jun 30 2013 at 7:49 PM Rating: Excellent
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First order of business, rate ups for anyone posting in this thread. I appreciate your time and attention. In about two months, my sister will be leaving for Rwanda to serve as the headmistress of a school in Nsinda. One of the many difficult tasks she has taken on is to attempt to gain as many sponsors for children to attend school as possible. My support for her is a given, considering how many genes we have in common. However, I wouldn't be posting this here if I didn't believe it was genuinely worth your consideration. I think many of you know how private I tend to be.

There's no shortage of charities eager to accept a donation. I don't just believes she's presenting you with a worthy cause, but is also the pick of the litter: your chance to do the most good for the least cost. This isn't about charity; this is about competition!
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1) More Bang for Your Buck. She has set up her donations to funnel through an organization called CTEN (Commision to Every Nation). This organization gives her the infrastructure to accept donations and allows you tax deductible status for your contribution. However CTEN is not funding her and your donation does not go to them; it goes to her and the children directly. This means less of your donation goes toward overhead than just about any other cause out there. The organization does ask that she give a small percentage back (she's tentatively set this at 7%), but this is completely under her control. Additionally, because she is not working for an organization she is not being paid what is commonly called a"missionary salary." She will be an employee of the Rwandan school earning a salary they would pay any other Rwandan, which is to say, very little. This means even more of your money goes directly to the kids.

Rwanda is also one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked #22 on the UN's 2011 Human Development Report). As sad as that might be, it's also a great opportunity for giving. $2 USD will buy you two Cokes from a vending machine in America. $2 USD will buy you health insurance for a year in Rwanda. There are few places where a single dollar can make more of a difference in someone's life.
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2) Your Decision to Donate has a Materiel Impact. Again, she is not being funded by CTEN or any other organization. She is individual trying to do as much as she can on her own. This means means anything you choose to give is not going into a larger pool of money where some small percentage comes back to to the children at her school. Should you choose to sponsor a child, your donation goes to that child directly and literally is the difference between whether he attends school or does not.

She has found and created profiles for about 50 children. Any that receive sponsorship will attend her school and she will see them nearly every day.
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3) She's Incredibly Passionate and Capable. She's already worked at the school as a teacher, and has a lot of plans for improvements once she is made headmistress. She graduated from college Summa *** Laude with distinction and won her school's yearly mathematics award. She had plenty of other job opportunities, and she chose to go to Rwanda. She's always wanted to be a teacher since she was little, and I was forced to sit through many a pretend class since I was 10.

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If you would like to know more you can check out her blog at http://sarahpullen.wordpress.com/.
A direct link to her donation page can be found at http://www.cten.org/sarahpullen/ or if you'd like to look at some of the children's profile you can view them http://sarahpullen.wordpress.com/sponsor-a-child-2-2/.

Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions I'll answer them to the best of my ability, I could also not be lazy and just go over and ask her for you.
#2 Jun 30 2013 at 8:07 PM Rating: Excellent
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What is your favorite time of year?
#3 Jun 30 2013 at 8:09 PM Rating: Excellent
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Summer.
#4 Jun 30 2013 at 8:11 PM Rating: Excellent
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Why do you hate Winter?
#5 Jun 30 2013 at 8:14 PM Rating: Excellent
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Because sub 50F is unbearable.
#6 Jun 30 2013 at 9:57 PM Rating: Excellent
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Why do you enjoy toying with me like this?
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#7 Jun 30 2013 at 10:15 PM Rating: Excellent
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Is your sister Sally Struthers by chance?
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#8 Jun 30 2013 at 10:31 PM Rating: Excellent
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Sally Struthers wishes she was my sister.
#9 Jun 30 2013 at 11:23 PM Rating: Excellent
GBATE!! Never saw it coming
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So, if one were to donate, say, $100; how many kids get a year of school from that?
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#10 Jul 01 2013 at 12:52 AM Rating: Excellent
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A monthly sponsorship of a child for $20 will pay for a child to receive school education and a healthy lunch every day for a year (boarding school is also common practice in Rwanda). A singular gift of $100 would therefore sponsor a child half a year.

Another little small piece of information about Rwanda. The government has one of the lowest levels of perceived corruption in Africa, and so when that's combined with an educated workforce there is a lot of opportunity to see real gains in quality of life for both individuals and the population as a whole.
#11 Jul 01 2013 at 3:06 AM Rating: Excellent
Would these children be tutsi or hutu?
#12 Jul 01 2013 at 3:08 AM Rating: Excellent
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Without that information we can't tell if they are the right sort of people.
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#13 Jul 01 2013 at 4:17 AM Rating: Excellent
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Allegory wrote:
My support for her is a given, considering how many genes we have in common.
How touching.
#14 Jul 01 2013 at 6:39 AM Rating: Excellent
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NO TOUCHING!
#15 Jul 01 2013 at 6:49 AM Rating: Excellent
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Does that mean no hugs either? Smiley: frown
#16 Jul 01 2013 at 7:30 AM Rating: Excellent
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What is being taught here? Is this hardcore missionary work or is that just the vessel she's using to provide a decent education? I'm not a big fan of religion, particularly in areas where it's used to promote violence, but I am in favour of providing education to those in need so I may be willing to overlook that if I'm convinced that the merits are in the right places.

Can anyone else here vouch for this group?
#17 Jul 01 2013 at 7:57 AM Rating: Excellent
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She looks hilariously out of place in that group picture.
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#18 Jul 01 2013 at 8:00 AM Rating: Excellent
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lolgaxe wrote:
She looks hilariously out of place in that group picture.


Like the cream in an Oreo.
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#19 Jul 01 2013 at 8:14 AM Rating: Excellent
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Quote:
my sister
I am disappoint.

Also, tl;dr. Are you going with her, or not?

Edited, Jul 1st 2013 10:14am by Rachel9
#20 Jul 01 2013 at 10:06 AM Rating: Excellent
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Allegory wrote:
my sister


Allegory wrote:
1) More Bang for Your Buck.


This is all I see when I look at your post.

Also, if I were to donate the entirety of my college funds, what are my chances of being able to dwell in Rwanda as a living god?
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#21 Jul 01 2013 at 10:56 AM Rating: Excellent
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Aliekber wrote:
Also, if I were to donate the entirety of my college funds, what are my chances of being able to dwell in Rwanda as a living god?



Screenshot


Gonna rename it to Ra-wanda when you get there?
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#22 Jul 01 2013 at 12:54 PM Rating: Good
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Yodabunny wrote:
What is being taught here? Is this hardcore missionary work or is that just the vessel she's using to provide a decent education? I'm not a big fan of religion, particularly in areas where it's used to promote violence, but I am in favour of providing education to those in need so I may be willing to overlook that if I'm convinced that the merits are in the right places.

Can anyone else here vouch for this group?

Christianity is the primary religion of the country, and she is Christian herself. CTEN is also a Christian organization. However, the schooling is your standard primary school eduction. She's not going there to teach them about God; she's going there to teach them primarily math and English. It's a Rwandan school, and not one run by American missionaries.

CTEN is an organization that gives her legitimacy allows donations to be tax deductible, but she doesn't work for them and they have zero control over her, she's going to be a Rwandan employee.
lolgaxe wrote:
She looks hilariously out of place in that group picture.

Washing her hair is an event. Women there typically have shaved heads, and there certainly are no blondes. Children go crazy about touching it.
Aliekber wrote:
Also, if I were to donate the entirety of my college funds, what are my chances of being able to dwell in Rwanda as a living god?

Fairly high. White people, Muzungus--especially Americans--are looked upon pretty favorably over there.
Rachel9 wrote:
Also, tl;dr. Are you going with her, or not?

I will not, and I feel somewhat guilty about not doing so, not that there was ever a reason beyond being with her for me to go. Job opportunities there are pretty much nil, and I'm helping to back her. I'm still not ok with the entire situation on an emotional level, but I know she's making a decision she won't regret and I know that she'll be she'll also be doing more good than just teaching children there, because as a trained teacher she can actually teach the instructors there how to better run a school.

Edited, Jul 1st 2013 2:16pm by Allegory
#23 Jul 01 2013 at 1:03 PM Rating: Excellent
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Allegory wrote:
lolgaxe wrote:
She looks hilariously out of place in that group picture.

Washing her hair is an event. Women there typically have shaved heads, and there certainly are no blondes. Children go crazy about touching it.


You should tell her to do a local fundraising event where people can wash her hair for a dime, or whatever the equivalent is over there.
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