Before he turned seven, Janvie was abandoned by his parents. “There was no letter, there was no communication, there was nothing from them,” he says of the months and years that followed. “I didn’t [know] if I still had that parental love coming from them — if they really loved me.”
Left to live with the grandparents he barely knew, young Janvie had no time to search for answers. Instead, he focused on moving forward with his new life.
“During that time, I didn’t feel any transition,” he says. Instead, he coached himself: “Like, ‘You have no option, so whether you like it or not, you have to live here and that’s all.”
In the months that followed, Janvie tried settling into life with his grandparents. Their home was made of wooden planks and — like the rest of the community — lacked electricity or water. As the only child in his grandparent’s care, Janvie’s list of chores was long.
In the summer, he hiked down the steep mountainside to the community’s only water source. Janvie had to arrive earlier to collect his share, or risk getting nothing at all. “We had to wake up at around 1 a.m. to start fetching water,” he recalls. After fetching water, he would go to school, which he loved, before returning to help his grandfather farm rice and corn until late in the evening.
Shortly after Janvie arrived, the community suffered a devastating drought. His grandparents' crops withered and stockpiles of food quickly ran out. They had to move to another province where they worked in sugarcane fields. “When we arrived, there was no home we could live in. We decided to live under the shade of the mango tree.”
When Janvie heard that World Vision was starting a sponsorship programme in his area, he leapt at the chance and his life has never been the same. Watch his remarkable story of transformation below!
Because of his own determination and belief that World Vision could help children like him, he approached our staff and said he wanted to be sponsored. He was given the opportunity to transform his life and now sponsors children of his own, desiring to see them experience that same joy!
Top 3 questions on child sponsorship
How do I know my donation is put to good use?
According to Singapore’s charity regulations, the total expenses incurred due to public fundraising appeals in a financial year must not exceed 30% of total donations collected through the public appeals in that year. At World Vision Singapore, the total expenditure was 14.7% of total funds raised in FY17!
How do children benefit from my monthly contribution?
Your monthly donation is combined with the donations of other sponsors so we can provide long-term resources for lasting change for all the children in your child’s community. Your gift will help provide your sponsored child with the basic necessities that can help them reach their God-given potential, including access to clean water, nutrition, healthcare, education and economic opportunities for his or her family.
Is this child "real"? Do others sponsor the same child?
Each child is matched with only one sponsor. They're real children with real stories. Get to know your sponsored child through letters, emails, photos, annual progress updates or visit them on a trip!
