I love the idea of child sponsorship. It's the practicalities I struggle with. The problem comes when, usually driven by guilt at not being in touch with Jair for months on end, the time comes to write to him. I begin with enthusiasm. I great him heartily and ask after his family. I then come to a grinding halt. What on earth am I supposed to say to a five year-old Peruvian boy? I decide to tell him a bit about my hobbies. I like sport. He'll relate to that. So, I begin to tell Jair about the amusingly hopeless football team I play for, only to run into more problems. I think of my football boots, most likely made by sweat-shop labourers, somewhere in the far-east. Ooh. Guilt. I think of the lusciously green football pitches we play on, the branch of McDonalds we repair to after home games, the cars we all drive home afterwards. It's the same game the world over, but I can't help thinking we're playing to different rules. Best change the subject. So I throw in a Bible verse, tell him I’m praying for him, and sign off. Lucky he's still too young to read, really.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 27th, 2005 at 6:17 pmand is filed under MPH Competition.