Alonis: My Son Too

Photographs of the sweet faces of child GBB 8348 and GBA 8453, the children the Bryan family sponsored in Uganda had graced the door of the refrigerator in their kitchen for several years. Feeling called to meet them and make a personal connection, Shelene Bryan did what most sponsors will never be able to do. She boarded a plane to Africa with the photographs of the young girl and boy, not sure what she would find when she arrived. GBB 8348 turned out to be Omega, a young girl living with her family in a mud hut who greeted her with the word "muzungu," meaning white in the local dialect.

GBA 8553 was Alonis a young quiet boy, who was just as delighted to meet Shelene as she was to meet him. The bond she formed with Alonis and Omega was deep and maternal. Shelene saw how different the lives of these two children were from those of her son and daughter at home in the United States. Wanting to provide what she could for Omega and Alonis, she visited the local town to buy bedding and home supplies for the children and their families. Shelene jokes that she went looking for "Target Jungle." She soon found how far a little goes to help improve the lives of Omega, Alonis, and other children like them. Realizing how easy it could be to set up a way for people back at home to skip something small and make a big impact, she returned and rallied friends to help her found Skip1.org. When is the last time you skipped?