From A Broken Piece of Clay to Changed Lives

15-Year Journey of Child Sponsorship

Dorothy Chong never expected a broken piece of clay to change the course of her life.

In 2010, she attended the Global Leadership Summit (GLS). During one session, participants were each given a fragment of a shattered clay jar and invited to reflect on a simple but challenging question: What could you do for society at large and not just for yourself?

As Dorothy held that broken piece, she prayed. “Lord,” she asked, “what is the one mammoth thing I could do for you?”

The answer that impressed upon her heart startled her. Sponsor 100 children.

“I thought I heard wrongly,” Dorothy recalls with a laugh. “Ten I can. But 100 is quite a tall order isn’t it?”

Yet she felt a quiet conviction. “The Lord says if it is something that you couldn’t do, then you know that it is from me. If it is something that you could do, then it is your own effort.”

Dorothy then chose not to focus on her limitations of what she did not have, but on obedience. She wrote her commitment down in 2010: “Lord, help me to fulfil the feeding of the poor and the hopeless. I want to feed 100 of them. I want to inspire the young people to be able to do as well.”

That broken clay became a reminder—it was never about what she had, but about trusting God to work through her.

Beginning the Journey with World Vision

Dorothy reached out to a few charity organisations, and one of them was World Vision. What stood out to her was World Vision’s transparency—how funds were used, how communities were supported, and how a significant portion went directly towards the long-term development of children.

She started small, sponsoring two children in 2010. “It was easier on my finance,” she shared. “Then I told myself, every year, I will just add on another five. I will just keep going until I hit 100.”

Year by year, she kept going.

Fifteen years later, Dorothy has been journeying with World Vision, steadily moving towards that original commitment she once wrote down in faith. Today she is sponsoring 77 children across World Vision’s area programmes in Asia and Africa.

The Children Who Left A Lasting Mark

Some names stay etched in the heart.

For Dorothy, it was her very first two sponsored children—Sreyneat from Cambodia and Devister from Zambia. She began sponsoring them when they were just five and six years old.

“I look forward to receiving their progress report year on year,” she says. “I see them growing, progressing well in their education, in their physical well-being. Knowing that they want to become a doctor, a teacher, it really hits me that I am able to make a little contribution towards their growth and progress.”

Coming from a poor background herself, Dorothy understands the power of that “lift”—the kind that helps a child break free from the cycle of poverty. “Without that lift,” she reflects, “my siblings and I will still be living in poverty today.”

Why Africa Holds a Special Place

Over time, Dorothy felt particularly drawn to sponsoring children in Africa.

She remembers watching a World Vision video that deeply moved her—scenes of children living amid drought, conflict, and extreme scarcity. “I just felt for the kids in those areas. They’ve got so limited resources, they’ve got civil unrest there, it’s literally dry grounds,” she recalls. “It’s heart-wrenching to see that when the kids received their first lollipop, they held it like it’s jewel to them.”

One image stayed with her: a little boy suffering from severe malnutrition, lacking access to clean water, food, or medical care. “The kids’ fingernails were dropping off by itself. So, I thought why not sponsor African kids,” she says.

Passing Compassion to the Next Generation

Dorothy’s journey of sponsorship didn’t stop with her.

While visiting her grandchildren in Perth, she showed them the same video that inspired her to sponsor more African children. Her eldest grandchild was deeply touched and began to appreciate what she had. When her younger grandchild saw it, he was so affected that he made sure to finish every strand of noodles that Dorothy cooked for dinner that night.

Moments like these reassure her that compassion, once shared, continues to grow.

A Journey That Keeps Her Humble

Looking back, Dorothy says Child Sponsorship has kept her grounded.

“Throughout the journey of my sponsorship, it has really kept me very humbled, that whatever that is given in my hands, is not what I could do, it’s the blessings of the Lord. At the same time, don’t hold back these blessings for myself, but for the people around me,” she reflects.

For Dorothy, sponsorship is about standing alongside children whose parents struggle to earn an income — children who risk losing access to education, opportunity, and hope. “If I can help, even in a small way, to give them a proper education and a chance to break free from poverty, I want to be there.”

A Hope She Holds for Every Child

Dorothy’s hope for her sponsored children is simple, yet profound.

“I want them to grow up with the same opportunities my grandchildren have. Clean water, food on the table, education to progress in life and achieve what they would like to become when they grow up.”

And to those wondering if their contribution is too small to matter, she offers this encouragement: “Start with sponsoring one child. Just one. And see how that small step can make such a big impact.”

For Dorothy, a broken piece of clay became the beginning of a lifelong journey—one that continues to change lives, one child at a time.

Child Sponsorship creates change that lasts. Join our amazing community of sponsors today!