A Life Changing Gift

Posted by Todd Smith - View Comments |

For many of us this holiday season will be filled with delicious food, exciting presents and fun memories as we spend time with our families. That, however, will not be the case for Philiswa.

My wife and I met Philiswa (pill-ee-swa) on our most recent trip to Swaziland, Africa. What first stood out to us were her eyes. As you can see in the attached photo, she has one eye that wanders off by itself.

As we spent time with her and the 60+ other children in the village, we couldn’t help but notice that the other kids picked on her. It was as if they noticed her disability and felt that it was perfectly acceptable to hit her, take things from her and laugh at her. Yet through all of this she maintained a surprisingly positive spirit.

Learning more about the Swazi culture, we discovered that people with disabilities are often viewed as being demon possessed. These unfortunate children, who already are struggling for survival, have to bear an additional burden.

Our trip was coming to an end but we couldn’t get Philiswa out of our hearts and minds. We just knew we had to visit her family and encourage them. We wanted her parents to know that she was a special girl with a bright future. But unfortunately, while busily playing with the other children before our departure, we forgot to get her address.

Perhaps fate played a role, because guess who saw our minivan and came running out to the road? Philiswa, with a big smile on her face! We happened to have one five-gallon bucket of rice, beans, apples, sugar and other goodies in our car.

We took her by the hand with the bucket of food and went to meet her parents. To our dismay, we learned that her dad had abandoned her years before and her mother remarried, didn’t want her and left her behind. Her great grandmother was now raising her.

We told the great grandmother, “you’ve got one special girl here,” but her reaction was shocking. She said, “You can have her!” We were devastated to hear these words and poor Philiswa…she was standing right there.

Needless to say we haven’t stopped thinking about Philiswa and her life back in the village. While we can’t bring her home and provide the love and care she deserves, we can fix her disability.

My wife, Joy and I would like to offer you an easy way to partner with us.

Not only are we committed to taking 100% of the profits from this year’s sales of my book, Little Things Matter to provide food and support to children in third world countries, but we will also match the profits, dollar for dollar, to get Philiswa the medical care she desperately needs.

Little Things Matter can be a life-changing gift. If you buy the book for someone you know, you’ll actually be helping three people: One, the person who receives the book from you as a gift; Two, a hungry child who will be fed from the profits; and Three, Philiswa.

Philiswa’s name means, “to be healed.” That’s exactly what we will do together!

If you decide to partner with us, please send me an email to todd@littlethingsmatter.com so that we can keep you informed about the process.

There’s still time to receive the books prior to Christmas but you’ll need to act fast.

If you are not familiar with my book, click here.

For bulk pricing, click here

If you want your books autographed, enter LTM in the “Promo Code” box during the check out process.

If you prefer to download the electronic version on your Kindle, click here.

If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation for Philiswa’s medical care, go to www.HopeChest.org and click on the Designated Gift tab in the upper right corner. Make sure to enter SZ4003022 Reference Number field. The Gift Information section could be used for a more detailed description of your donation.

I want to thank all of you for your support over the last year since I launched my blog. It has been quite an exciting ride!

Happy Holidays!

Todd

“If you can’t feed 100 people, just feed one.” —Mother Teresa

Ernesto Busnelli

I started reading the post on the 15th and had to stop, it just brought back some personal experiences. Today I finally could get through it.
Amazing cause. I wish I could hold her in arms and do something about her life conditions.
EB
Todd Smith

Hi Ernesto,

Well, perhaps you can join us on our next trip to Swaziland. There are a lot of stories like hers and a lot of families we could love on.

I wish you the best in working through your personal experiences.

Hope you are enjoying your holidays.

Todd
Oliver Tausend

Hi Todd,

what a touching story - and very generous from you.

I'm studying Napoleon Hill's "six ghosts of fear" at the moment - the first one being the ghost of fear of poverty. He states" Nothing brings man so much suffering and humility as POVERTY!"

Even in a poor environment the poorest of the poorest find someone who is even poorer than themselves to pick on...

We might be tempted to ridicule foreign cultures because of the story with the demons.

However, we should resist that temptation and ask ourselves: How many demons do we still believe in without even realizing it ?

Thanks for a thought provoking post.

Take care

Oliver
Todd Smith

Hi Oliver,

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Napoleon Hill's teachings are among the best. Thanks for sharing.

Todd
Danielle Cearbaugh

Great post Dad.

This really touches me deeply and I am so thankful for you helping bring hope to this child and many more children!

I love you!
Todd Smith

Thanks Honey! Love you! I can't wait to see you this weekend.
Sasha Berson

Todd, what a story!

I realize how difficult it must have been to leave her behind and applaud your decision to heal "To Be Healed."

I already own your book and audio and gave away another set I purchased. So, I just made a donation on www.hopechest.org.

Would you please share with us how much money is needed to help this girl and where your effort stands currently? It's possible that effort would increase if we all knew the goal, and worked hard to achieve it.
Your post is inspiration to all of us especially during this season and will help you reach the goal of helping this girl.

To Your Good and Meaningful Work, Todd!
Todd Smith

HI Sasha,

Thanks for your comment and your donation. I appreciate your support.

Getting her help is going to be complicated. Here is where we stand today.

Our contact on the ground in Swaziland is going to take her to a specialist in Swaziland after the first of the year to try to understand more about the cause of he problem.

From there we, will likely need to track down her parents, locate her birth certificate and try to get her a passport. More than likely we will need to take her to South Africa to get the medical care required. I even had a doctor from the U.S offer his services for free yesterday if we bring her to South Carolina,

I will put you on my email list and keep you informed with our progress.

Once again, THANKS for your support! It tells me a lot about you.

Todd
Lynda White

That story breaks my heart. I remember what it was like to be constantly ridiculed as a child. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, but at least my parents did love me and want me. Poor Philiswa.
Todd Smith

Hi Lynda,

Thanks for sharing your story. I am sorry to hear about your childhood experience. If kids only knew how their actions were impacting the lives of those they pick on and ridicule.

Have a great day!

Todd
KJ Kilroy Was Here Networking!

Hello Todd,
Very touching and sadly disturbing. It is sometimes hard to understand foreign cultures.

Thank God for people like you, your family and "The Children's Hope Chest". All kinds of little things matter in a big way.

(PS - The audio is not working.)

I'm In,
Kevin J. Kilroy
Todd Smith

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your comment.

I wrote this post was traveling. It was a last minute decision, therefore I could not record an audio file. I am on the airplane typing this message headed home. Thanks to online internet service, I can now work all the time. :-)

Thanks for your support!

Todd
Jessica~Love is Color Blind

So touched by this...great post Todd!

My eyes teared when I read this: Philiswa’s name means, “to be healed.” WOW! What a prophetic name for this sweet daughter! I can't wait to see what the Lord will do!
Todd Smith

Hi Jessica,

Thanks for your comment! When I learned that her name means, "to be healed", but Joy and I had tears in our eyes.

Todd