At age 11, Lily Camp is doing her part to help a young girl and her family, who live half a world away, to have a better life. She is making and selling "pew babies" to raise money to purchase fishnets for a fisherman in the Philippines.
For five years the Camp family in Springfield has sponsored the schooling of Siera, a young girl in a remote fishing village in the Philippines.
Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA), a lay Catholic organization started in 1981, has 250,000 sponsors who support more than 300,000 children, youth and aging friends worldwide.
"We were at Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception one Sunday when the CFCA was appealing for sponsors," Lily's mother, Laura, said. "Lily was just 5, but she wanted to do it." Her brother Benjamin, now 13, and sister Gabriel, now 9, share sponsorship of a girl in Guatemala.
The children correspond back and forth with the girls they are sponsoring. "Siera writes about what she is doing, and I write her what I am doing. She is the oldest in a large family, and her father is a fisherman," says Lily. "It takes an hour traveling by boat and Jeep for Siera to get to school."
In a recent letter, Siera wrote that she had to stay home from school to watch her brothers and sisters, so her mother could go out to help their father fish. Fishing is the family's sole source of income, but Siera wrote the fishnets her father used had worn out. Since he doesn't own fishnets, he has to borrow them from a neighbor, when he gets back from fishing.
"We were afraid Siera might have to drop out of school," Laura said. "We wondered how much fishnets there cost, and asked the CFCA to find the answer."
It costs $235 for two fishing nets. Transportation to and from school for Siera costs $30 a month, which the initial sponsorship does not cover.
"We looked around for extras we could do without in our family budget, to see if we could send them something," Laura said.
Lily started making "pew babies" to sell. They are made out of sheets purchased from Goodwill.
"We wash them, tear them into about 1-inch-wide strips, then fold them into thirds, and tie them at the bottom. We put lace around the head for a bonnet, and at the waist to make an apron, and tie them with a ribbon," Lily said.
She is selling the dolls for $10, which includes delivery to mail them.
Laura gave Lily the idea for the dolls. "When I was a little girl, my granny made 'pew babies' for us," Laura said. "They are called that because if you drop them at church, they don't make any noise."
The Camp children attended Blessed Sacrament School up until last year, but are now home-schooled by their parents in order to be able to go on the road with their father. Their father, Chris, is the entertainer known as The Whip Guy (www.thewhipguy.com). Chris travels all over the country and has gone overseas to Hong Kong and Greece, giving performances, demonstrating his skill which has won him the title of world champion. Laura is his assistant and the children, when they take part in the act, are paid for their work.
"We set up a table after the show, with things the audience can purchase — books, miniature whips and other items," said Laura. "Lily has commandeered a section of the table to display her pew babies. People seem to really like them; they go fast, particularly when people learn where the proceeds are going."
CFCA currently has more than 500 sponsors living in the Springfield area. To learn more about its program, go to its webpage, www.cfcausa.org.
Anyone interested in supporting Lily in her effort, should call her mother, Laura Camp at (217) 891-1680. The Whip Guy (and family) will be performing at the Illinois State Fair (Aug. 12-21) in Conservation World, three shows a day.