A STOURBRIDGE couple have spoken of their pride in meeting an Indian child who they have been sponsoring since he was young.

Peter and Jane Baxter have supported 16-year-old Samya, who lives in poverty in East India, for more than seven years.

The teenager lives under the care of his parents in an area where houses are constructed of dirt floors, mud walls and wooden roofs, and while most of the adults in the community are unemployed, some work as day labourers earning the equivalent of £7 per month.

Through child development charity Compassion UK, the couple have sent and received multiple letters to build up their friendship with Samya, but recently the pair finally got the chance to visit the youngster and his family at his home.

Jane said: “It was a long-awaited experience to meet Samya. We are always thrilled to receive his letters, but now we will be able to visualize what he writes.

“It was such a joy to meet his friends and family and see his smiling face.

“After sponsoring Samya for so long and spending time with him, we found it very emotional to leave him.

“But we are confident and pleased to know he is part of a very loving extended family, and through the project he will continue to grow and be a role model for younger children.

“It was a long awaited experience to meet him, we’re proud he is growing into such a fine young man.”

Jane and Peter, a steward at Gig Mill Methodist Church, also sponsor 13-year-old Ingabire from Rwanda, whom they have also supported for more than seven years.

The pair’s sponsorship of £25 a month enables Samya to receive frequent nutritious meals, medical care, emotional support and an education.

Compassion UK works in partnership with local churches to provide more than 1.7 million of the most vulnerable children around the world means to break the cycle of poverty.