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Couple Receives an Easter Surprise 20 Years in the Making
APRIL 10: A 20-YEAR-OLD THANK-YOU LETTER FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD WILL MAKE ITS WAY TO A U.S. FAMILY

One U.S. family is about to gets its own Easter miracle.  On April 10, after 20 years of silence, they will finally reconnect with the boy they helped escape from a life of poverty in Indonesia.

Nearly 30 years ago, Wolly Towoliu — now a successful businessman in Indonesia — lived in poverty. As a participant in Compassion International's Child Sponsorship Program, Towoliu was given the chance to escape poverty through a combination of physical, economic, educational and spiritual development programs. His participation was made possible by his sponsors, Robert and Joanne Cottone of Raleigh, N.C. Throughout his involvement in the Child Sponsorship Program, Towoliu received pictures and letters of encouragement from the Cottones, items that he cherished as he tried to break away from the firm grasp of poverty.

When Towoliu was a teenager, Compassion's child development center was shut down because of violence in the area — but the benefits he received from his sponsors were lasting. In 1989, during his second semester of law school, he sent the Cottone family a thank-you letter — a letter that never made it to them. Towoliu mailed it to Compassion International in Chicago, the former headquarters of the organization, not knowing it had been relocated to Colorado Springs, Colo.

When Towoliu's letter was returned to him, he chose not to resend it but instead kept it as a reminder of the generosity, support and love of his sponsors, the Cottone family, a family he called his own. 

On a recent trip to Indonesia, Compassion photographer Chuck Bigger met Towoliu, who gave a tearful account of how the Cottone family's support had changed his life. Towoliu said he wanted them to finally receive his 20-year-old thank-you letter. 

Compassion International is the world's largest Christian child development organization that permanently releases children from poverty through one-to-one child sponsorship. Founded in 1952, Compassion successfully tackles global poverty one child at a time.
Learn more about sponsoring a child

On April 10, Good Friday, Wolly Towoliu's letter to Robert and Joanne Cottone will be delivered, and Towoliu will finally be able to convey his sincere thanks to the Cottones via Skype between the family's Raleigh, N.C., home and Towoliu's home in Indonesia.

  • Cover Wolly Towoliu's emotional thank you to Robert and Joanne Cottone from your desk via Skype.
  • Interview Wolly Towoliu, a successful businessman in Indonesia, to hear how Robert and Joanne Cottone's encouragement and support through Compassion International, more than 20 years ago, changed the course of his life.
  • Interview Robert and Joanne Cottone to hear how their support of an Indonesian child affected their lives.
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