Former American President George H. W. Bush, who recently passed away, secretly sponsored a Filipino named Timothy for 10 years before the boy knew who his benefactor was, CNN reported Wednesday.
The 41st President of the United States, who passed away last Nov. 30, sponsored a seven-year-old boy in the Philippines for 10 years using a pseudonym, the nonprofit organization who connected them revealed to CNN.
Through Compassion International, a nonprofit organization that uses local churches to help children in poor communities around the world, Bush sponsored Timothy, whose surname was not disclosed.
The former president sent funds that went toward Timothy’s education, extracurricular activities and some of his meals, as Compassion shared some of Bush’s letters with CNN.
Jim McGrath, a spokesperson for the Office of George H. W. Bush, confirmed the letters’ authenticity. The Bush family was not available to comment on the letters, CNN said.
Bush first got the idea to sponsor a child in 2001, when he attended a Christmas concert in Washington.
Due to security concerns, Wess Stafford, the former president of Compassion International, told CNN he became in charge of screening each letter. Bush didn’t make his job easy, he said, as the President began providing more information than he was supposed to.
Timothy never caught on to the hints in Bush’s letters, and didn’t find out who his sponsor was until he had graduated from the program, CNN said.
“After a while, my executive assistant, Angie Lathrop, took over the sponsorship, and after Timothy graduated at 17, she flew to the Philippines to meet him,” Stafford said. “That’s when she told him who his sponsor really was.”
Timothy was stunned, Stafford said. Timothy told Lathrop he had no idea, and that the revelation was life-changing, she added.
Ironically, that was the last time the nonprofit organization heard from Timothy, despite efforts to locate him, Stafford said.
“We may not know where Timothy is, but we know he’s now living a successful life,” she said.